Then again, that may have been the point for writer / director George Armitage's entry in the Roger Corman-produced "Nurse" series of pictures, as Armitage touches upon a variety of serious themes. He works elements such as racial discrimination, drug smuggling, and ecology into his story of three expectedly comely young nurses - Spring (Katherine Cannon), Lynn (Pegi Boucher), and Lola (Joyce Williams) and their assorted misadventures and romantic scrapes. Spring gets involved with a Vietnam veteran named "Domino" (Dennis Redfield), who races motorcycles, Lola with Dr. Elton (Herbert Jefferson, Jr.), who is angry at the lack of black doctors in a certain major hospital, and Lynn with Dr. Doug Selden (Joseph Kaufmann), a true crusader. There are the obligatory and enjoyable doses of sex and female flesh, but the admittedly glum tone prevents this from being as enjoyable as it could have been. It manages to avoid ever being too boring, but it just doesn't have the energy to keep it moving quicker. Even the lovely ladies this time around aren't as appealing as one would usually see in this kind of New World production. The supporting cast includes such familiar faces as Morris Buchanan (the guy who had a hole blown in his head by Pam Grier near the beginning of "Coffy"), Paul Hampton (who's actually more animated and moderately more engaging than he was in Cronenberg's "Shivers") as a would-be swinger, imposing screen tough guy Robert Tessier as a "super bouncer", and Paul Gleason of such 80's classics as "Trading Places", "The Breakfast Club", and "Die Hard" as a serious-minded doctor. As others have noted, there is a definite problem with a movie that, considering its running time is a mere 80 minutes, plods too much and has too much padding, such as extended night club scenes with a rock group named Sky. All of this is watchable enough, but it really could and should have been better. Five out of 10.
9 Reviews
Sequel to "The Student Nurses"
Uriah4328 March 2015
In this sequel to "The Student Nurses", three young interns by the names of "Spring" (Kathy Cannon), "Lynn" (Pegi Boucher) and "Lola" (Joyce Williams) have all been admitted to a large hospital and are looking for an apartment. They finally come upon one which is being rented out by a man named "Dewey" (Paul Hampton) who takes an immediate liking to Lynn. Meanwhile, Spring becomes attracted to an injured Vietnam vet by the name of "Domino" (Dennis Redfield) and Lola gravitates to a young doctor named "Dr. Elton" (Hebert Jefferson Jr.). Essentially, the story then chronicles the trials and tribulations each of these young women encounter within their relationships. Now as far as this movie is concerned it touched upon a few social issues relevant to the time this film was produced and as a result some viewers may not be quite able to fully understand or appreciate certain aspects. Likewise, the fact that this was a low-budget production doesn't help in that regard either. Even so, in spite of its limitations it managed to keep my interest for the most part and as a result I rate it as about average. Followed a year later by the third film in the series, "Night Call Nurses".
In brief: perfectly acceptable to put on and completely ignore while you neck with your date
Quinoa198420 July 2017
This feels too.... serious-minded. This wasn't really all that much fun to watch (except for the Sky scenes - didn't know till someone on here wrote that the lead singer went on to form The Knack), and there's a somewhat graphic rape scene about 2/3rds into the film that feels like it's there to add extra drama that isn't needed... or, perhaps it *Is*, but not in the way it goes about it. I should like how it's all loose and without needing a solid structure, but its lack of focus is kind of a detriment here. Things just happen, even as there's the loosest of thru-lines in each of the girl's stories as they try to become nurses; one has an environmental kind of narrative, she sees a guy die on a beach due to polluted water and her new boyfriend investigates; one woman; the black one of course, tries to work for the black doctor who tries to, you know, become the first black doctor at the hospital with some difficult results; the other girl... I don't even friggin remember at this point and I just watched this several hours ago!
It hasn't aged well past the music from Sky being decent, though not totally remarkable - an example of what was typical, easy hard rock at the time, not challenging but not overly poppy - and while the acting is passable it's no great shakes. I think the whole thing goes down to the script just being a collection of scenes; this may sound like a complaint that holds no water due to it being a Corman drive-in/grindhouse(ish) quickie meant to ride off the coat-tails of The Student Nurses (ironically the one that kicked things off isn't included in the SHOUT Factory's DVD set of New World movies with Nurses), to the point where the movie got named due to the fact that the only group that complained about that previous movie were the *actual* Private Duty Nurses who wrote a letter to Corman saying that nurses really do a lot of hard work and want to take care of their patients and blah blah etc.
If anything it could've simply used more colorful characters, or more bizarre or inventive things for people to do or say or set pieces (perhaps Armitage understood this and did better, in collaboration with Jonathan Kaplan, a year later in Night Call Nurses). It's impossible not to feel a bit like a snob trying to poke holes in this, but it's not about that; I know this is trash and know that it knows it as well. But... it's forgettable, and, aside from that rape scene I mentioned earlier, it doesn't feature anything that makes it stand out that could be considered as, well, a *positive* image of womanhood or femininity (sure, the movie points out, or one of the characters does, that she is trying to be a nurse since she can't become a doctor, but... why can't she exactly? Women became doctors back then, didn't they? Sometimes?)
In brief: perfectly acceptable to put on and completely ignore while you neck with your date. Perhaps the intention after all, but it doesn't work as something you got to pay attention to past the nudie bits (which are fine) and the rock and roll. But above all it's a bummer, and, as a "serious" movie, not very interesting or presented with skill or cleverness.
It hasn't aged well past the music from Sky being decent, though not totally remarkable - an example of what was typical, easy hard rock at the time, not challenging but not overly poppy - and while the acting is passable it's no great shakes. I think the whole thing goes down to the script just being a collection of scenes; this may sound like a complaint that holds no water due to it being a Corman drive-in/grindhouse(ish) quickie meant to ride off the coat-tails of The Student Nurses (ironically the one that kicked things off isn't included in the SHOUT Factory's DVD set of New World movies with Nurses), to the point where the movie got named due to the fact that the only group that complained about that previous movie were the *actual* Private Duty Nurses who wrote a letter to Corman saying that nurses really do a lot of hard work and want to take care of their patients and blah blah etc.
If anything it could've simply used more colorful characters, or more bizarre or inventive things for people to do or say or set pieces (perhaps Armitage understood this and did better, in collaboration with Jonathan Kaplan, a year later in Night Call Nurses). It's impossible not to feel a bit like a snob trying to poke holes in this, but it's not about that; I know this is trash and know that it knows it as well. But... it's forgettable, and, aside from that rape scene I mentioned earlier, it doesn't feature anything that makes it stand out that could be considered as, well, a *positive* image of womanhood or femininity (sure, the movie points out, or one of the characters does, that she is trying to be a nurse since she can't become a doctor, but... why can't she exactly? Women became doctors back then, didn't they? Sometimes?)
In brief: perfectly acceptable to put on and completely ignore while you neck with your date. Perhaps the intention after all, but it doesn't work as something you got to pay attention to past the nudie bits (which are fine) and the rock and roll. But above all it's a bummer, and, as a "serious" movie, not very interesting or presented with skill or cleverness.
About the band
arthadley1 February 2010
One quick comment about the band mentioned in the other review and the "Townsend/Perry" lookalike singer.
That's Doug Fieger, and the band is Sky. They made two magnificent albums 1970-71, produced by Gary Wright, Jimmy Miller and Andy Johns. Johns brought in the same heavy hitters he used on Stones albums. Doug (whose brother is Kevorkian lawyer Geoffrey Fieger) went on to form "The Knack" and co-wrote Billboard's 1978 song of the year, My Sharona.
It's too bad the previous reviewer hated the music; Sky being in it is the only reason I've heard of this movie. It's obviously not a great showcase for their songs, however. I've watched the film on DVD and it's pretty lousy, kind of embarrassing like a 1970s suit. But it does have one of my all time favorite bands on the soundtrack, so that counts for something.
That's Doug Fieger, and the band is Sky. They made two magnificent albums 1970-71, produced by Gary Wright, Jimmy Miller and Andy Johns. Johns brought in the same heavy hitters he used on Stones albums. Doug (whose brother is Kevorkian lawyer Geoffrey Fieger) went on to form "The Knack" and co-wrote Billboard's 1978 song of the year, My Sharona.
It's too bad the previous reviewer hated the music; Sky being in it is the only reason I've heard of this movie. It's obviously not a great showcase for their songs, however. I've watched the film on DVD and it's pretty lousy, kind of embarrassing like a 1970s suit. But it does have one of my all time favorite bands on the soundtrack, so that counts for something.
Tacky 'Nurse' series entry
dave13-111 April 2012
This movie was a follow-up to the hit Roger Corman quickie The Student Nurses and went along similar lines, but had a completely different cast, a much schlockier tone and no story carry-over whatsoever. Once again, the idea was to weave together a story of young professionals trying to succeed amid the temptations of the swinging early 70s. The cast of attractive but inexperienced unknowns try their best, but the way out story line does them few favors. There is the usual soft-core cinema titillation, with the camera following the girls in their tight uniforms along hospital corridors, and then off to parties where they smoke dope, take off their tops and have sex, but after the first movie it began to seem repetitive. So, instead of focusing on the career and personal tribulations of the girls as the first movie did, this movie's makers went all out trying to get in everything ELSE they could think of that was relevant to the day and as a result this movie is ludicrously overloaded with sensationalistic exploitation movie nonsense - murderers, drug pushers etc. - which shifts the focus away from the characters and not to any good purpose. The characters aren't very interesting, but neither is the story.
The resulting movie is now rather horribly dated, totally unbelievable and not very much fun to sit through, even as camp. The dialogue probably sounded fairly hip at the time (or maybe it didn't) but it is pretty laughable now, as are the attempts to make the party scenes seem exciting by using a lot of way out psychedelic camera angles and tricky edits (spins, tilts etc.). That stuff was actually a few years old by the time this movie was made and had become a tad clichéd.
The resulting movie is now rather horribly dated, totally unbelievable and not very much fun to sit through, even as camp. The dialogue probably sounded fairly hip at the time (or maybe it didn't) but it is pretty laughable now, as are the attempts to make the party scenes seem exciting by using a lot of way out psychedelic camera angles and tricky edits (spins, tilts etc.). That stuff was actually a few years old by the time this movie was made and had become a tad clichéd.
The least and most dissatisfying of the nurse movies
Woodyanders17 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The second entry in the nurse cycle rates as the definite lamest of the bunch thanks to a plodding pace (there are way too many montage sequences set to groovy rock music), flat direction by the usually reliable George Armitage (who also wrote the strangely dour and humorless script), a meandering narrative, painfully stilted "hip" dialogue, and, most damagingly, an oddly self-serious tone and heavy-handed stabs at pertinent social commentary that suck all the fun out of the picture. Your usual mixed trio of gals -- two white and one black -- deal with murder, racism, pollution, and drug traffickers while serving internships at a local hospital. The cute Katherine Cannon as the mousy Spring, Pegi Boucher as the earnest Lynn, and Joyce Williams as the dedicated Lola are weak and colorless female protagonists who look attractive enough sans clothes, but lack the charisma and engaging personalities to carry the movie. The supporting cast struggles gamely with the sub-par material: Herb Jefferson Jr. as the angry Dr. Elton, Dennis Redfield as bitter devil-may-care Vietnam veteran Domino, Joseph Kaufmann as the crusading Dr. Doug Seldon, and Paul Gleason as the no-nonsense Dr. McClintok. Worse yet, the sex scenes are surprisingly dull and unerotic; one involves a shallow and arrogant wannabe swinger (Paul Hampton in a thankless role) who suffers from premature ejaculation while another is a very ugly and unpleasant out of place rape. John McNichol's drab cinematography doesn't help matters much. The funky diggin' rock score by Sky offers one of the few bright spots in an otherwise extremely dim and dreary flick. A real clunker.
Private Duty Nurses
BandSAboutMovies4 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Roger Corman got the idea for this movie - a sequel of sorts to The Student Nurses - after being sent a letter of complaint about that movie from the Private Duty Nurses Association. It's written and directed by George Armitage, who wrote Gas-s-s-s, Hot Rod, Vigilante Force and Darktown Strutters. He'd go on to direct and write Grosse Point Blank.
It's a really similar story to the first Corman nurses film as, you knew it, a group of nurses deal with the issues of the day. There's Spring (Katherine Cannon, later Donna's mom on Beverly Hills 90210) who falls for Vietnam vet and bike rider Domino (Dennis Redfield). Lynn (Pegi Boucher) has a water pollution storyline. And Lola (Joyce Williams) has to take a backseat to her black doctor boyfriend who is trying to change the status quo, but just for black men. Women will have to wait or so he states.
The social issues here feel tacked on, the women feel less interesting than the men they're with - they often take a backseat to them and it feels wrong - and it just seems like we miss the deft touch that Stephanie Rothman brought to the first of New World's female job movies. That said, the music is by a band called Sky and I kind of liked it; I'm amazed that Doug Fieger in that band was also in The Knack.
Armitage would go on to write the next film in this series, Night Call Nurses, which is a perfect exploitation title that suggests something illicit without ever saying it.
It's a really similar story to the first Corman nurses film as, you knew it, a group of nurses deal with the issues of the day. There's Spring (Katherine Cannon, later Donna's mom on Beverly Hills 90210) who falls for Vietnam vet and bike rider Domino (Dennis Redfield). Lynn (Pegi Boucher) has a water pollution storyline. And Lola (Joyce Williams) has to take a backseat to her black doctor boyfriend who is trying to change the status quo, but just for black men. Women will have to wait or so he states.
The social issues here feel tacked on, the women feel less interesting than the men they're with - they often take a backseat to them and it feels wrong - and it just seems like we miss the deft touch that Stephanie Rothman brought to the first of New World's female job movies. That said, the music is by a band called Sky and I kind of liked it; I'm amazed that Doug Fieger in that band was also in The Knack.
Armitage would go on to write the next film in this series, Night Call Nurses, which is a perfect exploitation title that suggests something illicit without ever saying it.
Early Corman flick mislabeled as a exploitation film.
b_kite29 September 2019
This early New World Pictures output from Roger Corman might have been labeled as an exploitation film, but, it's pretty much just a dramatic soap opera about the lives, loves, and tribulations of three young nurses. There's some nudity even though it's not in abundance and all three of the girls are attractive with Pegi Boucher being the standout, who by the way is treated like crap in this movie and never given a good conclusion for it, like the other two girls are. Overall, I was entertained for the 80 minutes nothing more nothing less.
Armitage does the "Nurses" series (caution-spoilers)
silentgmusic19 May 2004
Warning: Spoilers
George Armitage, director of the cult favorite "Miami Blues" and the writer of the less-than-cult-favorite "Gas-s-s-s" made this one for Roger Corman (a few years after AIP's infamous butchering of the release print of "Gas-s-s-s"). "Private Duty Nurses" is a particularly cheap-looking entry in the "Nurses" series which New World Pictures produced in the early 1970's. And, as with the other "Nurses" entries, the film is essentially an excuse to show actresses in several different levels of undress. So much for Film as Art...
"Private Duty Nurses" begins with the three main characters, the female nurses (two white, one black), looking for an apartment. They get hit on by their new sleazy landlord. After work, the nurses end up at a crummy bar where even crummier rock music is played (the lead singer looks like a cross between Pete Townshend and Steve Perry). One of the nurses is astounded by the sight of a water bed (a novelty in 1971) and we get the first taste of nudity. Back at the hospital, one of the nurses meets a patient, a strange Vietnam veteran who races motorcycles. They become romantically involved. The black nurse becomes involved with a doctor working in the ghetto; he tells her about racism within the profession, making her see things in a more politically-motivated light.
Yes, the "Nurses" films all had their political slant, per order of Corman. It seems he liked to appeal to his youthful audience with more than just cheesecake; at least he tried adding nutritional value to these films, however obvious and awkward such attempts are (especially when analyzing these films at home on DVD). As with the other "Nurses" films, "Private Duty Nurses" is episodic and filled with unnecessary montages set to music, present mostly to fill up the running time. There are extended love making scenes (enter more gratuitous nudity, although it is tame by today's standards).
There is drama: The Vietnam vet is hurt in a motorcycle competition and needs to be operated on. The Pete Townshend-Steve Perry look-alike sings more songs. There is an ugly rape scene, the point of which is only to give the movie some action. There's a shoot-out which reveals one of the male characters as a drug smuggler. All of the plot details seem arbitrary, however, since Armitage seems to have made it all up as he went along.
One thing of special note is that little care seems to have been taken in the digital transfer of the sound and picture. Not that such refurbishing would help the film that much, but it would be nice to see "Private" get the same treatment New Horizons has given the other "Nurses" films.
"Private Duty Nurses" is not all that enjoyable. It takes itself too seriously, and the bits of humor Armitage does throw in (as he did with "Night Call Nurses") get lost amid the heavy-handed moments of melodrama. Does the motorcyclist survive surgery after his accident? Who cares..."Private Duty Nurses" certainly doesn't.
As with most of the "Nurses" films, this one is a minor diversion without any real substance. Sure, the main characters are likable enough but Armitage doesn't give them much to play off of as far as a plotline or believable dialogue.
I sometimes wish I had been alive during the heyday of the drive-in, where I could have seen this film along with four others of its type for a buck and a half. Nowadays, it costs four dollars just to see one!
"Private Duty Nurses" begins with the three main characters, the female nurses (two white, one black), looking for an apartment. They get hit on by their new sleazy landlord. After work, the nurses end up at a crummy bar where even crummier rock music is played (the lead singer looks like a cross between Pete Townshend and Steve Perry). One of the nurses is astounded by the sight of a water bed (a novelty in 1971) and we get the first taste of nudity. Back at the hospital, one of the nurses meets a patient, a strange Vietnam veteran who races motorcycles. They become romantically involved. The black nurse becomes involved with a doctor working in the ghetto; he tells her about racism within the profession, making her see things in a more politically-motivated light.
Yes, the "Nurses" films all had their political slant, per order of Corman. It seems he liked to appeal to his youthful audience with more than just cheesecake; at least he tried adding nutritional value to these films, however obvious and awkward such attempts are (especially when analyzing these films at home on DVD). As with the other "Nurses" films, "Private Duty Nurses" is episodic and filled with unnecessary montages set to music, present mostly to fill up the running time. There are extended love making scenes (enter more gratuitous nudity, although it is tame by today's standards).
There is drama: The Vietnam vet is hurt in a motorcycle competition and needs to be operated on. The Pete Townshend-Steve Perry look-alike sings more songs. There is an ugly rape scene, the point of which is only to give the movie some action. There's a shoot-out which reveals one of the male characters as a drug smuggler. All of the plot details seem arbitrary, however, since Armitage seems to have made it all up as he went along.
One thing of special note is that little care seems to have been taken in the digital transfer of the sound and picture. Not that such refurbishing would help the film that much, but it would be nice to see "Private" get the same treatment New Horizons has given the other "Nurses" films.
"Private Duty Nurses" is not all that enjoyable. It takes itself too seriously, and the bits of humor Armitage does throw in (as he did with "Night Call Nurses") get lost amid the heavy-handed moments of melodrama. Does the motorcyclist survive surgery after his accident? Who cares..."Private Duty Nurses" certainly doesn't.
As with most of the "Nurses" films, this one is a minor diversion without any real substance. Sure, the main characters are likable enough but Armitage doesn't give them much to play off of as far as a plotline or believable dialogue.
I sometimes wish I had been alive during the heyday of the drive-in, where I could have seen this film along with four others of its type for a buck and a half. Nowadays, it costs four dollars just to see one!
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