Don’t Throw Out This Trash

            Every once in a while, you happen on a little movie that has somehow been passed over for a number of years for no real reason. I had the pleasure of viewing such a film: a little seen, but often discussed, picture called Poor White Trash (1957). What is amazing about this film is that it balances being a great exploitation piece of amazing trash (hence the titillating title) and being a legitimately interesting romantic drama. The plot concerns Peter Graves (the man with the greatest name in film history, as far as I’m concerned) as Martin Davis, an all around American kind of guy who has an overwhelming need to be moral (you know that kind of morality that could really only be possible in the faux-idyllic 1950s). Even though normally this type of straightshooter has a habit of getting annoying, there is enough good dialogue between him and the smoking-hot love interest Marie (Lita Milan, whose cleavage has just as much of a lead role as she does) to keep things interesting. Timothy Carey is Ulysses, the almost-as-crazy-as-Robert-Mitchum-in-Cape-Fear-Cajun-shopowner who is hell-bent on raping the shit out of Marie at every possible chance and beating the “Yankee” (as Davis is often referred) at trivial contests (like dancing and boat races) that are really big deals in the bayou. After getting told by everyone in Bumblefuckton, Louisiana that he has to stand up to Ulysses, and an hour and twenty of him waxing philosophical on the nature of the right thing to do, Davis finally grows some avocadoes and gives Ulysses something to think about in an all-out blaspheming hixploitation fight scene that ranks up there with fight scenes from hixploitation classics like Russ Meyer’s Lorna or Mudhoney.  

            So, enough of the plot because now we’re going to ho-down to the breakdown: This film boasts a nice pint of blood, which is noteworthy because it’s 1957. There is steamy love triangle action, steamy Ulysses-raping-Marie-action, steamy consensual sex action (who would have thought sex should be consensual?), Lita Milan-becoming-increasingly-naked-as-she’s-chased-through-the-bayou-by-Tim-Carey action (which results in the aforementioned rape!), undue racism against poor white trash action, undue racism against white yankee city folk action, hurricane action, hardcore Cajun accent action, staying out past nine o’clock at night action, fight scene in the cemetery action, and, of course, Peter Graves being Peter Graves throughout the entire movie action. This is top-notch drive-in pulp. If you can wrap your mitts around this little piece of fried gold, you’re in for a treat. Four out of five stars. Watch it, if you can find it.