Night Call Nurses, White Clad Damsels in Much Peril

Our story opens at a psychiatric hospital. A beautiful blonde runs onto the roof of the asylum, strips off all her clothes and throws herself to her death. Hence Roger Corman's 1972 drive-in classic "Night Call Nurses" begins. Unlike nurses today, our protagonists are all sultry, and clad in white uniforms cut way too short. Perhaps this film is packed with important social commentary, but like the 1970s audiences who pulled into the drive-in, we will ignore Mr. Corman's treatment of social issues and just enjoy the sexploitation aspect of this film.

Technically this is a thriller. Three beautiful nurses, Barbara (Patty Byrne), Janis (Alana Stewart), and Sandra (Mittie Lawrence) toil in a psychiatric ward. Most of their patients are sexual deviants or nymphomaniac young women. Danger lurks. Our three nurses undress a lot and have much pre-marital sex. A rogue nurse spies on them, especially when they are in throes of sexual intercourse, and sends them notes scribbled in lipstick threatening to do all sorts of nasty deeds to them. Our nurses are not frightened as the pre-marital sex they are having isn't something they desire to give up. The blonde Janis will hook up with a LSD addict truck driver (Richard Young), Sandra will connect with a black-power convict, and Barbara will attach herself to a skydiver and her encounter-group therapist.

As the rogue nurse continues spying, she will witness our trio doing it in showers, in bed, and wherever they feel like it. Uh oh...the lovely Barbara, according to her therapist, may be a deviant and we then see her acting very strange. Sandra then gets involved with busting a convict out of prison. Janis? The blonde beauty eschews hooking a doctor and becomes head over heels over an addict. As our rogue nurse gets closer and grabs a machete, the ladies in white will be put in much peril, clothed and unclothed. The three look great in their white uniforms, but will these uniforms end up blood soaked?

This film works well as sexploitation and our the three nurses play to the camera impressively. Who is this rogue nurse? Could she be a jealous nurse, one of the boyfriends....or one of our beauties? Will those aforementioned white uniforms remain free of bloodstains? Will a 2018 audience look at "Night Call Nurses" as the definitive warning against big pharmacy's influence in health care and a call for more alluring nurses wearing more provocative wardrobes? This is Roger Corman fun...part horror thriller and a lot of sexploitation. For another guilty pleasure you won't speak of in polite company, see "Night Call Nurses."