Forgotten B-Movie Babes of the 80’s
In the Nineteen Eighties, during the peak of the Cold War, there was carefree attitude that promoted a lifestyle of excess. Following the horrific conflict in Vietnam and the rise of consumerism, during the eighties bigger was better. Faster cars, more potent drugs (cocaine) and more. Cinema, and movie making, was not left unaffected by this trend either.
There were three big B’s in many movies from the 1980s; Big hair, big guns, and big boobs. As filmmakers struggled to give ticket buyers more bang for their buck, movies packed in bigger explosions, more violence, and louder music. Major blockbusters saw production budgets become colossal, but with the advent of cheaper video recording equipment, not all movies were filmed with big budget backing.
Often times during the 1980s, B-Movies (or lower) were able to compete with films that had much larger amounts of capital to work with. Prior to the development of the internet and in an era where men largely dominated the industry, women were sometimes related to eye-candy type roles in movies. Given fewer spoken lines and even less character development, actresses were frequently cast for their physical appearance
This combination of factors led to absolutely stunning women to grace the silver screen. Female actresses often acted in roles where there costumes were skimpy and tight fitting compared to that of their male counterparts.
Jillian Kesner
Firecracker, 1981.
Karen Mistal Waldron
Anyone remember Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death, or Return of the Killer Tomatoes!? Didn’t think so. Karen Mistal (*she went by several names in various credits) was cast as a fresh face with big hair and great smile.
Corinne Wahl
Taida Urruzola
Taida Urruzola was cast in a few low budget movies in the early 80’s. Not much is known about Urruzola. Her movies were so bad, you can now watch them for free on many streaming platforms. If cut off jean shorts up to the butt cheeks and jiggly boobs aren’t your thing, then you should probably skip her movies. What ever happened to having some testosterone in the costume department anyway? #metoohorny
Lorie Griffin
Lorie Griffin’s time was short in the spotlight of the movie screen. Perhaps her biggest role that she landed was opposite of Michael J. Fox in the 1985 Teen Wolf. She portrayed the popular girl, Pamela, who wouldn’t give the nerd the time of day until he became the popular kid at school. Ok, so it’s not really a B-Movie, and was actually a pretty good movie. Lots of iconic scenes and funny tales of puberty made their way into this 80’s classic. Griffin was later cast in the 80’s slasher film, Cheerleader Camp (1987) and then faded away from her career in acting.
Barbara Carrera
There was a time when Disney made movies that were pretty decent without cramming a social justice agenda into every square inch of celluloid. CondorMan (1981) starred Barbara Carrera as a sexy Russian double agent. It was much more modest than her roles in the 007 films, or Lone Wolf McQuade (1983).
Caroline Munro
Caroline Munro might best be known for her roles opposite of Roger Moore in the 007 Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me. However, it was the awful Star Wars knockoff, Star Crash, that cemented her B-movie status. Starring as the leather bikini-clad Stella Starcrash, Munro’s beauty was shining in the horrendous Italian sci-fi flop.
Of course, both of these films were actually not from the 80’s but the late 1970’s. Who cares? Munro inspired more than her fair share of teenage boners in her prime. So grab some tissues, dim the lights and enjoy the worst space movie ever made!
Leigh and Lynette Harris
Twin blonde sisters, who posed nude for Playboy, Leigh and Lynette Harris starred in few low budget 80’s movies together. They were featured in “I the Jury” and “Sorceress”. Later, they were embroiled in controversy when found guilty in a federal tax evasion scheme involving a Texas billionaire. They received over $600,000 dollars for providing “sex companionship”, and pleaded guilty.
