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Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The Doll Squad pre-dates the hugely successful television series Charlie's Angels (1976 - 1981), and it's intentions are similar. After a catastrophic space shuttle launch, the clandestine group of government agents, must form to conquer this criminal conspiracy. Sabrina Kincaid (Francine York) is called to gather the scattered doll squad, a group of female agents. Practically all American films and television in the 1970's that involved crime were embroiled in conspiracy, from Starsky and Hutch (1975 - 1979), Police Woman (1974 - 1978) to The Amazing Spider-Man (1977 - 1979), and this film seems to have paved the way. It's certainly true that the producer of Charlie's Angels (Aaron Spelling) did go to the premier of The Doll Squad.The films production is obviously incredibly low budget. Ted V. Mikels was previously known for the grindhouse cheapie's The Corpse Grinders (1971) and Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (1972), but this film's production values certainly rise above the limitations, and also look a lot better than the horror films. Where the film really fails is in the pace. It struggles through several clunky dialogue scenes, and often uses a piece of funky, disco-esque soundtrack (which is used far too much throughout the film) seemingly to attempt to give a dull scene a bit of pep - such as what appears to be either a fast walk down a long corridor, or a slow walk in a short one.However, when the action does heighten, and that same piece of music is used appropriately, the film does have its moments of fun. It's always good to see the heavily made-up, statuesque '70's women beating up the weak men, from the women in prison movies, to proto-punk Switchblade Sisters (1975) - and of course their raison-d'etre, seduction. The film also boasts an appearance by Tura Satana, who was electric in Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat. Kill! Kill! (1965). Whilst the film has it's lagging moments, and tedious dialogue, it doesn't ever really become boring. All the limitations actually function well within the context of the ludicrous scenes, and gives the film humour. A lasting example would be, of course, the technical effects for explosions. Mikels's solution? Superimpose a flare of red over the exploded object, then cutting object out: ridiculous, cheap-as-chips, hilarious!

Being an avid moviegoer and a frequent renter and buyer of DVDs, there's always something intriguing about DVDs of low-budget films made in the 1970's that I've never heard of. Does this film deserve a bigger release? Could this DVD have benefited from more special features? Is it a hidden gem over which the big studios just passed? Above all, though, is the movie worth watching? Sadly, in regards to "The Doll Squad", the answer to all these questions is "No".The DVD copy of "The Doll Squad" is one I found while browsing through a discount outlet, and it only cost me $0.50 to purchase. It was labeled as a "Cinema Cult Favorite", which is a label that can be unfair to quality cult classics. To me, the term "cult favorite" describes a film that, while underrated at the time of its release, has since developed a following of devoted fans that watch the film again and again, and take real meaning out of it. Unfortunately, to some DVD distributors, the term means a film that just hasn't been seen very many times.There are some qualities of this film that, at first glance, make it a potential cult favorite. After all, the film has heroines, not heroes, who kick ass and take names. However, women as action stars means nothing if you don't make the characters interesting, and you don't care about the mission they are pursuing.Such is the case of this movie, which has a plot that is very run-of-the-mill, half-baked characters, horrible actors playing them, and cheap special effects that look cheaper because the foundation of a story makes the house crumble and fall.Watching this film in 2010, the film will lose you in the opening sequence when Senator Stockwell is watching a space shuttle launch. The space shuttle launches successfully off the ground, but once it reaches the stratosphere, it explodes. When this actually happened to the Challenger in 1986, there was a public outcry. In this movie, Senator Stockwell says in a monotonous voice, "Oh no. All those men."Sadly, the explosion comes as no surprise because of a threatening recorded message to the Senator from Eamon O'Reilly (Michael Ansara, who is perhaps the most interesting character in this film), an American terrorist whose quest for world domination also includes injecting the rest of the world with a bubonic plague. Only one team of agents can stop them, primarily because the leader of the group, red-headed Sabrina Kincaid (Francine York), had a prior relationship with O'Reilly.Sabrina works to bring the team together as they work during their day jobs. One woman works as a stripper, another one is a champion swimmer, another works in an amusement park, and there are two more who have different jobs I can't recall. Even though they have different hair colors and occupations, once they put on uniforms and tote guns, they may be a force with which to be reckoned, but their personalities are pretty much all the same. As a result, there's no one about whom you really care.There is a lot of shooting and a lot of explosions. In fact, it's strange how the fire resulting from the explosions looks perfectly round and doesn't completely cover the person or thing that is exploding. It's almost as if the editor just put a match to a frame and printed it that way. There's also a scene early in the movie where a blond woman gets shot through the head, and when she turns afterwords towards the camera, the wound looks more like a bug bite.The writer and director Ted Mikels had something here with women who have power and do justice. The problem is that Mikels focused more on the shooting and killing these women did than the reason why they did it. Action is exciting, but action without a story is like horse legs without the horse.I hate ripping on Mikels for this film because he has made a number of low-budget films up to 2009, and there's something to say about someone being that committed. He's like Russ Meyer with a little less street credibility. If Mikels had collaborated with someone else on this script (perhaps a woman), he would have had something here, and the cheapness of the physical effects would be forgiven. A female writer probably could have told him, for starters, that if you want to make a movie about strong protagonists with two X chromosomes, don't have the men in this movie call them the DOLL squad. It could be why Gloria Steinam stayed away from this film.

Director Mikels claims this was the inspiration for "Charlie's Angels." Maybe so or maybe not, but this film turns out to be a fairly standard 3 girl/4 girl formula exploitation acioner. Some funny scenes, like the exploding enemy agents. Satana is wasted in a supporting role. This one probably satisfied the drive in crowd in 1973, but it doesn't have too much to recommend it now, even to fans (like me) of this stuff, because it's a bit too clunky.

Ted V Mikels is a kitsch director whose best work rises above practical efforts at criticism. He produced the films most highly regarded amongst a coterie of fans over just few years: ‘The Astro Zombies' (1969), ‘The Corpse Grinders' (1972), and ‘Blood Orgy of The She Devils' (1972), each have their following and have endured on video. As the last of Mikel's trash favourites to appear, 'The Doll Squad' contains the least horror and fantasy and, in comparison to it's predecessors, adheres more closely to a logical dramatic structure. Since then, although he had remained active - most recently with ‘Dimension of Fear' (1998) - Mikels has produced nothing else regarded by fans with such long-lived affection. Firmly in the realms of so-bad-it's-good, the years have added an enjoyable sheen to ‘The Doll Squad', particularly now that it can be taken with the gloss of post-modern irony.This is the film whose central premise - Mikels allegedly claimed - was ripped off by producer Aron Spelling to become the television series ‘Charlie's Angels'. No doubt the reissue of ‘Doll Squad' has also been at least in part inspired by the commercial success and marketing of the big screen version of that programme. Comparison of Mikels' film with Spelling's work does reveal similarities. But nothing in the TV ‘Charlie's Angels', or the recent Hollywood outing compares to Mikel's wide-eyed glance at the genre, the cheesy pulchritude on display and his disregard for dramatic standards.The Doll Squad is selected for assignment by computer, after it picks up 'something in O'Riley's personality which means experienced women should do the job' of stopping him. 'Experience' in this context naturally implies more than just familiarity with tough assignments. The squad of Sabrina, Liz, Sharon, Lavelle and Kim hail from different backgrounds, including a librarian, a scientist, karate instructor and, most noticeably, erotic dancer (played by Tura Satana, the Apache-Japanese better known for her role in Russ Meyer's far more provocative 'Faster Pussy Cat, Kill Kill!' (1965)).It might be argued that, as a group of strong assertive women, the Doll Squad is a model of feminine self-reliance. After all, they are empowered to find and stop the villainous O'Riley by a senator, and are allowed complete independence and licence for the duration of their mission. But their assertiveness is essentially apolitical and, except for their expected impact on the criminal community, always non-threatening and contained within fantasy. The choice of squad personnel, obviously intended as a cross section of female society, merely emphasises a common voluptuousness. In tandem with the women's physical stamina, Mikel creates through this all-too familiar trash archetypesLeaving aside its relationship to 'Charlie's Angels', the most striking element of Mikels' film is its flat playfulness. Like most favourite cult trash directors, he is cheerfully oblivious to the handicaps of abilities and material. For the viewer, of course this is part of the fun. It would be pointless here to refer in detail to the fluffed lines, one-dimensional plot and rudimentary cutting and pacing. Instead, a viewer best engages with the film on a naïve level, such (presumably) as the director/producer/co writer did, or by assuming a knowing camp sophistication. There's more than a degree of that to be found in the flame-thrower cigarette lighter, for instance, the lame kung fu, or the exploding poison. These days ‘The Doll Squad' is more likely to leave the knowing viewer with a wink than a grimace, as it plays its simple variation on the espionage thriller. As a z-grade auteur, Mikels, resolutely goes his own way in the film, immune to the strictures of any ‘responsible' judgement, incidentally striking a chord with the modern viewer which he could hardly had anticipated at the time. However one approaches the film, it still has the distinct straight-faced charm which has kept it a favourite down the years. Helped by a surprisingly strong musical score, and photographed competantly, ‘The Doll Squad', beehive hair cuts and cheesy décor intact, has dated pleasantly and remains a guilty pleasure.