Pamela Springsteen
was someone who totally stood out
when I saw the 'Sleepaway
Camp' sequels and I was
thinking to myself before
discovering who she was or even
who Felissa Rose (The original
Angela) was I was just thinking
to myself nope thats not the
original killer from the first
film and found she did a much
better job too.
Now it gets to the nitty gritty
as I wondered if she was Bruce
Springsteen's daughter but I was
browsing in a bookstore and saw a
Blockbuster Movie Guide which was
a 1994 edition and read a review
on SC 2 and it said cast features
rocker Bruce Springsteen's sister
Pam and it blew my mind she was
related to a big time star and
she was doing an obscure low
budgeter like this one and
wondered if she did other gigs
and started renting movies she
was in but they weren't lead
roles like the 'Sleepaway'
sequels were and non
horror films (Mainly teen
comedies and a few drama's) but I
found she's be good acting in
them and does the job well.
Pam is certainly not a scream
queen in any way but horror fans
of low budgeters will always
remember her performance as
Angela doing away the nasty teens
in a Freddy Krueger comedic type
of way in the sequels by Double
Helix Films and admittedly said
she hates horror films but by
this time the film market wasn't
doing too well for her and it was
a chance to play a lead role in a
film so it was a challenge for
her for sure.
Lets get to her history:
Pam Springsteen was born on 8
February 1962 in Freehold, New
Jersey as part of a big family.
Her brother, Bruce Springsteen,
became a nationwide rock star in
the early 70s and Pam sometimes
went on tour with him.
During the early 80s, she decided
to take up acting like her
brother's second ex-wife,
Julianne Phillips, did during the
mid-80s and she had a small role
in her first film playing a young
cheerleader named "Dina
Phillips" in the cult teen
comedy classic 'Fast
Times at Ridgemont High',
and got some brief exposure, as
it launched many other future
celebrities in the film like
Forest Whitaker, Nicolas Cage and
James Russo.
She then won a supporting role
halfway through a film by playing
the role of another cheerleader
named "Karen Sybern" in
the teen drama 'Reckless',
which also starred Aidan Quinn
and Daryl Hannah.
Then she had a couple of small roles in
teen films like 'Modern
Girls' and 'Scenes
from the Goldmine' as
well as her TV guest roles in
"Hardcastle and
McCormick", "Cagney
& Lacey" and
"Family Ties"; She then was getting bigger roles in low budget films by having the main supporting role as Judy in the 1988 flick 'Dixie Lanes'. Although it had some known celebrities it was not well publicised.
Then shortly afterwards
accepted the lead role in two
slasher flick sequels known as 'Sleepaway
Camp 2: Unhappy Campers'
and 'Sleepaway Camp 3:
Teenage Wasteland' playing a psychotic killer named
"Angela Baker" in which viewers remember her the most for being in as well as having a cult following.
She had a couple other supporting
film roles afterwards in more
obscure b-flicks, such as
'Fast
Food' and 'The
Gumshoe Kid' as she was
on her way towards
working steadily in low budget
films, but she decided that this
was not for her and walked away
from acting for good to pursue
a different career in still photography at first working for her brother
and then she has been very
successful at for artists like
Courtney Thorne-Smith, Olivia
Newton-John, Larry David,
Jonathan Silverman, Bill Maher
and for album covers for many
groups (Lots of country
musicians) apart from her brother
like Brooks & Dunn, Roseanne
Cash, Tears for Fears, Terri
Clark and Ice Cube.
She even was a photo consultant
for the horror made for TV movie 'The
Devil's Child'
Pam is represented by Carolyn
Weiss of Weiss Artists, Inc. and
you can check out her site at www.pamelaspringsteen.com
Fast
Times at Ridgemont High. 1982 When I found out Pam had
roles in other movies I rented
this one and said to myself
"I can't find her in this
one" BUT I saw a scene in a
gymnasium with two young
cheerleader girls standing there
encouraging everyone on the
bleachers that their football
team is going to destroy Lincoln
High but no one is taking them
seriously and thought to myself
is one of them Pam? There was a
blonde and dark haired one. I do
remember her on the closing
credits rolling up after it shows
the one's who had the big roles
in the film like Sean Penn,
Jennifer Jason Leigh etc and saw
she played a part named Dina
Phillips.
I found it selling in a music and
video store a half year later and
bought it. This time I paid more
attention and spotted Pam in the
opening in a mall when Judge
Reinhold walks past her and she
talks to her blonde friend after
he does so which is played by
cult actress Keli Maroney as she
too was just starting out and
acted in a couple of horror
films. Then we have a long
scene with just actors like
Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason
Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Amanda
Wyss, Brian Backer, Robert
Romanus, Ray Walston and of
course Sean Penn stealing the
plotlines and no Pam. However,
after Penn's character Spicoli is
waken up from a wonderful dream
about surfing by his younger
brother to get to school we spot
that gymnasium scene so I was
right it was Pam who just had one
line while Maroney's character as
Cindy was doing most of the
talking but Pam is about to talk
again and do a cheerleading route
when the camera and audio is
mostly pointed at Reinhold and
Wyss having a discussion when
Wyss tells him that they should
see other people and remain
friends so Pam is just heard
silently in the background with
Maroney.
Next up, Pam is seen walking in a
hallway with her back turned
wearing a lincoln kills type of
sweat shirt wrapped around her
waist while walking in the
hallway with Donna Summer's song
Highway Runner playing as well as
her and Maroney putting up a
paper sign about the football
game with a student opening a
door and ripping it.
Then we see her performing in the
football field alongside with
Maroney while a debut supporting
role by Forest Whittaker runs
over the teens at Lincoln High
thinking that they totalled his
car in which he tells people
never to touch at his school.
Much later on Romanus' character
Damone tries to scalp her tickets
to a Cheap Trick concert outside
on some bleachers near a track
field with the side of her head
nearly turned hardly seeing her
face when she refuses thinking
it's kids stuff and then Leigh's
character Stacy Hamilton tells
him that she's pregnant after
their intercourse together a
couple days before in a change
room when they were about to go
swimming in her pool.
Pam is seen dancing with the rest
of the cast and extras when a
band is playing at the graduation
dance but that's about it folks.
It was a small role and her first
film but received exposure for it
since this was a blockbusting
mainstream film and was credited
in a couple of movie guides too
probably cause she was the
younger sis of the boss. It also
started the career of many other
people that are todays stars like
mentioned above. Pam was also
briefly engaged to Sean Penn
while doing this film but it's
nothing she wants to talk about
apparently.
There's a terrific soundtrack
score by many 80's pop bands and
very much flows with the movie.
This one is my favourite with her
in it and one of my favourite
films to top it all off and a
movie of the 80's to watch in the
summertime remembering the years
of oldschool arcade games in the
mall etc. Later on a brief TV
series followed and a couple cast
members like Ray Walston returned
to play their parts but Pam
wasn't one of them.
Reckless.
1984 Another
mainstream film and Pam had a
bigger role in this one playing
another cheerleader named Karen
Sybern playing a friend to the
lead actress Daryl Hannah as the
role of another cheerleader named
Tracey Prescott and Pam's scene's
were mainly hanging out with her
and some of the other supporting
cast which includes Adam Baldwin
who played Hannah's boyfriend
Randy Daniels.
There will be a scene that I will
remember fondly with Pam when she
almost trips out in a car with
them and Baldwin's character is
driving too fast and Pam gets
scared by this.
Also she has a few lines at a
diner with all of them along with
going to school and doing some
cheerleading sessions.
However, Pam isn't in all the
scene's of the film which mostly
focuses on Darryl Hannah and lead
actor Aidan Quinn who plays an
outsider in the film riding his
motorbike as she has an affair
with him doing many lustful
scene's together along with
plenty of nudity too since he
fell in love with her but was
totally opposite from her since
she came from a comfortable well
off family, his is poor and
broken but Randy has been a jerk
towards poor little rich girl
Tracey and is lost in her head.
The film was kind of a 'Rebel
Without a Cause' for the
80's along with the exploitation
and audult situations in it.
Pam comes along afterwards
sitting in a gymnasium with
Hannah and the other cast playing
her friends watching a ceremony
but doesn't have any lines in it
and is with the whole cast
towards the end of the film in a
hallway when Quinn's character
drives his bike in the hallway
trying to convince Hannah to come
with him.
The film was a romantic drama and
like 'Fast Times' had a good rockin soundtrack by
artists like INXS, Peggy Lee and
a memorable track by Bob Seger
during the ending credits titled
"Roll mE Away" as the
only opening credits in the film
was the title of the movie and
then it showed who played the
main roles, along with this after
it showed Hannah, Quinn and
Baldwin's credits it did show
five names in a row and I believe
Pam's name was the fourth one
down saying featuring or
somewhere along those lines. Then
the rolling credits came up
saying who these actors played
with the rest of the credits too
so Pam did get a good credit for
this film and got to work with
other name actors in the film too
including Cliff DeYoung as one of
the school teachers named Phil
Barton. The film went to
theatre's nationwide.
My Mother's Secret Life.
1984 This was a made for TV Movie which centers around a 16 year old girl Tobi (Played by Amanda Wyss) spending time with her father at a family picnic outing who dies and then she goes on a search for her mother Ellen Blake (Played by Loni Anderson) whom she hasn't seen since she was 3 as she travels to San Francisco and wanting to be like her only to find out that she's a prostitute as there's alot of emotional moments happening when her mother tells her about the choices she had to do as to either be in debt or die.
Ellen goes through struggling wondering as to how to become a parent along with Tobi becoming a runaway herself confused about what to do with her life.
Also in the TV movie Ellen tells her on a secret of her father which is a shock to find out whom her biological Dad really was as this messes up her life.
Pam was hard to be noticed in this one but she has a bit part in it in a scene where she plays her friend and have a party and spills a drink asking to get a cloth to clean it up. This wasn't an effective role at all and was surprised she took this one but again she was starting out in the industry and had to take what she could get.
The story was good and solid on a relationship as well as the struggles on the two of them connecting together and trying to show the responsibilities on trying to change a lifestyle and learning to be a good parent which isn't easy to do which was well focused while watching this story unravel.
My Science Project.
1985 Ok I've seen this movie a few times and couldn't spot Pam in it at all but I think after the third watch I found where she was in the movie but I will describe this flick as a total 80's craze type in which it's a comedy/sci fi that offered good special effects for it's time and good performances too.
It's about a couple of students going into a junkyard looking for something to create their science project
and discover a strange glowing orb which absorbs electricity.
They find out that it's some sort of a time machine that brings the past, present and future to life in which there's some nice adventures when these kids try to find a way to stop this from happening in which this electricity lands in their highschool and spots cavemen, vietnam soldiers and even a hulking dinosaur which was the most memorable situation used in the story.
Pam's role was credited as Hall Monitor/Ellie's Friend as the character Ellie is portrayed by a lead actress
Danielle von Zerneck in which she portrays a nerdy type of girl and while the closing credits start to roll there's scene's happening at the school which is new footage along with stills from what happened in the story and I believe I spotted Pam sitting in a cafeteria and was unimpressed with her other friends when one of the kids asking what's for lunch.
It was close to being a featured extra so her role was a hit and miss. A shame she didn't have a bigger role.
This was a campy fun flick to watch during it's time with top actors like Dennis Hopper and John Stockwell playing the main roles.
Modern
Girls. 1986 Pam's
role was a bit bigger this time
in this somewhat dark comedy and
played a different type of a
character than she usually does
in shows but let me tell you the
story first.
Three young women who are
roomates named Cece (Played by
Cynthia Gibb), Kelly (Played by
Virginia Madsen) and Margo
(Played by Daphne Zuniga) go on
an adventure of their lives on a
Friday night when Kelly's geeky
boyfriend Clifford (Played by
Clayton Rohner) is stood up
planning to take Kelly out that
night. Instead, Kelly goes to see
her ex-boyfriend at a rough part
of Los Angeles who is DJ'ing that
night at a nightclub and uses
Margo's car to get there as well
as getting into all sorts of
mischief.
Both Margo and Cece both convince
Clifford to take them to the
nightclub and find Kelly and then
on an all-night tour of the L.A.
night scene in search of CeCe's
new love, rock star Bruno X but
they all end up in trouble or
dangerous situations.
Pam comes in during the nightclub
scene as a rebellious drug using
groupie of the DJ named Tanya but
however I don't recall her name
being spoken. She is hanging out
smoking a cigarette and helping
put the records on to play the
music and then they go to a place
to hang out where there's a ball
pool and to get stoned which
involves Madsen as she trips out
getting stoned and messing around
on one of the pool tables which
was quite funny and Springsteen
acts spaced out while she gets
intoxicated. This is her whole
scene's in the film as she's in
it for about less than 7
minutes.
Many critics have bombed this one
and said it was barely released
but I liked it since it was a
totally 80's type of a comedy and
looks like a theatrical type of a
flick but probably didn't play
for very long along with a big
80's soundtrack.
Scenes
from the Goldmine. 1987 I thought this would be
a promising role for Pam since
it's the lifestyles of the music
industry and her name is on the
opening credits. However, she is
only in it for a couple minutes
and probably her name was on the
opening credits cause everyone
knows who her brother is. Yet her
part is the reason on what's
going to happen to the lead
actress played by Catherine Mary
Stewart whom is the newcomer of
the band named Debi DeAngelo and
what happens to her in the end
causing tension with her so it's
kind of like a key role to the
movie. Pam plays a erole of an
obnoxious ex-bandmember named
Stephanie as well as the
ex-girlfriend to the lead band
member Niles Dresden (Played by
Cameron Dye). Her appearance
starts after the movie has
started and Debi is starting her
first rehearsal with the band and
Pam's role as Stephanie was going
to intrude but is stopped by the
band manager and brother of Niles
named Harry Spiros (Played by
Steve Railsback) in which she
goes into a fuse with him and
mocking Niles' new player saying
it's a Donny & Marie act and
at the end cusses Harry out and
then storms away.
Their dialogue together is almost
drowned out by the music playing
during the rehearsal and Pam is
tough to see as her appearance is
in a dark area.
I was disappointed she didn't
appear in other scene's but oh
well.
The story is about a struggle of
a band and the drugs along with
ego's that go along with it
toughing their way playing in
gigs as well as doing a music
video.
Debi gets into a rage with Niles
after she starts to have a
relationship with him due to his
greed with having more credits on
the songs they wrote together
etc. It's almost a real look at
the industry and how screwed up
it can be.
There's many great songtracks
performed by both Stewart and Dye
and a terrific solo song by
Stewart before the end of the
movie as the songs are about the
only thing worth watching as the
storyline is stale at times.
We also have appearances by other
known musicians like Timothy B.
Schmidt, John Ford Coley and Lee
Ving. Apparently the film got a
small theatrical release but
again it's not for sure certain
but the quality of this film is
theatrical material.
Dixie
Lanes. 1988 Pam
was moving on up to bigger roles
but the film's she started
getting roles in were made on a
low budget and more obscure and
this was one of them. She had the
lead supporting role (In other
words a co-star) as a local in a
small American town taking place
in 1945 after World War II and
the soldiers are coming home
including someone named Clerance
Laidlaw (Played by Christopher
Rydell) whom is was involved with
the blackmarket and now an
ex-moonshiner who served overseas
in lieu of serving time in
prison.
He found out that his family has
been split apart and the locals
have alienated the small town
causing him bitterness as well as
causing him chaos and confusion
in which there's war in his
family home caused by his Aunt
Zelma Putnam (Played by film
veteran Karen Black) as she gives
him a gun for his birthday and is
disapproved by his father
Clarence (Played by the legendary
Hoyt Axton) and Clarence must
attempt to reunite his family and
punish the conspirator who
brought him before the law.
Pamela Springsteen breezes
through just about every scene as
she plays the role of Judy and
has eyes for Clarence. Her first
scene was shortly after the
beginning of the movie being
employed at a bakery store owned
by her father who disapproves of
the Laidlaw family and starts to
eye Clarence when he enters the
store to buy something.
There's some other scene's with
her at the bowling lounge trying
to ask if Clarence will show up
as well as giving Axton's
character a hug then they all go
bowling.
Also she tries to find some way
on impressing Clarence to show
she's not the little girl he knew
by looking hot and sassy with her
hair made up and make up in which
you see doing a musical show
while working again at the bakery
after she gets aggressive with
him when he goes to her house and
being frusterated with him.
However she gets enraged for him
not paying attention to her and
throws a whole cake trying to aim
at him but accidentally hits her
father.
Then we spot a nice scene when he
comes to pick her up to go
fishing looking like a beautiful
lady next door type in a white
gown with her hair down and then
later on trying to get away from
a police car.
They have a terrific scene
together acting romantic with one
another and then for the first
time we spot Pam briefly bare
breasted while going into a
lagoon.
Then we have the great showdown
with Pam's character Judy and the
rest of the cast as the Laidlaw
family trying to chase after
Black's character for taking the
family money during a windstorm
and during this storm Judy is
knocked unconcious as Clarence
looks sad wondering if she's dead
but awakens and acts happy
towards him.
Their ending moment is at the
bowling lounge as Clarence puts
in a song for Judy and they
dance.
Yes folks, Pam is in it all they
way through so you will all be
pleased. The film is a dark
comedy and not all that great but
found this to be her best
performance as she brought on a
great charm to her role. It also
features other known cast members
like Art Hindle, Ruth Buzzi,
Moses Gunn, Nina Foch, Tina
Louise and a cameo by John Vernon
who appears towards the end of
the film arresting Karen Black's
character on a bus. The film had
good actors but it was easily
forgettable and apparently never
made it to theatre's but it did
go to the Cannes Film Festival in
France and was rented at video
stores but not well remembered at
video rentals. Pam's name was on
the opening credits with
Christopher Rydell's together
saying introducing although they
have done some shows before this
it seemed necessary since the
other cast members were better
known but both of them blended in
well with the rest. Also, Pam's
name was credited on the video
box too since she had a very
important part to this film.
Sleepaway
Camp 2: Unhappy Campers. 1988 Ahhh yes!!! Pam's first
lead role in a film which is
extremely different than anything
she ever portrayed. A
bloodthirsty killing transsexual
camp counsellor named Angela
Baker as Felissa Rose had to pass
reprising this role from the
first film due to her enrolling
in university. When I first saw
this film before discovering
these two actresses I immediately
knew it wasn't the same actress
at all but however, Angela was an
adult in this film and in the
first one a child who barely said
a word to anyone. Well Angela
loses her shyness totally in this
one along with having a sex
change since everyone in the end
of the first one discovered that
Angela was a boy along with tons
of therapy during those years and
just got out of the nutthouse and
changing her last name to Johnson
at a nearby camp titled Camp
Rolling Hills since the nearby
camp known as Camp Arawak never
reopened since those terrible
murders.
The kids were aware of the
murders that took place but had
no idea that their camp
counsellor was responsible for
all of it and if anyone
misbehaves Angela does them in
and tells the rest that they've
been sent home but suddenly the
camp is having less and less
people.
I loved Pam's part in this film
as she outdoes Felissa by a
longshot and loved how she did
her first killing in this sequel
by whacking a camper in the head
with a large piece of wood in the
dark forest for not obeying her.
She brought her comedic speech
very well before doing in someone
in a Freddy Krueger like fashion
since the writer Fritz Gordon
tried to make Angela that kind of
a killer since dark comedy was
very common for horror films
during this time period.
We spot great blocking by Pam
when Georgia local Kendall Bean
played a camper named Demi
talking to her while fixing her
hair in the bathroom of the cabin
saying she called the kids
parents that were reportedly sent
home and told her they were still
at the camp when Pam's character
was trying to find any device to
put her away as well.
She also really came across as
crazy when she holds two campers
as hostage all tied up in a
boarded up cabin where she stored
all the dead bodies when one of
them discovers who she is which
is played by Georgia local Tony
Higgins as Sean Whitmore (The son
of a cop who arrested Angela at
Camp Awarak after the shocking
ending of Angela's true identity)
telling him what she went through
after that time and saying she's
completely cured. Then is about
to behead him with a machette and
looked brutal while she was going
to do just that.
Yes, this film was shot in
Georgia where work for locals is
scarce and made on a small budget
so they couldn't afford many
Hollywood actors apart from
Springsteen but brought on Renee
Estevez as the shy but outgoing
camper Molly, Brian Patrick
Clarke as the boys counsellor
T.C., the late Walter Gotell as
the camp owner Uncle John and
soap actress Susan Marie Snyder
as the camp clown Mare.
The film had a terrific heavy
metal balls to the wall feel to
it with an opening by Candian
band Anvil - "Straight
Between the Eyes" along with
some other bands that weren't as
big as most bands but still were
good. A great ending song by
Obsession with "Desperate to
Survive" while the credits
were rolling.
The film went direct-to-video and poked fun at many
horror films and since
'Fast Times' was her
first film they used actors first
names for the characters as kind
of a joke to that like Sean and
Phoebe. Also the fact Renee was
in it too there were two little
kids at the camp with their
character names Charlie and
Emilio. To top it all off Pam
sings the Happy Camper Song in
the canteen with a guitar since
she is the sis of the boss. All
in all Pam really knew how to act
violent as she'd make a perfect
Mansonite with her role.
Fast
Food. 1989 The
makers of the 'Sleepaway
Camp' sequels made this
PG-13 teenage sex comedy and
brought a handful of some of the
actors to participate in it
including Pam herself but she
just had a 10 minute supporting
role in it as a businessowman
named Mary Beth Benson.
The story is about two party
animals named Auggie (Played by
Clark Brandon) and Drew (Played
by Randal Patrick) whom were
allowed to graduate from college
so the headmasters can get rid of
them and want to make a big
success in life but always fails.
However, their friend Samantha
(Played by Tracy Griffith) runs
an old gas station who has been
dating Drew on and off due to
disputes and a greedy businessman
named Wrangler Bob (Played by Jim
Varney) wants to buy out her gas
station to own a burger joint
which gives them a great idea and
beats him to it but they are
losing in the competition until
Drew steals a fluid from a
science lab that is actually a
sex drug and uses it in their
secret sauce for their burgers as
more people come to their joint
than ever and Wrangler Bob wants
to find out what's in their sauce
that makes people want to come
which can get them into trouble
as he sends one of his people
named Dixie Love (Played by Traci
Lords) to go and find out what's
behind the mess using her lustful
attitude.
Pam's first scene in the film is
going to the burger joint and has
a dialogue between Randal Patrick
inviting them to a special party
and bringing their burgers there
since their place has been
popular with customers.
Then Pam is at the party and
tries a burger there and then
gets sexually aroused and comes
onto the stage at a party where a
band is playing acting wild when
someone announces her name and
what she does for a profession
including teacher kindergarten.
She then gets it on with one of
the main supporting actors named
Lanny Horn as the scientist that
invented the drug named Calvin as
she drags him into a freezer and
makes out with him.
Even if her supporting role was
brief she stood out well with
what she had to do as one of the
drawing characters who
experienced those secret burgers
and her name was in the opening
credits with two other people on
the opening bill since her role
wasn't one of the leads.
This was a fun movie to watch and
it seems the makers put more
money into it too since they
hired a couple bigger names from
outside their country too and it
was rumored this one got a
limited theatrical release.
Sleepaway
Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland. 1989 Pam reprises her role
and wears a wig in the film. The
reason why??? Well she kills a
teenager from a rough part of New
York with a garbage truck with
the same hairstyle to disguise
herself as that person so she can
return to camp after her last
years slayings. The camp is now
reowned by a married couple named
Lily (Played by Georgia local
Sandra Dorsey) and Herman (Played
by Michael J. Pollard) under a
new name now titled Camp New
Horizons which they try to breing
the rich and the poor from other
parts of the countries in the
U.S. for a moment of sharing and
are divided into three pairs as
they camp out in the woods and
their third counsellor is Barney
Whitmare (Played by Georgia
local/stuntman Cliff Brand) who
was the one that arrested Angela
from Camp Arawak.
Angela finds the teens and some
of the counsellors immoral and
kills them off one by one and
tells the next counsellor the
other one told her to switch with
another camper.
Pam still has her motive and does
well with her killings even if
she wasn't as brutal like she was
in the previous one but that's
due to the writing. She does well
with a lawnmower scene over a
counsellors head as well as using
a gun to shoot a counsellor.
My favourite performance of her
is when she ties three campers up
and tells her one of the campers
named Marcia Holland (Played by
Tracy Griffith) is in one of the
cabins and has 2 minutes to find
her else she will kill them.
There's another great performance
with her and Griffith during a
cat fight scene too.
Pam gives the ending a perfect
touch when she's injured in an
ambulance by stabbing a paramedic
and an officer before the rolling
credits.
Pam's acting career was almost
coming to an end during this film
but chugged a couple more films
which were comedies as I will
introduce to you.
We have more heavy metal music
along with a great ending song by
an artist that never made it big
named John Altyn with
"Sleepaway" and found
that to be the best song out of
all of them.
Now Fritz Gordon whites the
characters first names like the
Brady Bunch kids which I found to
be quite corny and unoriginal.
However, I enjoyed this movie for
what it was and it reminded me of
a 'Friday the 13th'
sequel too.
The
Gumshoe Kid. 1990 A cheesy and trashy comedy spoof on
those detective flicks with Jay
Underwood playing a teenage kid
wanting to take over the ruined
detective agency of his father
and his uncle. There are two
major difficulties to manage: His
uncle and his new job.
It's a spoof on those detective
types of movies like the Hardy
Boys or Sherlock Holmes which
tries so hard to be funny but it
misses by a longshot. I believe this one
went direct-to-video.
Pamela Springsteen had a good supporting role in this film as
she breezes through a number of scene's
with this one playing a hot
secretary named Mona Krause as
her first scene is when she
enters a detective's office
through the first bit of this
film announcing "Mail
Call!" while listening to
her walkman and giving her boss
some mail.
Other scene's she is very ditzy working on a typewriter not bothering to answer the phone when it was ringing as I had to admit she was mildly funny by behaving this way but nothing to brag about either.
Her next scene Jay Underwood's
character as Jeff Sherman
delivers lunch for her and an
assistant as Pam's character as
Mona kisses him. Her character
pretty much has the hots for him and appears in and out of the detectve's office.
Underwood has many scene's with TV and
b-film actress Tracy Scoggins as
Rita Benson trying to find
missing clues in which most of the story focuses on them when they're on a chase from police officers and so fourth plus they have a brief romance with one another too. None of this was inspirational whatsoever.
Pam pops in an out of certain scene's one of them when she runs into him and he asks her if she can lend them her car to help get away from the police and track down some criminals.
Both Underwood and Springsteen
appear in the end of the film
having a romance with one another
as Springsteen dresses up for him
to act charming and trying to woo
him.
This was her worst film to date and then threw in the towel from acting to pursue a full time photographer as my guess she was offered more roles in bad films that didn't pay much. |