GIRL GANG (1954)

In this George Weiss exploitation fest, a two-bit hood named Joe (shlock-film perennial Timothy Farrell) gets teen-agers hooked on pot and heroin so they'll commit robberies and, in the case of the girls, become prostitutes for him. The characters refer to marijuana as “weeds” and “maryjanes.”

The acting is typically wooden, though the police detective near the end of the film is particularly odious. Also typical of this era, the teen-aged characters are played by actors who are visibly older.

Other, um, highlights of GIRL GANG:

- The gangstresses steal a man's car and bring it to Joe, who inspects the vehicle without opening the hood.

- Jarring reaction shots that feel like they're from a different movie.

- Joe offers a step-by-step guide to shooting up heroin. It's graphic enough that we see a close-up of the needle entering a girl's leg. (As Joe says, “The leg is best for a girl. No one will see the needle marks.”)

- The film employs harp music to symbolize getting high.

- When the characters are stoned, their behavior is not noticeably different from when they're sober.

- About halfway through, there is an interminable boogie-woogie piano-playing scene that comes off like a primitive music video. When the kids dance to it, you can hear their feet shuffling.

- By all means, show us every painstaking detail of the real estate agent taking money out of his safe!

- The real estate office conveniently has a bed in the back.

- The sex act is symbolized by a stock shot of clouds that I'm certain also turned up in some Christian TV shows.

- Joe's plan to have his minions rob a filling station sounds remarkably half-baked.

Finally, my favorite line of dialogue: “I'm a respectable doctor, even if I don't have a license.”