HOT-BLOODED WOMEN

by Jimmy McDonough

Dale Berry. A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, tucked beneath a shiny monogrammed belt of a Nudie western suit.

A Texan, Berry made some of the most oddball low budget (and low-down) exploitation films ever to grace a grindhouse screen.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered youtube footage of a jowly, homespun raconteur in a cowboy hat and bolo tie named Dale Berry waxing poetic on one of his heroes: Roy Rogers. THAT’S Dale Berry? This wry old cowpoke was the guy responsible for the depravity of Hot-Blooded Woman? Hot Thrills and Warm Chills? Hip, Hot and 21?

I had to know more.

Unfortunately, Berry died in 2011. It appears no one ever bothered to talk to Dale (let alone interview him) on the subject of his early films. Those who worked with Berry seem to be long gone, too. So don’t expect to learn how or why they were made. I did a lot of digging and got nowhere.

The women that starred in his pictures are still kicking, however. As is his daughter Susan.

Not that his actresses remembered even Dale’s name. Or that he told his daughter anything significant about making these movies.  All that may forever remain a mystery.

There’s plenty left to tell, however. If there’s a reason to watch these films, it’s because of the women. Berry picked fierce, incandescent females to star in his pictures (and his daughter’s no slouch in that department, either).

This is a picture of Dale Berry through their lives, which are just as unbelievable as his films.

-Jimmy M

Jimmy McDonough is a biographer and journalist. He has written acclaimed biographies of Neil Young, Tammy Wynette, Russ Meyer, Al Green and Andy Milligan. Time magazine declared his Milligan biography The Ghastly One “a masterpiece” and John Waters has repeatedly named it one of his all-time favorites. McDonough has also authored definitive profiles on Jimmy Scott, Gary Stewart, Hubert Selby, Jr. and Link Wray. His most recent work is The Exotic Ones: That Fabulous Film-Making Family from Music City, USA -The Ormonds.