Gas Pump Girls
| Gas Pump Girls | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joel Bender |
| Written by | Joel Bender |
| Starring | Kirsten Baker Linda Lawrence Sandy Johnson Rikki Marin |
Release date | 1979 |
Running time | 86 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
Gas Pump Girls is a 1979 American comedy action film. Directed by Joel Bender, it stars Kirsten Baker as June. Following their high school graduation, she and her friends take over the operation of June's uncle's gasoline station, which faces stiff competition from the new, bigger, more modern station that has recently opened across the street.
Plot summary
At the close of their high school graduation, June and her friends, Betty (Linda Lawrence), April (Sandy Johnson), January (Rikki Marin), Jane (Leslie King), and Michael (Paul Tinder) fidget and yawn, bored, as their principal delivers the conclusion of his commencement address. When the girls stand, their robes rib from their bodies, leaving them naked, the result of a practical joke that the boys have played upon them. The girls retire to the locker room, Jane reluctantly. A shy, modest girl, she is nevertheless pleased to find herself the center of attention, especially from the ogling boys. However, January and the other girls tell her that she should use the boys' attraction to her to her own advantage, flirting with them so that they will do "anything" to get her to "give in" to their advances.
Following graduation, the friends drive around town in Michael's car. When he suggests that, low on gas, they might run out of fuel at the local lover's lane, June tells him to drive by her uncle's gasoline station. After filling the tank, Michael drops off the others, except for June, and the two of them kiss and caress outside June's house for a moment before he drops her off.
June's Uncle Joe (Huntz Hall) has a mild heart attack, possibly as a result of the stress he's under in competing with the ultra-modern, fully staffed gasoline station and garage that has recently opened across the street from his own station.
After Uncle Joe's doctor tells him he must sell the gasoline station that he's opearted for more than twenty years, June decides to take over its management, and persuades her friends to work for her. The girls, serving as the station's gas pump attendants, wear abbreviated uniforms--halter tops and short shorts--one labeled "Regular" and the other "Super Duper" (for high-octane fuel). Michael and his male friends work as mechanics in the station's body shop. June also install a public address system, over which she announces the station's services, using sexually suggestive phrases and double entendres. Business is soon booming, much to Mr. Friendly's chagrin.
The Vultures, a local motorcycle gang, vandalize June's station, but are soon recruited by her as she purs her feminine charms to work, and the toughs work as her tow truck driving team.
Mr. Friendly hires two mobsters to put June out of business--by killing her. However, as they threaten her, she flips the switch on the PA system, alerting the others of her dilemma. When the Vultures return from towing a vehicle, they hatch a plan: while the girls pace back and forth, topless, to distract the mobsters, the Vultures, waiting just outside the doorway to the station's office, will club the men over their heads with a board. First one, and then the other, mobster falls victim to the scheme, and are knocked unconscious.
Next, Mr. Friendly convinces the gasoline supplier not to deliver supplies to June's station. Without a product to sell, the station is out of business, until June finds a way to get more fuel to sell: they visit their competitor, asking to have the gas tank of Michael's car filled. As the vehicle is refueled, one of the boys, hidden beneath the car, syphons the gasoline into a storage tank, so that the car seems to hold much more fuel than it needs. By making two visits, using the same vehicle, the friends are able to obtain more regular and high-octane gasoline to sell at their own station. This scheme is successful, but only for the near term, and they are soon out of product again. They are all about to admit defeat until Mr. Friendly pays them an unfriendly visit to mock their attempt to compete against him, and June rallies them.
She intercepts the fuel deliveryman, who tells her to follow him if she wants to see where the president of the fuel company works, but warns her that he refuses to see anyone by oil sheiks.
June and her friends follow the deliveryman, but the security guard at the gate refuses to allow them to enter the company's property. June hits on a plan. The Vultures will don helmets, posing as a security force, and she and the other teens will dress as oil sheiks. This time, the guard permits them to enter, and they are ushered into the president's office. June removes her disguise, and, attracted to her in her brief uniform, the president listens to her story concerning how she and her friends have attempted to save her ailing uncle's family business, despite the unfair competition that Mr. Friendly has posed, which includes his having hired hit men to murder her.
Outraged at Mr. Friendly's conduct, the president discontinues his franchise, and June takes over the Pyramid gas station and garage. Her uncle recovers and returns to manage the business, and June and her friends enjoy their post-graduation freedom.