Classic Rant #440 (February 8, 2011): Tura, Tura, Tura!

Tura Satana died the other day. She was between 72 and 75 years of age.

You say, "Who the heck is Tura Satana?"

I reply, "Russ Meyer," and that is all that really needs to be said.

Tura Satana was one of the early Russ Meyer girls, which meant she was tall, buxom, beautiful, mysterious, and dominant.

In the Russ Meyer classic, "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!," Satana played Varla, the leader of a trio of equally buxom car-driving vixens.

Varla kills a young man with her bare hands. That is pretty much all you need to know about her character. And she does it with the usual maximum Meyer cleavage shots.

Although the low-budget film played in skanky grindhouses and adult theaters, it eventually made a bundle of money.

It was also extremely influential. Quentin Tarantino and John Waters have both been influenced by the film, and Waters called it something to the effect of "the greatest film ever made, and the greatest film ever to be made."

And Satana literally stood out in this film, much like the Statue of Liberty stands out in New York Harbor.

Only a bit more sexy, with lots of cleavage.

(See the video below. I think you will agree with that summation.)

Satana had roles in more mainstream fare, such as TV shows "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "Burke's Law," but nobody remembers those, except the obituary writers and photo archivists who pretty much used a shot of her in a scene from "U.N.C.L.E." in most obituaries I saw.

Well, I doubt they had any shots of her from her Russ Meyer film, although let's be honest about it, that is why she got her obituary, isn't it?

I used a shot of her in all her glory with this rant. She deserves to be shown at the top of her game, and we deserve to see such a shot.

Long live Tura, even in death.