The Suckers

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The Suckers is a 1972 American sexploitation film directed by Stu Segall, who used the name Arthur Byrd, and written by Ted Paramore (credited as Edward Everett). It is a loose adaptation of Richard Connell’s 1924 story The Most Dangerous Game, and follows a big-game hunter who invites employees from a modeling agency to his estate to hunt them.

The movie stars Richard Smedley, Lori Rose, Vincent Stevens, Sandy Dempsey, Barbara Mills, and Norman Fields. It was shot in the Bronson Canyon area of California over three days, on a very small budget of about $30,000, with a crew of fewer than ten people. The director later described the production as very cheap, with the cast and crew earning only modest pay.

The Suckers was released in 1972. Today, only one surviving print remains from a 1976 re-release, and that print apparently contains at least two missing scenes. This print was used for a Vinegar Syndrome DVD release in 2013, issued as a double feature with The Love Garden.

During production, actor Norman Fields reportedly swallowed a bee but recovered after a hospital visit and returned to filming hours later.

In recent years, critics have revisited the film. A 2013 overview noted the limited surviving print, while a 2023 review criticized the film’s uneven structure, pointing out that hunting scenes are brief, sex scenes are longer, and dialogue is weak. The reviewer also noted that the film’s later release under the title The Woman Hunt may have been intended to attract a different audience.