“Schlock” is a well-researched documentary on the origins of the American exploitation film. Writer/director Ray Greene, a former editor for Box Office Magazine, chronicles the advent of alternative cinema in the 50’s and 60’s with a keen eye on historical and cultural context. Informative interviews with Sam Arkoff, Roger Corman, Doris Wishman and David F. Friedman offer first-hand insight into the micro-budgeted, boundary pushing films that flooded the drive-in screens during this amazing period of independent film.

Greene obviously has a genuine fondness for the subject at hand and never attempts to mock the films or play up their camp value. He also has the utmost respect for the filmmakers and their artistic integrity. By providing context and allowing many of the key people to speak for themselves, he offers a compelling argument for their rightful place in film history. Exploitation films, Greene observes, gave filmgoers the opportunity to explore a darker, more complex world than Hollywood would allow at the time. They also spoke a very specific language that is often hard to translate in today’s world. Fear and repression were the key elements that drove the subgenre; much of it revolving around sex and the anxiety that surrounded it.

“Schlock!” covers everything from the traveling “hygiene” film and nudist camp documentaries to the violent “roughies” and their more hardcore counterparts. Films rarely seen for decades like “The Agony of Love” and “Mom and Dad” are given their proper place in exploitation history. However, much of the teen exploitation of the era (focusing more on horror and action) is barely touched upon. The important role that Sam Arkoff’s American International Pictures is rightly explored (it was one of the first independent studios to exploit the teen market), but “Schlock’s” main agenda is in the softcore adult fare. While the sexploitation market was indeed a major force in independent film during this time, it seems a bit short sighted to downplay the horror programmers. (Especially when your subtitle is “The Secret History of American Movies.”) It’s also to the doc’s detriment that they were unable to get an interview with Russ Meyer (he was asked and declined). They were also unable to get him to release any footage from his films. He was truly one of the few softcore filmmakers from this period to really achieve mainstream success. One of the freakier films ever produced by 20th Century Fox is Meyer’s “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” the first multi-million dollar drive-in film.

To be fair, some horror icons are covered, many of whom contributed to several different drive-in genres. Roger Corman’s involvement with AIP is chronicled. He made countless horror and teen exploitation films for the company. In the 70’s he would go on to create New World Pictures - which basically rehashed the AIP formula with a generous helping of sex. Herschell Gordon Lewis (who isn’t interviewed), is also mentioned – though greater emphasis is given to the nudie films he made with producing partner David Friedman. “Blood Feast,” their most famous collaboration, is the one gore film even mentioned. And while it’s interesting to hear Friedman’s account of their sexploitation days, it seems odd to downplay the influence of their horror/gore output. And while we’re on the subject, where is Andy Milligan?

Despite the lack of horror history, there is plenty in this documentary to get excited about. An exclusive interview with the late, great Doris Wishman is eye-opening. Starting with bizarre nudist camp films (“Nude on the Moon”) and ultimately veering into “roughies”(“Bad Girls Go to Hell”), her story as a woman in this male-dominated industry is truly inspiring. Harry Novak, who produced hundreds of films under his Box Office Spectaculars company is also a plethora of exploitation knowledge. Their participation in the film is invaluable and makes this documentary a must for any fan of the genre. Peter Bogdanovich, Vampira, Dick “Bucket of Blood” Miller and Famous Monsters’ Forry Ackerman are all on hand with first-person accounts of the industry as well.

Though “Schlock!” suggests that the exploitation film era died circa ’69 when big budget films began to incorporate many of the same themes prevalent in drive-in culture, there were at least ten more years of solid output in the genre. It wasn’t until the advent of multiplexes and the popularity of video tapes in the early ‘80’s that the final nail was hammered into the drive-in coffin. The ‘70’s were filled with some amazing American exploitation films, many of which combined several themes into the mix. Films like “Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS” with their over-the-top sex and gore went even further with lurid excess.

Technically, the DVD is what you would expect from a documentary blending video interviews with old footage of long-forgotten films. The interview segments are clear if not sharp and much of the older material seems to be taken from video dupes, but it’s ultimately of little consequence. If anything, the varying picture quality adds to the overall drive-in experience. The sound also follows suit, but doesn’t detract at all from the enjoyment of the DVD. The special features are many, the best of which is the nuclear propaganda short “The Atom and Eve,” which must be seen to be believed. There are short interview segments with Novak, Wishman and Friedman that were edited for the film and can be seen in their entirety. An audio commentary, of all things, is also part of the production. Though it might seem a bit unnecessary to talk over a documentary (the filmmakers even allude to such), it proves to be an invaluable inclusion. The behind-the-scenes struggles and extra information on the interview subjects is fascinating. The commentary even gives the production a much broader overview of the exploitation scene. Also included is a radio interview with the director, an extensive gallery film art and (yikes!) unreleased soundtrack music that should have remained so.

Though it’s far from a complete look at exploitation history, “Schlock” is a highly enjoyable ride. It does offer sound observation into the genesis of the genre and gives voice to several overlooked pioneers in the field.