FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
As the driver (James Taylor) and the mechanic (Dennis Wilson) of a souped up ’55 Chevy drive across the country looking for opportunities to race, they pick up a young hitchhiker (Laurie Bird) and eventually meet the middle-aged owner (Warren Oates) of a GTO who’s willing to race them cross-country for high stakes.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Car Racing
• Harry Dean Stanton Films
• Monte Hellman Films
• Road Trip
• Warren Oates Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that while “Monte Hellman’s film” — predicted to be “the movie of the year” and “turn the youth market as only Easy Rider had” — “never lived up to its pre-release publicity”, it remains “a unique, thematically interesting film that has deservedly become a cult favorite.” He describes it as an existential film in which The Driver (Taylor) and The Mechanic (Wilson) “race their car… back and forth across America’s highways and byways — going fast but going nowhere on the metaphorical endless highway of meaningless life.” Given how much loving attention is paid (by Hellman) to The Car, Peary notes that “we learn more about [it] than about the zombielike men who ride in it,” whose rare conversation are “only about cars and racing.”

Indeed, even when The Girl (Bird) “enters their life” and “swims nude in front of them, they reminisce about old cars, not old flames.”

Peary points out that “The Driver and the Mechanic epitomize the sad products of a frustration-making D.C. bureaucracy, specifically a Nixon government which is conducting a controversial war that makes complete apathy as inviting as a warm cozy bed.” He notes that “while other films were about the alienation of the drug culture and war protesters, Hellman’s pessimistic film is about the alienation of everyone else: both those who race around the desolate, poor, conservative country and all those people inside the cubicles they pass who are just as withdrawn and isolated from the problems/horrors of their world.”

Peary discusses Two-Lane Blacktop at greater length in his Cult Movies book, where he notes that he finds it “so much more honest and less exploitative than the similarly plotted box office smash Easy Rider, another film about a routeless odyssey across America undertaken by society’s dropouts.” He describes Oates as, “as usual, a standout, showing the wide range of emotions of a troubled man” and providing “much wit to the film”. He adds that “most amusing, and pathetic, is how he keeps picking up the worst brand of hitchhikers… but keeps trying to find ideal companionship.”

Peary asserts that while he likes this movie — “its characters, and its premise” — he finds the “beginning of the film… compelling” but “toward the end it becomes a bit tiresome and fizzles — just like the race.” I think that’s exactly the point, however. As The Girl makes yet another random decision near the end of the film about who she’ll hang out and travel with, we see that nothing’s really changed — life will continue to be about distraction, alienation, and thwarted attempts to connect; Two-Lane Blacktop is remarkably effective at portraying those still-enduring challenges of existence.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Warren Oates as GTO
  
• Many memorable moments
  
• An authentic sense of time and place
  
  
• Fine cinematography
  
  
  

Must See?
Yes, as a cult favorite.

Categories

• Cult Movie

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• DVD Savant Review
• Q Network Review

Synopsis:
A deeply racist woman (Erica Gavin) whose bush-pilot husband (Garth Pillsbury) is clueless about her infidelity has sex with a Canadian mountie (Peter Carpenter) and both members of a couple (Vincene Wallace and Robert Aiken) who have chartered a ride with Pillsbury. Next, Vixen (Gavin) dares her own brother (Jon Evans) to have sex with her, and mercilessly hassles Evans’ African-American, draft-evading friend (Harrison Page) — but when an Irish Communist (Michael Donovan O’Donnell) hires Pillsbury for a special trip and Page comes along, Gavin finds the tables turned.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Infidelity
• Racism and Race Relations
• Russ Meyer Films
• Strong Females

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary provides significant historical context for this “landmark soft-core sex film from ‘King of the Nudies’ Russ Meyer”, which “bypassed [the] stag-movie circuit for long runs in major theaters” and “made what was probably [the] biggest rate of profit on investment in independent-film history until Halloween — playing in some theaters for over a year, and making history at one drive-in where it sold several times more tickets than the town’s population” (!!!). He writes that “in its own way, it had [the] impact of and paved the way for Deep Throat,” becoming “the subject of many articles” and with “star Erica Gavin [doing] the talk-show circuit, taking on the likes of Betty Friedan, who insisted Meyer had exploited Gavin.” (Apparently “years later Gavin agreed.”) He asserts that “Gavin’s erotically charged performance surely is on the verge of being obscene”, and that this “is the perfect film for swingers”, though the “bizarre finale” temporarily diverts it from its “stag-movie plot”.

Unfortunately, while Peary concedes that Gavin’s Vixen is a “foul-mouthed, racist” woman, he nonetheless describes her as “Meyer’s best heroine”, and the reason this picture hasn’t “faded away by now”. He writes that “as the most aggressive female of them all, she does the best job of expressing a woman in sexual heat”, and apparently “proved to be a heroine even women viewers liked,” given that many “weren’t used to seeing cinema heroines be so confident, so aggressive, so free of sexual inhibitions.”

It’s sad to think that so many women in the late 1960s were willing to overlook Vixen’s abusively racist rhetoric towards Page (who gives the best “straightforward” performance in the film). While I understand that Vixen is meant to be over-the-top and uninhibited in every way — including, just for instance, seducing her grown brother — seeing so much toxic vitriol heaped upon the film’s one Black character is simply intolerable. I had a hard time getting through this one, and am frankly flabbergasted that it has maintained such a following.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Harrison Page as Niles
  

Must See?
Nope; steer clear unless you’re a diehard Russ Meyer fan.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• Spinning Image Review

Synopsis:
As two ex-cons (Duncan McLeod and Robert Rudelson) wait until closing time to rob the safe of a topless dancing club, the club’s owner (Paul Lockwood) is lured to the home of a madam (Lavelle Roby), where he’s seduced by an Amish woman (Jan Sinclair) as well as Roby herself. Meanwhile, Lockwood’s sexually unsatisfied wife (Anne Chapman) has a guilty affair with the club’s bartender (Gordon Wescourt), and all three end up unwittingly involved in the heist back at the club.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Heists
• Infidelity
• Russ Meyer Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that this “piggy Russ Meyer film… probably won’t please even his diehard fans”, given that it “has none of the typical Meyer humor” and “even has a cruel edge to it.” He adds the unnecessary comment that “of course, the women have large chests; but they’re not particularly pretty — they’re the types who show up in stag films” (!!!). Vincent Canby’s review for the NY Times is a bit more delicately worded, if similarly dismissive: “Meyer’s sole preoccupation with extraordinarily well-developed female breasts, usually photographed from a low angle and while they’re in some sort of motion, is no longer particularly erotic.” (And kudos to Canby for introducing me to the new term “satyriasis.”) To Meyer’s credit, he perfectly captures the essence of the “male gaze” in the creatively shot and edited opening sequence of this film, which remains its artistic highlight.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• The cleverly filmed opening sequence
  
  
  

Must See?
No; this one is only must-see for Meyer fans.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review

Synopsis:
An alcoholic boat captain (Frank Bolger) brings three new clients — a man with a briefcase (Ken Swofford), a spineless doctor (John Furlong), and the doctor’s lustful wife (Alaina Capri) — to a broken-down tourist destination where the owner (Jackie Moran), his busty French housekeeper (Babette Bardot), and his pubescent daughter (Adele Rein) are ready to entertain.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Deep South
• Incest and Incestuous Undertones
• Infidelity
• Russ Meyer Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary refers to this memorably-titled exploitation flick — set in “an out-of-the-way tourist trap on a little-traveled Colorado River tributary” — as “one of Russ Meyer’s ‘sweat’ films”. He notes that it “drags in spots, but holds interest due to sexy women… , smutty lines by [the] doctor’s wife(!!!), and [the] gathering of [a] strange group in a strange location.”

He argues that the “existential aspects of the story would have made it an ideal project for some European director; in fact… if it were left intact, and made in a foreign language, it could pass as a masterpiece (that would be a suitable second feature to a film like Knife in the Water).” Oh, Peary — not quite. I actually gave this a try (playing portions of the film without any soundtrack), and was hard pressed to think about how any of these scenes, for instance:

… might be perceived in an “existential” fashion as part of a “masterpiece”.

Note: Swofford (see still below, bottom right) looks remarkably like a combination of Burt Lancaster and Damian Lewis.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Reasonably creative direction
  

Must See?
No; you can skip this one.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Spinning Image Review

Synopsis:
An ex-con (John Furlong) takes a job working for an aging farmer (Stu Lancaster) whose niece (Antoinette Cristiani) is married to a sadistic, alcoholic psychopath (Hal Hopper). As Furlong realizes he’s falling for Cristiani, he tries to distract himself by going to visit two local prostitutes (Rena Horton and Lorna Maitland) and their madam (Princess Livingston) — but Hopper’s rage and jealousy know no bounds, and when a local preacher (Frank Bolger) and his wife (Lee Ballard) treat Hopper like a “poor sinner”, he takes this designation and runs with it.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Deep South
• Domestic Abuse
• Ex-Cons
• Infidelity
• Russ Meyer Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that this “tawdry tale” may be director “Russ Meyer’s best film” — a dubious designation I can’t agree with, given that Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) remains his most memorably oddball flick. Peary describes Mud Honey — what exactly does this (or the alternate title, Rope of Flesh) refer to? — as being “set in a small town in Missouri that’s full of stupid but shrewd, sweaty, hypocritical men and stupid, big-breasted women” (an unfair assessment, given that Cristiani is overly loyal rather than stupid), where “everyone is driven by lust, hatred and greed” (again, not entirely accurate — what about Cristiani and Lancaster?).

In his review, Peary reveals a major spoiler that doesn’t occur until the last 15 minutes of the film (unusual for him), thus making it hard for me to quote too much more of his assessment. However, I’ll cite and agree with his statement that this “sleazy fake morality play is surprisingly well made”, with “Meyer’s camera work… fairly creative”:

the acting “satisfactory”, and the dialogue “flavorful”; we really are made to “believe that the characters live in this hellish version of Tobacco Road” — a place we’re oh-so-eager to say goodbye to once the dramatic, violent denouement comes to an end.

Note: Viewers will surely notice the distinctive presence of cackling “Princess Livingston” (what a name!), whose red-wigged, middle-aged dancing in Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) stands out in a veritable sea of surreal, bombarding imagery.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Strong direction and cinematography
  
  

Must See?
No — though naturally, Russ Meyer fans will want to check it out.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Spinning Image Review

Synopsis:
The sexually dissatisfied wife (Lorna Maitland) of a kind salt mine worker (James Rucker) is raped by a violent ex-convict (Mark Bradley), who she then desires as a lover and brings home — but when Bradley and his two co-workers (Hal Hopper and Doc Scortt) come home early that day after Rucker has fought Bradley on behalf of Maitland’s honor, they’re in for an unpleasant surprise.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Deep South
• Ex-Cons
• Infidelity
• Russ Meyer Films
• Sexuality

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that this “Russ Meyer potboiler” — “his first attempt to make a serious film with a plot and theme” — “recalls those independently made, sleazy, sex-filled fake social dramas of the thirties (i.e., Child Bride).” He notes that “Meyer mixed Erskine Caldwell, John Steinbeck, and [a] phony morality tale to pretty good effect”, “impressively creat[ing] the sweaty, puritanical backwoods environment” and establishing “how a young woman could go crazy trying to repress her sexual impulses in such a ‘hot’ environment”. He points out that “Lorna’s character goes through much of what Hedy Lamarr does in Ecstasy; like Lamarr, she must be punished — according to a male filmmaker — for fulfilling her fantasies.” Given that the film opens with a near-rape — Hopper follows a drunk woman (Althea Currier) home and savagely beats her after she refuses his advances — then Lorna later “gets turned on by a rapist”, this film is clearly made from and for a certain perspective, and is really only must-see for Meyer enthusiasts.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Atmospheric b&w cinematography
  
  

Must See?
No, though of course Russ Meyer fans will certainly want to check it out.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Spinning Image Review