Not A Gas

 

 (amazon.com)

GASS-S-S-S-1970-A gas accidentally released kills anyone over 25! Coel (Robert Cuff, a very bad actor) is a dumb hippie who with his girlfriend Cilla (Elaine Giftos) roams the country meeting other freaks (portrayed by Ben Vereen, Bud Cort, Cindy Williams, Talia Shire, et. al.). Edgar Allan Poe rides around on a motorcycle and comments on the plot. Country Joe and The Fish make an appearance and provided the soundtrack. 

This was Roger Corman's last directorial effort for AIP and he said the studio cut the last scene where God appears. I'm not sure what the point of this movie is. Some kind of satire, maybe? The acting is terrible. It's been called Corman's most personal film. He should have kept it to himself. Screenwriter George Armitage later directed VIGILANTE FORCE (1976) and GROSSE POINTE BLANK (1997).

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Velvet Vamp

 

 (imdb)

THE VELVET VAMPIRE-1971-Diane LeFanu (Celeste Yarnall; BEAST OF BLOOD (1970)) is a vampire who kills a would-be rapist (Robert Tessier) then sets her sights on a young couple Lee (Michael Blodgett; BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970)) and Susan (Sherry Miles). They go to Diane's house in the desert. After having a strange abstract dream, Susan is terrorized by a bat when the trio explores an abandoned mine. Then while Diane seduces Lee, Susan is bitten by a snake. Diane saves her. Lee and Diane have sex but the next day he wants to leave. After killing Lee Diane runs to put the bite on Sue but she escapes (in only her bikini) to the city. Diane follows her. Somehow Sue gets some hippies to help her destroy Diane but it doesn't turn out well. There's some terrible cliché acting. 

Director/co-scripter Stephanie Rothman started out working as an associate producer for Roger Corman (one of TVV's producers) on things like QUEEN OF BLOOD and VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET, later working on the infamous BLOOD BATH (1966). Her husband Charles S. Swartz co-wrote and co-produced THE VELVET VAMPIRE.

 (imdb)

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Real Hippies...??

 

(imdb)

CHANGING-1971-Unusual cinema-verite' about a hippie like couple and the struggle to preserve their marriage, raise their children and help another couple. When they get together with some friends they all smoke pot. It's rather pointless and too long (although only 28 minutes). If it's all on the level, it could be the first reality series. I'd like to know what happened to the family though. 

Part of a series called “The Social Seminar” produced by UCLA for The National Institute of Mental Health. The producer Gary Schlosser also produced another short film COWBOY (1966) which was nominated for an Academy Award.

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Forgotten '70's Shit

 

JC-1972-Hippie-biker-pothead JC Masters (Bill McGaha) can't hold a job and hallucinates a lot. Almost 17 minutes past before the credits are shown! 

JC wants his gang to spread love and is almost like a weird religious cult preacher. He and his girlfriend Kim (Pat Delany) and his gang go back to his hometown to visit his sister (Joanna Moore). The sheriff (Slim Pickens) and his deputy (Burr DeBenning) are very upset because JC has a black guy David Little (Hannibal Penney) with him. After the redneck duo arrest and beat up Little it's rednecks vs. hippies in a motorcycle shotgun shootout. After the deputy kills Little peace loving JC kills the deputy. In the end the Christ like JC is killed. 

Visible boom mics are in many scenes in this dumb dated misfired parable written and directed by lead actor McGaha who made one more movie after this.

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Angel Angel

 

ANGEL, ANGEL DOWN WE GO-1969-Wacky hippie drug mess about Tara (folksinger Holly Near), the dumpy headcase daughter of decadent gay father (Charles Aidman) and self obsessed ex-porno actress mom (Jennifer Jones) who winds up taking drugs and having sex with weirdo rock star Bogart (Jordan Christopher) and freaky friends Joe (Lou Rawls), Santoro (Roddy McDowall) and Davey Davidson (Anna Livia). Bogart seduces mom and after she dies skydiving he whips dad to death with a chain. 

This movie is not very good and it's a shame to see Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Jones in such a sleazy production, one of the last produced by the legendary Sam Katzman and released through AIP. It's the only directing credit for screenwriter Robert Thom (it's based on an unproduced play he wrote) who was no stranger to off beat films previously writing WILD IN THE STREETS and THE LEGEND OF LYlAH CLARE. He later wrote DEATHRACE 2000 and CRAZY MAMA. Star Christopher had been the lead singer in "The Wild Ones" who after he left the band recorded the original version of "Wild Thing". 

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Hippies

AN AMERICAN HIPPIE IN ISRAEL-1972-Mike (Asher Tarzafati)), a hippie from NYC goes to Israel to “bum around” after a bad experience in Vietnam where he was turned into a “murder machine”. While hitchhiking he meets Elizabeth (Lily Avidan), a rich actress who rants and says “you fools” a lot. After they have sex, Elizabeth goes hippie too and she and Mike rollick around town. They meet a bunch of “local hippies” and decide to go to an isolated island and “be free” but their freaked out love-in is disrupted when two white faced guys in suits and top hats machine gun everyone but Mike and Elizabeth and 2 remaining friends. Mike has a strange dream where people do weird things and he fights two figures that have reel to reel tape recorders for heads! The foursome buy a lamb and have sex in a car. They eventually go to a deserted island and skinny dip and dance. When their raft disappears they are stuck on the island and begin to see that “being free” isn't all it's cracked up to be. They quickly turn into savages, fight over the lamb and with each other. They all die and the white faced men drive away in their car. I think director Amos Sefer saw EL TOPO and LORD OF THE FLIES too many times! Filmed in Israel and Egypt.

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Clay

CLAY PIGEON-1971-Low budget Al Adamson like crime drama about a former 'Nam vet Joe Ryan (Tom Stern) turned drug taking slacker hippie used by a devious police detective Redford (Telly Savalas) to catch a grouchy drug dealer (Robert Vaughn who's nutty performance and crazy wardrobe make this mess worth watching!). He's assisted by henchman Simon (Ivan Dixon) who shoots Marlene Clark (who appears topless) in the head. Redford's equally grouchy police captain is played by John Marley. Burgess Meredith is an old hippie like junk dealer and Peter Lawford appears in one scene. 

Producer/writer/director Stern who's not much of an actor seems to be saying: cops are bad and drugs are good. He was in other movies and TV shows but this was his only directorial effort.

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Reefer Sadness

A MOVABLE SCENE-1970-This very weird short examines the hippie culture and its use of drugs. It deals with rebellion, non-conforming and understanding and calls marijuana "the common denominator". The narration tries to show the viewpoint of both sides but the whole thing is kind of undone as the narrator is infamous Hollywood pot head actor Robert Mitchum (who was jailed for marijuana possession in 1949).

This was made by Scottish born director William Templeton who wrote TV episodes in America and for the BBC in England. In 1972 he made a much more serious drug expose' FLOWERS OF DARKNESS narrated by Paul Newman. Mitchum was in RYAN'S DAUGHTER the same year as this.

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Just In Time For Mother's Day!

THE BIG CUBE-1969-Stage actress Adriana Roman (Lana Turner) retires from acting to marry rich widower Charles Winthrop (Dan O’Herlihy) whose daughter Lisa (Karin Mossberg) has mixed feelings about it. Her friends are a bunch of psychedelic mod hippies who like to hang out at clubs, say weird things and experiment with acid. Her gold digging boyfriend Johnny (George Chakiris from WEST SIDE STORY) is thrown out of his college for making LSD in his lab. When Dad breaks up a party where a dancer (Pamela Mason) does a striptease Lisa blames her step-mom (who in actuality is her real mom). When Dad gets lost at sea Mom inherits his estate and the right to choose who their daughter should marry. Naturally she sees through Johnny boy and will not give her consent. After sex Johnny convinces Lisa that mom actually killed dear old dad. They spike her pills with LSD and she becomes a paranoid nut who’s colorful “trips” are pretty wild. She's committed to a sanitarium and Lisa marries Johnny. After Lisa realizes Johnny’s a dirt bag she helps Adriana’s manager (Richard Egan) bring her out of her funk by having her star in a play he wrote that relates her trouble! Johnny winds up having a pretty bad acid trip of his own.

Shot in Acapulco by director Tito Davidson.

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Stink-A-Roo

SKIDOO-1968-Otto Preminger directed this all-star stink bomb of a movie that tries to be a satire on the ‘60’s Hippie and drug culture and a comedy. It fails in both departments.

Former hit man Jackie Gleason is recruited by Caesar Romero and Frankie Avalon to assassinate a gangster (Mickey Rooney) turning state’s evidence. While in jail he gets help from Frank Gorshin, Michael Considine and Richard Kiel. He also accidentally ingests LSD and has a weird trip. Groucho Marx (in his last film role) is God, leader of the crime syndicate. George Raft is the captain of the ship he hides out on. Carol Channing is Gleason’s wife who sings. Arnold Stang is his friend who’s killed at the beginning. Also appearing: Peter Lawford, Burgess Meridith, Slim Pickens, Fred Clark, John Phillip Law and Austin Pendelton. Harry Nilsson (who also has a cameo) sings the end credits!

Screenwriter Doran William Cannon later wrote BREWSTER MCCLOUD and a TV adaptation of BRAVE NEW WORLD. Otto made this between BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING and TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JULIE MOON when his once great career was in a tailspin. He’d played the villain “Mr. Freeze” on an episode of TV’s BATMAN in 1966. I’ve read Preminger took LSD while making this movie. He must have been on something…

Apparently this has not been released on DVD (or VHS). One day it may escape!

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