2 Downeys for the Price of One

 

 (imdb)

CHAFED ELBOWS-1966-Dismore (George Morgan), a moron who is having an affair his mother (Elsie Downey), gets involved with a lot of weird people in this underground hit made by Robert Downey Sr. using still photos, post-synced dialogue and one short color scene. Very much a product of its time, some of the dialogue is clever but dated. Downey's wife plays all the female parts. Doesn't even try to hide the fact it's sub low budget. Just goes with it.

 (imdb)

BABO 73-1964-Nonsensical black & white low budget political satire about Sandy Sudsbury (Taylor Mead), the newly elected President of the United Status. He tackles the cold war, racial discrimination and two-faced politicians. Some of the dialogue is funny. Written, produced and directed by Robert Downey Sr. I'm sure this and CHAFED ELBOWS (see above) influenced John Waters. Taylor Mead was in many early Andy Warhol shorts.

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NYC Underground

NO MORE EXCUSES-1968-Lame amateurish "underground" film directed by and starring Robert Downey Sr as a Union Civil War soldier transported to NYC in the late '60's. While he wanders around Manhattan, the rest of this mess is men and women being interview about their reasons for going to "singles clubs", well known trickster Alan Abel explaining why he thinks domestic animals should wear clothes and a weird part with Don Calfa as stalker/rapist who breaks into a woman's apartment and forces himself on her. Later she seems to accept it and then frolics in bed with a chimpanzee. I've seen a lot of Downey's stuff (CHAFFED ELBOWS, GREASER'S PALACE, PUTNEY SWOPE) and this is his worst.

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