Back in the early nineties there was a period where I actually seemed to have discovered some free time! During that period I took up collages. I made several poster-sized collages, most of which had some sort of pop culture-related theme. Now relegated to "behind the couch" status here at the overcrowded Library, we present here for the first time a look at NOW SHOWING IN THE SEVENTIES, a 1993 collage compiled from movie ads from my then-disemboweled scrapbooks. These films, I felt, gave a good representation of what MY personal filmgoing experience was like during the ME Decade. You should be able to enlarge it fairly well but just in case there's any you can't recognize, the films represented are:
1: Disney’s ROBIN HOOD-Ironically, I was robbed in the theater while watching this!
2: THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS-A minor Disney film but one of the few big-screen appearances of Karen Valentine, the first star to ever send me an autographed photo.
3: CAPRICORN ONE-Saw it again recently. A marvelous bit of seventies paranoia and conspiracy. And it has the best film performance from OJ!
4: WESTWORLD-A fun but scary anti-technological warning from novelist Michael Chricton
5: DEBBIE DOES DALLAS- Most successful porn film ever and one of the first I ever saw.
6: KILL, KILL, KILL/BLUEBEARD- See previous article on the former part of this Salkind double feature. I saw the latter ‘cause I heard Joey Heatherton was naked in it.
7: OLD DRACULA-Dreadful but endearing British comedy with David Niven’s Drac accidentally reviving his long-lost love with African blood, turning her into Teresa Graves!
8: THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE-Supreme scares with Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen!
9: HANNIE CAULDER-Surprisingly enjoyable British(!) Western with sexy Welch heading a wonderful cast that includes Christopher Lee!
10: THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE-Marty Feldman MEANT to remake FOUR FEATHERS but remembered it wrong and did this vehicle instead.
11: ALLEGRO NON TROPPO- Whimsical Italian variation on FANTASIA with marvelous music and delightful animation!
12: THE DEVIL’S RAIN-John Travolta’s first theatrical film, supposedly made to launder DEEP THROAT profits.
13: THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION-Nicholas Meyer’s retcon of Sherlock Holmes.
14: ENTER THE DRAGON-Bruce Lee’s triumph, unfortunately released posthumously.
15: ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN-More paranoia and conspiracies but this time all too real!
16: SCORCHY: Cute Connie Stevens in a big-screen rip-off of TV’s POLICEWOMAN. Notable only for hearing squeaky-clean Connie talk dirty!
17: THE WICKER MAN- My all-time favorite film! Well…maybe after CASABLANCA.
18: SNOWBALL EXPRESS- Lesser live-action Disney but I love good snow scenes. A great cast, also!
19: ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES-To my mind, the best of the ubiquitous Apes films.
20: M.A.S.H.-The original (although as we noted before, check out the glove!)
21: THE SHOOTIST- the Duke’s onscreen eulogy.
22: HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER- Clint’s powerful cowboy ghost story.
23: SHAME OF THE JUNGLE- Imported and censored, this cartoon featured voiceovers by much of the SNL cast doing dialogue rewritten by SNL writers including Michael O’Donaghue.
24: THE CHEERLEADERS/REVENGE OF THE CHEERLEADERS-These two films are responsible for why so many men have cheerleader fantasies today! Like corrupt Disney pictures!
25: ST. IVES- Superstar Charles Bronson in a rare intelligent role as a pipe-smoking detective.
26: BATTLE OF THE AMAZONS- Mindless Italian adventure with topless women. A favorite!
27: MONTY PYTHON’S JABBERWOCKY-Retitled after director Terry Gilliam pointed out to the marketing department that it was in fact NOT a Python project!
28: McQ- John Wayne IS Dirt Harry!…sorta.
29: DEEP THROAT/THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES-The two pictures that defined "porno chic."
30: BIG BAD MAMA- Angie Dickinson naked! Tommy guns! Car chases! Shatner! What’s not to like?
31: THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT-MGM’s marvelous pat-themselves-on-the-back compilation.
32: VIVA KNIEVEL: Gene Kelly(!) at his lowest as sidekick to stuntman Knievel (who doesn’t play himself nearly as well as George Hamilton did!).
33: NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS- The second DS feature, unsuccessful because it omitted favorite actors AND characters. Notable for Kate Jackson’s major early role.
34: THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG RIDES AGAIN- Disney cowboy fluff with Don Knotts and Tim Conway.
35: AMERICATHON: Well, I liked it but no one else seemed to-John Ritter, Meatloaf, Jay Leno, Elvis Costello and a cool Beach Boys theme song but…
36: A LITTLE ROMANCE: A gentle, amazing film of which we wrote earlier on this blog.
37: DRACULA AD, 1972- Last ditch Hammer horror with a large dose of already dated seventies kitsch.
38: THE LAST OF SHEILA- Intelligent all-star mystery with twists all over the place.
39: THE THREE MUSKETEERS- Lighthearted, well-cast version of part one of the classic Dumas story, continued the following year with the simultaneously filmed FOUR MUSKETEERS.
40: 1776- The film of the great stage musical of the Revolution.
41: REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER-arguably the funniest of Peter Sellers comeback appearances as Inspector Clouseau.
42: THE DOUBLE MCGUFFIN-a minor Disneyesque mystery-comedy with a good cast including a young Vincent Spano whom I once met.
43: FRITZ THE CAT/THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT-Neither of these adult animated features is as bad as creator Robert Crumb says they are.
44: TREASURE ISLAND/DR. SYN- A nice rerelease double feature of Disney adventure classics. In fact, this was the first time DR. SYN was seen on the big-screen in the US having previously been a poular three-parter on TV.
45: BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES/ ELVIS THAT’S THE WAY IT IS-An example of the seemingly random double-bills that often appeared.
46: MY NAME IS NOBODY-Superior spaghetti western with Terence Hill and Henry Fonda
47: 5 FINGERS OF DEATH-One of the instigators of the kung-fu craze.
48: SERPICO- A list Oscar-winning cop picture with Al Pacino in one of his defining performances.
49: DEATH WISH- The first one is actually quite good but stay away from any and all sequels whatever you do!
50: WHAT’S UP DOC? Peter Bogdanovich’s roller-coaster homage to thirtoes screwball comedy!
51: NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN- My friend Bob Hastings is in this Disney film and tells me that a tipsy David Niven would hold court telling stories long past the point where the actors should be shooting!
52: RETURN OF THE DRAGON: No relation to the dragon, actually, this posthumously released Bruce Lee picture is notable for its battle with Chuck Norris in the Roman Colesseum
53: THE MAGICIAN OF LUBLIN- An artsy drama with a great performance from Alan Arkin who seemed to be everywhere in the decade.
54: A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN-the first big-screen PEANUTS movie.
55: TUNNELVISION-One of those mindless, dirty sketch comedy movies, this one with Bill Murray.
56: SOYLENT GREEN/SKYJACKED- A Charlton Heston double feature.
1: Disney’s ROBIN HOOD-Ironically, I was robbed in the theater while watching this!
2: THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS-A minor Disney film but one of the few big-screen appearances of Karen Valentine, the first star to ever send me an autographed photo.
3: CAPRICORN ONE-Saw it again recently. A marvelous bit of seventies paranoia and conspiracy. And it has the best film performance from OJ!
4: WESTWORLD-A fun but scary anti-technological warning from novelist Michael Chricton
5: DEBBIE DOES DALLAS- Most successful porn film ever and one of the first I ever saw.
6: KILL, KILL, KILL/BLUEBEARD- See previous article on the former part of this Salkind double feature. I saw the latter ‘cause I heard Joey Heatherton was naked in it.
7: OLD DRACULA-Dreadful but endearing British comedy with David Niven’s Drac accidentally reviving his long-lost love with African blood, turning her into Teresa Graves!
8: THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE-Supreme scares with Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen!
9: HANNIE CAULDER-Surprisingly enjoyable British(!) Western with sexy Welch heading a wonderful cast that includes Christopher Lee!
10: THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE-Marty Feldman MEANT to remake FOUR FEATHERS but remembered it wrong and did this vehicle instead.
11: ALLEGRO NON TROPPO- Whimsical Italian variation on FANTASIA with marvelous music and delightful animation!
12: THE DEVIL’S RAIN-John Travolta’s first theatrical film, supposedly made to launder DEEP THROAT profits.
13: THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION-Nicholas Meyer’s retcon of Sherlock Holmes.
14: ENTER THE DRAGON-Bruce Lee’s triumph, unfortunately released posthumously.
15: ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN-More paranoia and conspiracies but this time all too real!
16: SCORCHY: Cute Connie Stevens in a big-screen rip-off of TV’s POLICEWOMAN. Notable only for hearing squeaky-clean Connie talk dirty!
17: THE WICKER MAN- My all-time favorite film! Well…maybe after CASABLANCA.
18: SNOWBALL EXPRESS- Lesser live-action Disney but I love good snow scenes. A great cast, also!
19: ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES-To my mind, the best of the ubiquitous Apes films.
20: M.A.S.H.-The original (although as we noted before, check out the glove!)
21: THE SHOOTIST- the Duke’s onscreen eulogy.
22: HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER- Clint’s powerful cowboy ghost story.
23: SHAME OF THE JUNGLE- Imported and censored, this cartoon featured voiceovers by much of the SNL cast doing dialogue rewritten by SNL writers including Michael O’Donaghue.
24: THE CHEERLEADERS/REVENGE OF THE CHEERLEADERS-These two films are responsible for why so many men have cheerleader fantasies today! Like corrupt Disney pictures!
25: ST. IVES- Superstar Charles Bronson in a rare intelligent role as a pipe-smoking detective.
26: BATTLE OF THE AMAZONS- Mindless Italian adventure with topless women. A favorite!
27: MONTY PYTHON’S JABBERWOCKY-Retitled after director Terry Gilliam pointed out to the marketing department that it was in fact NOT a Python project!
28: McQ- John Wayne IS Dirt Harry!…sorta.
29: DEEP THROAT/THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES-The two pictures that defined "porno chic."
30: BIG BAD MAMA- Angie Dickinson naked! Tommy guns! Car chases! Shatner! What’s not to like?
31: THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT-MGM’s marvelous pat-themselves-on-the-back compilation.
32: VIVA KNIEVEL: Gene Kelly(!) at his lowest as sidekick to stuntman Knievel (who doesn’t play himself nearly as well as George Hamilton did!).
33: NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS- The second DS feature, unsuccessful because it omitted favorite actors AND characters. Notable for Kate Jackson’s major early role.
34: THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG RIDES AGAIN- Disney cowboy fluff with Don Knotts and Tim Conway.
35: AMERICATHON: Well, I liked it but no one else seemed to-John Ritter, Meatloaf, Jay Leno, Elvis Costello and a cool Beach Boys theme song but…
36: A LITTLE ROMANCE: A gentle, amazing film of which we wrote earlier on this blog.
37: DRACULA AD, 1972- Last ditch Hammer horror with a large dose of already dated seventies kitsch.
38: THE LAST OF SHEILA- Intelligent all-star mystery with twists all over the place.
39: THE THREE MUSKETEERS- Lighthearted, well-cast version of part one of the classic Dumas story, continued the following year with the simultaneously filmed FOUR MUSKETEERS.
40: 1776- The film of the great stage musical of the Revolution.
41: REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER-arguably the funniest of Peter Sellers comeback appearances as Inspector Clouseau.
42: THE DOUBLE MCGUFFIN-a minor Disneyesque mystery-comedy with a good cast including a young Vincent Spano whom I once met.
43: FRITZ THE CAT/THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT-Neither of these adult animated features is as bad as creator Robert Crumb says they are.
44: TREASURE ISLAND/DR. SYN- A nice rerelease double feature of Disney adventure classics. In fact, this was the first time DR. SYN was seen on the big-screen in the US having previously been a poular three-parter on TV.
45: BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES/ ELVIS THAT’S THE WAY IT IS-An example of the seemingly random double-bills that often appeared.
46: MY NAME IS NOBODY-Superior spaghetti western with Terence Hill and Henry Fonda
47: 5 FINGERS OF DEATH-One of the instigators of the kung-fu craze.
48: SERPICO- A list Oscar-winning cop picture with Al Pacino in one of his defining performances.
49: DEATH WISH- The first one is actually quite good but stay away from any and all sequels whatever you do!
50: WHAT’S UP DOC? Peter Bogdanovich’s roller-coaster homage to thirtoes screwball comedy!
51: NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN- My friend Bob Hastings is in this Disney film and tells me that a tipsy David Niven would hold court telling stories long past the point where the actors should be shooting!
52: RETURN OF THE DRAGON: No relation to the dragon, actually, this posthumously released Bruce Lee picture is notable for its battle with Chuck Norris in the Roman Colesseum
53: THE MAGICIAN OF LUBLIN- An artsy drama with a great performance from Alan Arkin who seemed to be everywhere in the decade.
54: A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN-the first big-screen PEANUTS movie.
55: TUNNELVISION-One of those mindless, dirty sketch comedy movies, this one with Bill Murray.
56: SOYLENT GREEN/SKYJACKED- A Charlton Heston double feature.
57: IT"S NOT THE SIZE THAT COUNTS, here with the censored version of its newspaper ad, was actually the UK comedy, PERCY'S PROGRESS, about the world's first penis transplant. Why Vincent Price is in it, I'll never know!
Notably absent in an overall survey of my seventies theatrical interests are, of course, STAR WARS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE AND SUPERMAN. Not that the collage was intended to be any kind of definitive piece but still, I’m not sure why I would have left all of those out. Also no mention of classic revivals of which I spent may a weekend with Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton, Orson Welles or Laurel and Hardy.
I did a total of about six or seven collages in all with about half being pop culture-related. Look for more soon!
Notably absent in an overall survey of my seventies theatrical interests are, of course, STAR WARS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE AND SUPERMAN. Not that the collage was intended to be any kind of definitive piece but still, I’m not sure why I would have left all of those out. Also no mention of classic revivals of which I spent may a weekend with Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton, Orson Welles or Laurel and Hardy.
I did a total of about six or seven collages in all with about half being pop culture-related. Look for more soon!
this is definitive proof THE SEVENTIES WERE AWESOME. an Apes/Elvis double bill? porno chic? Shame of the Jungle playing a theater???
ReplyDeletethis almost makes up for watergate!
I remember seeing or hearding about almost all of these films. I have wanted to see Old Drac for years but never have and Snowball Express,North Avenue Irregulars and Dr. Syn have all been favorite Disney movies of mine.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were kids I wondered why you clipped somany of these out now the internet has helped you put them to use.
ST, I love Disney's Robin Hood. One of my favorite movies.
ReplyDelete