I can't believe I've never heard of this film until last week, when I found the DVD for $1.95 -- along with Sissy Spacek's "Ginger in the Morning, no less!
Sissy does an excellent job, as do Art Carney, Henry Winkler and Julie Kavner.
It's far removed from the average TV movie.
My boyfriend bought this movie for three reasons:
Time-bomb
Henry Winkler w/a mustache
and John Denver (which turned out to be Sissy Spacek)
That's what he saw on the cover. And we watched it ... and it was terrible.
Opinions are immunity to being told you're wrong...
Your post is funny but I disagree, the movie is good.
shareA rare gem indeed. Most awful movies are at least funny, either because of their pomposity, ridiculous special effects, or what not. This movie was tremendously bad and yet conspicuously unfunny.
The dialogue is naive, juvenile, unrealistic, and unnatural. The performances of everyone but Winkler and Carney was wooden and forced, and Carney only just barely.
No argument, on either side, was made well, and in the end the movie amounted to little beyond a cheaply made pro-communist pro-suicide bomber agitprop piece that only a brain dead white liberal college student would enjoy.
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"Suicide Bomber"?
I thought the bomb went off prematurely
Kiwiboy62
godemperorferenczy^
"No argument, on either side, was made well, and in the end the movie amounted to little beyond a cheaply made pro-communist pro-suicide bomber agitprop piece that only a brain dead white liberal college student would enjoy."
I disagree as I had the opposite response.
I think that it depicted what can happen to a 'brain dead white liberal college student' if they don't get their sh*t together! Didn't make me feel friendly to her *supposed* cause at all, so did not seem pro-communist pro-suicide bomber to me!
Just MHO :)
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois
I remember very clearly when this movie was originally on television. It really was a great film - not sure why it was so overlooked.
Samantha
"Nobody's perfect."
i think both sides are correct in this case. the dialogue is one-sided because each character gives the sense of having been boiled down to an 'essence' from many kinds of people - so we find the 'voice of violent civil unrest' and the 'voice of concerned yet detached socialite motherhood' rather than PEOPLE as characters. on the other hand, the material being discussed is wide-ranging and covers a great deal of topics, from politics to ideologies, gender to family relationships, responsibilities to notions of freedom, and even questions - what is 'giving back'? who is being helped? how can you help when you are part of the problem? etc. etc. so the movie doesn't flesh out as good or even interesting drama, but still reads as a postcard of the times and holds up well for that reason. those interested in the weather underground, patty hearst, or john denver played by carrie will enjoy. art carney and alan alda look more and more similar as alda ages. even some of their mannerisms suggest one another.
how bizarre to see marge simpson with child!!!???
Hey, there, WarpedRecord!^
I do agree. I got this movie on one of those '50 classic movie' packs and was pleasantly surprised. I actually find myself re-viewing it every once in awhile.
I don't know how I missed this when it first came out.
Sissy S. and the others do a great job.
And, she looks so incredibly anorexic in the opening scenes :[
Yes, it is not a polished diamond of a movie, but a gem nonetheless.
Regards -- denise1234 :)
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois
Hello, Denise1234! So glad you liked this.
I got this on a double-DVD with Sissy Spacek in "Ginger in the Morning," which was also very good. I see a lot of those "50 Classic Movies" packs, and though I've seen most of the usual suspects that make the rounds, each of them includes a film or two (or seven or eight) I haven't seen.
This apparently was a TV movie when the networks still tackled current events, but I don't remember it airing. Very strong cast, mostly of actors early in their career. And yes, Sissy Spacek does look severely skinny here.
WarpedRecord^
There were three other interesting movies that come to mind in the same pack I got with 'Katherine' / You may have already seen them:
The Death of Richie: Docudrama/teenage drug abuse/sad climax -- Robby Benson, Ben Gazarra, Eileen Brennan.
Catholics -- 'Fable' movie about a debate over the Catholic mass going 'modern' and not in Latin anymore, with a young Martin Sheen.
All the Kind Strangers -- Quirky little movie about backwoods kids who kidnap parents they then hold hostage, with Stacy Keach, Samantha Eggar (I almost got a chance once to meet her in person), Robby Benson (again), and a young, blonde John Savage. End is kind of cheesy, tho :)
I ADORE these 70's movies. Even the lesser, weirder ones are worth at least one watch, to me.
Regards, denise1234 :)
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois
Thanks for the recommendations, Denise1234! I haven't seen any of those three films, though I noticed a VHS of "Catholics" in a local video store. I should just get one of those multi-packs, which would save me money in the long run instead of buying these titles piecemeal.
The '70s had a lot of great issue films on TV: "Born Innocent" with Linda Blair (notorious for a fairly graphic rape scene, but regardless, it's an excellent film about a troubled teen), "Sarah T: Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic" (also with Linda Blair, hmmmmm ...), "Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" (with Eve Plumb from "The Brady Bunch"), "Little Ladies of the Night" (with Linda Purl).
A lot of these were somewhat exploitive, and of course the titles were rather preachy and generic, but ultimately they conveyed an important message. They were pretty much done on the cheap and featured TV stars taking a break from their usual series.
There's also "The Best Little Girl in the World" with Jennifer Jason Leigh from 1981 about anorexia nervosa. I haven't tracked that one down, but there's a video store near me that had a rental copy as of a few years ago.
Another good one is "How Awful About Alan," a thriller by Curtis Harrington that plays off Anthony Perkins' "Psycho" image.
I love these films, even when they have the obligatory gap for the commercial break. I wish the video/DVD releases actually had the old commercials!
WarpedRecord^
OMG! I have seen most of those movies, with the exception of "Dawn..." and "Little Ladies..."
"How Awful About Alan" is on two of my movie packs :)
Saw "Born Innocent" when it first aired, and all we youngun's were chattering for weeks about that graphic scene. I don't believe I have seen it since then.
"Best Little Girl In The World" I managed to view a few months ago on youtube. You might still find it there. Sometimes entire movies stay on there and sometimes they are pulled. People are taking to posting entire movies now with just the initials from the title words, I guess in hopes that the movies will stay on a bit longer. I love JJL in about everything she does.
Although I have a DVD copy of the movie "Go Ask Alice", it too has been on youtube, for example.
I have been wanting to see "Sarah T..." again, having seen that also when it first aired. I managed to catch a few clips of it on youtube, but not the entire flick. I seem to remember that Linda Blair sings 'It's Too Late Baby' in the movie, once not so well, but better when she is drunk? I think that was the song (?)
By all means, check out those multipacks -- you can get them relatively cheap on Amazon and they are way worth it even if you only find a few good movies with each pack. I have about 5 of them now, ranging from classics to 70's movies to SciFi, etc. They are great to snuggle down to on a day off when it is cold and rainy outside and with a bucket of popcorn. Some are redundant in that some of the packs have some of the same movies, but that's okay. Those packs are a real bargain if you like exploring some lesser known, campy movies in addition to re-viewing some movies you might not have seen for awhile.
Oh! Also, check youtube for some of those older commercials you are talking about. I have seen tons of those posted!
It is SO great chatting with a fellow, genuine movie buff!
:)
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois
Hello, Denise:
So sorry for the late reply. These e-mails really pile up, and I'm finally sorting through them.
Thanks for the tips on "The Best Little Girl in the World" on YouTube. It seems like everything I'm looking for is there at one point, but a lot of it gets taken down because of copyright violations.
You have an excellent memory regarding "Sarah T": She does indeed sing Carole King's "It's Too Late." She's not drunk in that scene, though; she's auditioning for the glee club, and she doesn't make the cut. Glee clubs seem like a thing of the past, but now there's a show called "Glee" that seems to revive all that stuff – or is it intended to be ironic? I can't keep up with the sentiment these days. Anyway, I think Sarah T.'s rejection from the glee club was one of the factors driving her to drink: It's too late, indeed!
WarpedRecord^
Hey there!
No problem! I am just happy to read good posts like yours, whether they are addressed to me or to others on the boards :)
I hear ya! My job is pretty much 24/7 and so I can only find some 'off' time every once in awhile to do some recreational stuff, like catching a movie or blogging. I don't get notifications in my email for IMDB (is that possible?), which is probably both a good and bad thing -- 'good' because I have several work email accounts and they are SWAMPED as it is, but 'bad' in that I don't always get back to responses for long stretches at a time.
Hey! Both 'Sarah T' and 'Born Innocent' showed up on u tube! I watched both a few weeks ago. So good to see them again, especially Born Innocent as it has been so long since I last saw it and then a lot of what I was thinking/feeling about that movie was all around that horrible shower scene, but this time I gained a greater appreciation for the really good movie that it is.
I love when people are able to post movies online that I haven't seen for awhile. As soon as that gets taken over by conglomerates (because they never will be able to successfully stem that tide so will have to find a way to lasso it and charge for it), then we all will be stuck back with the same 100 movies that keep circulating on my satellite TV stations. There are SO many good movies out there -- I just don't get why they can't broadcast more variety, more of the older and lesser known jewels.
I came very close to buying an older theater in my town that closed when a multiplex opened. It had four different little theaters in it, so you could run 4 movies at a time. I live in a college town, so I figured I could use one of the little theaters to play movies aimed at college folks, one or two of the other little theaters to play older movies that someone like me would like to see, but many of which I have never had the pleasure to see on a big screen, and then rent out the other 1-2 little theaters that were left for symposiums, trainings, live shows, etc. But before I could jump on it, someone beat me to it -- ripped out all the cinema stuff and turned it in to yet another fitness gym (as IF we needed one more of those in town!).
Arrrggghhh!!! Still on my list, though, if the opportunity comes again!
:)
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois
Hello, Denise1234! I hope your week is going well, and I hope you will see this message eventually.
So you don't get e-mail prompts when someone responds to one of your posts? You just check boards periodically to see if anyone has responded? I check boards regularly for my favorite films and artists, but I also get prompts and I highly recommend it. Here's how to set them up, if you're interested:
Go to your account setup (upper right-hand corner, should say Denise Lastname's account), click on that, then under Personalize click on "message board profile." When you open that, you'll see "Personal Options," and under the last category, "Notifications," check the boxes that say "Notify new private messages with an email" and "Notify replies to messages with an email." Then whenever someone responds, you'll get an e-mail from IMDb with a link to click on that will take you right to the message.
I hope this makes sense. Even though you're very busy at work (as I am, working six days a week these days), it's a very useful feature because it allows your to keep the conversation going. Of course, some people hit "reply" when they're really talking to the original poster, but that's their issue. I post quite a bit on these boards (including when I'm at work, which I probably should NOT do!), and I might get 10 or 15 replies a day, some days more and some days fewer. A lot of these there's not really much to respond too, though.
I think it's great that you still have little theaters in your town. I still have three or four single-screen theaters where I live, plus a few converted into double- or triple-screeners. Most of them show repertory films or second-run features, plus a lot of smaller film festivals.
I love the old-style movie houses much more than the suburban multiplexes, and I try to support them when I can, but honestly, it's so much easier just to watch movies at home these days. I would love to work to keep a local theater running, but sadly, the outlook for those isn't good. I think first I'd love to open a record store that sells old vinyl, but the outlook for those is even worse (and I'd want to keep all the vinyl for myself because I love it so much).
That's great that you were able to find "Sarah T." and "Born Innocent" on YouTube. It's too bad "Born Innocent" is pretty much known just for the rape scene when there's so much more to that film, but of course the same is true for "Deliverance." I guess people just focus on what they want to for those films.
I still prefer to watch movies on old VHS or DVDs I find cheap in thrift stores or clearance sales, though occasionally I watch movies on the Internet. The problem is, I get easily distracted when I turn on my computer, and once I get a "ding" in my e-mail inbox I'm off on another tangent. I'm sure you know the feeling.
I recently watched a 1983 TV movie I found on DVD called "Jane Doe" with Karen Valentine (remember her?), David Huffman (remember him?) and William Devane. It's a pretty standard thriller about an amnesia victim with the usual twists, but it has its dopey charms. If you look up David Huffman's face, you may remember him from the late '70s and early '80s; he looked a bit like Paul Rudd. Unfortunately, he was killed in 1985 trying to catch a thief.
Well, sorry for this long reply. I hope the advice on message notifications was helpful, if that's something that interests you. Have a great day, and keep watching great old (and new) movies, as well as some entertaining bad ones.
WarpedRecord^
I don't know if this will make you cringe or not: Some years back, I had boxes and boxes of records, all the way from the 1930's - 1990's, stored in my back house -- some were from my parents' collection (who had passed away) and some were mine. I simply had no more room for them anymore, so I went through and selected the 'keepers' and gave all the others away to a colleague of mine who collects original LP's. He had to bring a small trailer hooked onto the back of his car to cart them all away. I had so many CD versions by then and so I only kept some of the real collectibles from my parents' collection and some LP's I had saved and scraped for as a teen and young adult because I wanted to keep those at least. It was very hard for me to part with all those records, but it had to be done, unfortunately. My friend was ecstatic because he got them all for nothing as I just wanted to pass them on to someone who would appreciate them. I still have all my 45's though (and my older sister's and brother's, too) and even some 78's!
I also had a great collection of children's records that were like laminated cardboard and had great artwork on them. I ended up donating some to a children's museum back east and the rest I sold to an heir of a toy company that used to produce a lot of the metal toys from the 1950's and 1960's -- can't remember the name right now -- think it was a German name? But, I still have my collection of 'Show-n-Tell' players and film/records :)
In any event, after that time, new technology came out with turntables that you can either play your LP's on or convert to CD. I realize (as some young folks today don't) that you just can't get the same rich sounds from a CD that you can from an LP, but, anyway, after these devices came out, I kicked myself for not keeping more of that record collection for myself -- to convert to CD if I wanted. Heck, some of those LP's are priceless in their original artwork alone (how sad it is that CD covers are so *tiny* that good, original cover art is becoming rarer and rarer and might face almost total extinction now that more and more people are opting for digital downloads right off the net).
I love to surf yard sales and thrift stores, too; however, places like Amazon have made it so affordable and easier to get older movies at relatively cheap prices that I have been ordering more and more from those venues. Some aren't so cheap, though -- my son wanted me to order the original 'Buried Alive' for him off the net (the movie with Tim Matheson) and, at least on Amazon, you can't touch a copy for under something like $30.00 or $40.00! And, I think it was a VHS. I also got a great copy of 'The Sterile Cuckoo' -- I love that movie. Also, I had to hunt for years for the movie 'Journey to Shiloh' (James Caan, Michael Sarrazin, Harrison Ford, etc.) and finally got a copy through ioffer that I think the seller must have copied off a TV showing of it (I did not know that when I ordered it, but was glad to get it nonetheless as I remember seeing the movie as a kid and had even read the book). Then I was on the hunt for the original British "Journey to the Unknown" series and finally got *that* collection -- now there are copies of that people can buy all over the net. Now the hunt is on for 'Mother Love', a BBC suspense drama with Diana Rigg that my sister really wants. She is not the 'movie fiend' that I am, but she really wants a copy of this and for some reason the BBC would not release it on DVD or anything, although it is several years old. In fact, there was a petition going around the net demanding its release from all the "Mother Love" fans! Anyway, after much hunting, I finally found *one* rather obscure website that claims to have a copy, but still need to check them out to make sure they are legit.
I also was able to give my movie collection a boost when our Hollywood Video went out of business. I snatched something like $500.00 worth of movies for $50.00, and, amazingly, there were some good, lesser-known movies that I was able to get my hands on that hadn't been picked through, mostly in the documentary section. So, I had to build a new 'bookshelf' to have a place for all my new movies, and friends frequently come by to borrow one or two a week. It was sad that HV had to close, but at least I was able to salvage some good movies before they closed their doors totally.
OMG! Karen Valentine! Growing up, I had a neighbor who looked just like her. Yes, I definitely remember her -- 'Room 222' and then her trying to break out into movies after that. David Huffman I did not remember, so had to look him up, and YES, I remember him now -- hadn't seen a whole lot of the work listed for him, but I remember him in 'Ice Castles.' I will definitely have to check out 'Jane Doe' -- haven't seen it yet and thanks for the tip!
I love the work of some of those 'older' actors. I actually have been able to meet in person: Gary Lockwood, June Lockhart, William Windom, Richard Herd, Stephen Collins -- a whole bunch of people (shhh! I have family members in the entertainment biz). Two actors I remember seeing quite a bit in 1970's movies and some on TV shows and who were just good, hardworking solid character actors in the 1970's were Bradford Dillman and James Olson. Remember them??
Also, thanks for the tips on getting notifications in my email! I will think about that, but probably won't do just yet or at least until I get all my other email caught up. As a matter of fact, getting out of my email and onto boards such as IMDB is my own little form of 'escape' -- let's me take a break away from the more serious business I am deluged with daily and allows me to chat with wonderful folks like you and away from business drudge!
:) denise1234
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois
Hello, Denise1234:
I hope you are doing well and that you had a nice Thanksgiving. Sorry for being out of touch the past few weeks. I'm out of town, visiting my mother and brother, and I didn't even remember which board we were chatting on so I had to go back over my old messages. Of course, you don't get those prompts, so you always check back over where you posted, right?
I'm glad that, if you weren't able to save your parents' record colleciton, you could at least give it away to a good home. Frankly, I'd do that with some of my records at this point, but I don't know anyone who appreciates them as much as I do. I certainly wouldn't want to give them away to someone who's going to sell them.
I also inherited my dad's 78s when he passed away, and I shopped them around to various antiques stores in town thinking someone might want them -- but no takers. So I just took them back with me. I do have a turntable and I play vinyl occasionally. I'll play more once I do something with all the piles of movies around the turntable. But my current turntable does play 78s -- just 45s and 33s. I remember 78s as being very fragile. We lived in the Midwest, and sometimes we'd find them shattered in the cupboard from the cold. Fortunately, I still have a dozen or so left that survived, along with my dad's albums by Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells and the like.
Unfortuntely, most of the childhood memorabilia I had I've cleared out over the years, or I didn't take care of it and it died of its own accord. I used to have a lot of those acetate 45s they'd have on the back on cereal boxes -- you know, like the Jackson 5. Those didn't play very well, though, especially if you scratched them.
It's interesting how our experiences are parallel in many ways. I also bought much of the stock of Hollywood Video when it closed its doors. I was visiting my mother and brother in my hometown again during the sale, and DVDs were as low as 50 cents each in the final days. I wound up shipping 140 titles back home -- lots of straight-to-DVD crappola, but a surprising amount of obscure indie films, documentaries, concert movies and low-budget oddities. I've probably so far watched only about one-fifth of the ones I've purchased.
I'm still much more drawn to VHS, though, and I've already bought 10 or 12 titles since I got here. I'm sure I'll buy more before I leave.
You were very lucky to grow up with showbiz connections and to have met some of those great old-school actors. I'm always drawn more to the B-names than the A-listers. Bradford Dillman I remember very well. I recently saw him in a few mid-'70s horror films, "Bug" and "Grizzly," which were much better than I expected. James Olson didn't ring a bell, but I looked up his face and I remember him from "Amityville II" and "Rachel Rachel," one of my favorite films of the '60s.
You have quite a taste for obscure oldies, which I do as well. I believe I rented "The Sterile Cuckoo" years ago, but I don't remember much about it. I also have the soundtrack on vinyl.
Well, I'd better sign off my brother's computer. Feel free to send me a private message, if you're interested. I've intentionally not give out any demographic information here because I believe in discretion on the Internet. Enjoy the final days of November, and have a great Christmas and New Year's. Write me anytime!
Hello, Denise1234:
I just sent you a private message. You know how to check those without the prompts, I hope? Anyway, let me know if you get it!
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