WTF?! - Savage Streets (1984)

WTF?! - Savage Streets (1984)

“They raped her sister... killed her best friend. Now she must seek revenge!”

Next up in WTF Cinema magnificence is the 1984 Linda Blair vigilante extraordinaire film, “Savage Streets.” Released on October 5, 1984, New York Magazine described the film as “All about the seedy violence of the Hollywood Boulevard underworld.” When the evil gang “The Scars” push their weight around, just a little too much (and that’s putting it nicely) the leader of “The Satins” Brenda (Linda Blair) saddles up with her hottest zip-up jump suit and crossbow, going practically Ape-Shit on every gang member who does her wrong. You see, Brenda’s deaf-mute baby sister Heather (Linnea Quigley) gets gang-raped by “The Scars” while Brenda is settling a score with another dame in the girls' shower at The High School. 

Let’s start by saying that “Savage Streets” won’t be everyone’s cup of punk-turned-champion tea. However, forty years later, this film still holds its own. There are some incredibly eye-opening 80s fashions and some great cinematography of Hollywood and Los Angeles before any gentrification took place. “Savage Streets” is CO-written and directed by Danny Steinmann, a former porn director.

Although largely panned when first released, “Savage Streets” has grown a huge cult following. This film wasn’t produced to make any kind of statement, just to make money and entertain. Although it has some rough scenes in it to watch, it’s an honest film. The film makers and actors believe in it. You can tell by how hard they’re trying. 

“Savage Streets” features an incredible array of 80s rock music, mostly performed by Australia’s acclaimed artist John Farnham. It’s rumored that the incredible soundtrack for the film wasn’t released due to a marketing “pullback.” Copies of the LP you may find today would be Demo Copies. In 2005 the independent label Turbo Productions did release and abbreviated version of the film’s soundtrack, but that has come and gone. Fans of “Animal House” will recognize actor John Vernon (Dean Wormer) as Principal Underwood. Cinema-files with a real keen eye will recognize “Showgirls’” Gina Gershon as a glorified extra in the film. 

WTF moments in “Savage Streets” include; gang leader Jake’s razor blade earring; The way the male members bond by kissing each other on the lips; Linda Blair roughing up not one, but two chicks: one in class, ripping off her top: and the other in an all-nude shower fight that makes “Orange Is The New Black” look like the pillow fight from the film “Annie.”; the preparation and execution of a skin tight jump suit, accompanied by a loaded crossbow, which Blair has no problem accessing to revenge the gang; and the untimely demise of pregnant character Francine in the hands of “The Scars” (complete with wedding gown and all).

What defies detailed description is a very violent, uncomfortable and prolonged rape scene with Heather and the gang. It’s the toughest part of the film to watch and I can only assume that Steinmann took it to that extent because: (a) he was going for shock value and (b) his experience in adult films allowed him a much more realistic simulation ... too real. Many years later actress Linnea Quigley (Heather) told author Louis Paul (“Tales from the Cult Film Trenches,”) “That was a film that I did with Linda Blair, who was great to work with. However, my scenes involved being raped. My character was not allowed to have any lines. It was a very hard film to make.”  In her book “Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film,” Carol J. Clover writes, “...if Farrah Fawcett of Extremities stands at the more credible end of the continuum, Linda Blair in Savage Streets stands at the other.”  

“Savage Streets” which first picked up an X rating, then was “downgraded” to an R, was one of a slew of “lone tough girl” films to be released about that time in the 80s. Scarred (1983) and the start of the “Angel” series (1984) to name a few. Although “Savage Streets” has been classified as a girl gang film, the Satins’ Debra (Blair) does a majority of the fighting. After all, a girl can only take so much crap. 

Independent CODE RED announced a limited Blu-ray release (only 1000 copies issued) for April of this year, for its fortieth anniversary. Sadly, that has not surfaced. I contacted CODE RED, and I am awaiting their reply. I recommend renting or buying the 2disc DVD box set, if anything else. You should see this film strictly as a study in that this film got made. A film like this couldn’t be and wouldn’t be produced by the studios, today. It just wouldn’t exist. It has some great one-liners and a plot-line that will have you rooting for Blair by the end. 

“Savage Streets” starring; Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley, Johnny Venocur, Sal Landi, Scott Mayer and Debra Blee. Directed by Danny Steinmann. (1984) 93 minutes. 

WTF?! - It's A Small World (1950)

WTF?! - It’s A Small World - (1950)

“This is a story of a special group of people. It concerns the great difficulty they have in adjusting themselves to a normal world.”

This week in WTF Cinema I focus on a little lesser known film entitled “It’s A Small World.” The film tells the tale of midget Harry Musk (Paul Dale) and his plight to fit into his all adult-sized world. An early profiteering offering by shocker great William Castle, “It’s A Small World” features a strong supporting cast and a simple, progressive life storyline. In the opening of the film we see Musk as a boy on the playground being bullied by his classmates. He longs after the girls, battles at home with his sister, and raised by his father. As he gets older he doesn’t get bigger; the world around him does. After having his heart crushed by his high school sweetheart, who announces she’s leaving to be married to her new beau, Harry chooses to leave the nest and venture into the big city, hoping to find acceptance and a purpose. 

“Small World’s” writer and director William Castle was quoted in the Los Angeles Times; "I thought the time was ripe for an offbeat story, one that the majors would shy away from; so I wrote it myself. We chose midgets, a sociological rather than a racial minority, because we felt nobody ever has taken them quite seriously, although they are as much a part of the human race as the next guy. Our picture would not be on the freak side…”  

I quite enjoyed this little unchartered flick. Castle shares a sweeter side with his script, and the Lilliputian main character could be anyone who is ostracized today; because of race, sexual preference, physical or mental disability, et. al. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that “It’s A Small World” shares the common denominator with the human side of growing older and asking to be accepted into humanity.  Although it first appears as exploitative, once you begin to follow the path of the main character’s life story, you feel empathy for him. It’s just a simple story about someone who’s different trying to fit into society; learning that it’s not always about fitting in, but forging your own path and standing out. The performances are all honest, and genuine.

The film, told almost as a three-act play, follows Harry on his life path.  Released on June 24th, 1950, by Eagle-Lion films, “Small World” came and went with not much hoopla, but its message is simple and effective. It's not a horror movie, but quite frequently compared to “Freaks”; it's really not the same type of movie. As in all of Castle’s films, emulating Hitchcock, he made cameo appearances - look for him as a cop in this one.

(Trying not to spoil it too much) At one point, we visit the factual and well-known Cole Brothers Circus homed in Miami, FL. Founded in 1884, as "W.W. Cole’s New Colossal Shows" the CBC was most noted as the home of Bobo the Clown; and noted animal trainer Clyde Beatty. Beatty rose to fame in Hollywood as an accomplished Lion Tamer.

Stand alone kudos goes out to little person actor Paul Dale.

It’s Hollywood “history” that Dale got his start in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” as one of the Lollipop Guild members. Dale was also one of the bell hops in the radio and TV ads for Philip Morris cigarettes. He was the one in the hotel lobby calling "CALL FOR PHILIP MORRIS!!!" He was also the voice of Lennie Lennox on a program on KFJB radio in Marshalltown, Iowa, which was sponsored by Lennox Industries (the makers of Lennox furnaces). 
Dale appeared in an all midget review

in the 40s but went back to Hollywood to appear in “Small World.” Surprisingly, he didn’t receive much. The little-person actor only received $700-$800 for his role in the film. 

Noted supporting performance accolades go out to; handsome “It’s a Wonderful Life” actor (brother Harry Bailey) Todd Karns - who in his charming performance befriends Musk, employing him as a shoeshine boy; and Actor Will Gear as William Musk, Harry’s father. Geer is probably best known for the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, an outdoor professional theatre, still producing plays here in the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles. Actress Lorraine Miller (White Gorilla) as “Buttons” the sharp talkin’- no nonsense crooked dame, whom Harry falls for in the big city turns in a memorable performance; and fellow little person actress Anne Sholter as Seasoned Circus Showgal “Dolly Burke.”

Notable technical contributor to the film (outside of the mind of William Castle) is Cinematographer Karl Struss (Sunrise, The Fly, and The Great Dictator). That being said, the film has a beautifully shot and has a pretty look to it. 

“It’s a Small World” represents a progressionary period for William Castle. He was slowly drifting from his noir films like “Johnny Stool Pigeon” to more iconic horror films like “The Tingler” and “House On Haunted Hill.” In 1949 Castle moved over to Universal-International under a three-year contract that he claimed was double what he had received from his former employer, Columbia Pictures. Castle referred to the struggling studio as a a “country club with flowers and manicured lawns, that gave the feeling of peace and tranquility.” After “It’s  Small World,” UI forced Castle out of contract and back into the arms of Columbia. 

Wonderful WTF moments in “It’s A Small World” include; his bratty sister leading the torment of nonacceptance; Harry’s Pick Pocket crew in the city, led by “Buttons” and the over-sized strangling Godmother (Nina Koshetz);

some wonderfully kooky time progression montages which include some floating faces in flashback of torment and the rough big city; and an oddly placed musical number called “It’s A Small World” sung by our hero near the end of the picture. 

The biggest WTF fact? Now here’s the kicker; “Paul Dale” is actually performer Dale E. Paullin, and as of the writing of this article, still lives today in a Rest Home in Iowa. At age 90 he still seems cognizant of his days as a performer. Paullin had an extensive show business career billed as Paul Dale. Other than appearing in “It’s a Small World,” he was a tap dancer and sang as a tenor and a soprano. During his career, Paullin periodically returned to Marshalltown to visit family and to appear as a guest star with the County Marshalls band as part of KFJB’s “Barn Dance,” program performed live at the Coliseum. Paullin left school early to pursue that career. Paullin has a memoir “Amazing! Daring!” subtitled; “A Man Forced to Live in a Child’s World” which is the subtitle on the poster of “It’s A Small World.”

This now-senior has found himself in a “hot bed” of controversy over the years, solely because he is attributed with an “uncredited” credit on IMDB as one of the Lollipop Guild members in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz.” He speaks fondly of his days on the set with Judy Garland, however he is never seen in the film. Years later he affirms that a former coworker informed him that his scenes were “cut” from the film. Who Knows? No one but Paullin really knows the truth because he has no photos of him on the set of the film. 

Did Paullin appear in the Wizard of Oz or not? Not in the final cut he doesn’t. He claims he was in the film, told people he’s in the film, but was later informed that he was cut from the film. The man is 90 and is a good example of how he could rewrite history. Ruth Smith was also from Marshalltown, IA and is confirmed as being in it. Smith passed away in the mid 80s. Paullin’s love for Iowa seemed dutiful. His parents are buried there, and he’s been embraced by the Marshalltown community as a hometown hero. Just this year Aiddy Phomvisay, Marshalltown High School principal presented Dale Paullin of Marshalltown with an honorary MHS diploma at a special ceremony at the Villa del Sol complex, where he lives. Phomvisay said Paullin earned the degree because he had moved from Marshalltown at a young age, but had remained “a life long learner” and thereby exemplified other MHS graduates. Paullin, 90, said he was thrilled with the honor. “I’m proud to be a Marshalltonian today,” he said. Witnessing the ceremony were Paullin’s friends and fellow Villa del Sol residents. A display of memorabilia from Paullin’s life and show business career is on display at the Historical Society of Marshall County museum, 202 E. Church St., in Marshalltown, IA.

“It’s A Small World” faded into oblivion until the “Something Weird” video line released the film on VHS in 1995, and most recently, the brains over at Warner Archives now offer it on DVD for purchase. 

"It's A Small World" 
1950 - 74 minutes DVD
$14.99
Click HERE to buy

Below are a couple of wonderful interviews with Paullin as well as the "It's A Small World" musical number!




Desmoine Register Interview

WHO-TV Interview

WTF?! - So Fine (1981)

WTF?! - So Fine (1981)

When I was a kid, just about the age of 13 or so I remember playing in my parent’s attic and coming across a dresser drawer with buttons in it. They were all shapes and sizes. Not buttons like you’d sew on a shirt, no; but they were badges with different fun sayings on them. I’d giggle at the one that said, “I don’t mind if you smoke, as long as you don’t mind if I fart,” and “Linda Lovelace for President.” As I flipped through these funny medallions I found one that said “So Fine” with the picture of a woman’s rump slipped into jeans with her fanny cheeks showing trough clear plastic windows. I marveled at it. I thought, so weird... but funny!

I later came to find out that it was a promotional item for a film that had come out that year called, “So Fine” from Warner Brothers. “So Fine" stars Ryan O’Neal and comic vet Jack Warden. With the onset of Philadelphia area’s Prism Cable TV channel, I finally got to see the film when it first came on TV. Not remembering much of the film but remembering it was a little silly, I came across the film on 16mm as bid item on EBAY; but alas, lost the bid to someone in Canada (Damn Canadians!). Finally, I’m thrilled to say that Warner Archives does this one proud, and now makes it available on DVD.

Our story takes place in the hallowed halls of a New England university where our stuffy hero, Bobby Fine (Ryan O’Neal) teaches literature. His father Jack (Jack Warden) runs a failing 7th Avenue dress factory and is way-into debt with a monster of a mobster loan shark, played by James Bond villain extraordinary Richard Kiel. After getting wrapped up in a resolution deal with the loan shark, Bobby dives into a rendezvous with the mobster’s wife (Mariangela Melato of Swept Away). While escaping from being caught in bed with the doll, Bobby rips his jeans open in the butt, accidentally creating a new fashion craze called “So Fine Jeans.” 

“So Fine” is the directing debut for screenwriter and New york native Andrew Bergman. Bergman rose to acclaim by co-penning such hilarities as “Blazing Saddles” and “The In-Laws.” In a wonderful interview with author Joel Engel, “Screenwriters on Screenwriting,” Bergman recounts his feelings on the film:

AB: “I’m still sort of an academic... I think that’s why ‘So Fine’ was about academia; it was a metaphor for the movie business. Ryan O’Neal going into the dress business was really me going into the movie business.”

JE: “Ryan O’Neal seems to me to have been interesting casting.”

AB: “He’s a great physical comedian. First of all, Warner Brothers wasn’t going to let me do the picture unless we had a major star in it. Ryan was it. I mean, he’s not the logical person to play an English professor who’s Jewish. But I really wanted to make the picture, so I said, ‘Screw it.’ Ryan is a great physical comedian--I think one of the great wasted talents. He’s extraordinarily funny.”

Melato and Keil cut the Disco rug

When I bought “So Fine” I thought for sure that I’d be reliving how bad the film was, and only enjoying it for its 80s camp value. The funny thing is, I loved it! Now an adult who’s seen much more of the world, and experienced many more slapstick comedies; 

I have to say, I feel that “So Fine” actually delivers “the funny” way more than originally thought. O’Neal is hands down charming in the role. His role as Bobby is quite reminiscent of his screwball antics with Barbra Streisand in “What’s Up, Doc?” Jack Warden’s one liners had me gaffaing out loud and splitting my stitches of the comic blue jeans in my head. I also took delight in some quick, but contributive cameos; Fred Gwynne (aka Herman Munster) as the university’s Department Chairman; Asian character actor James Hong (Blade Runner, Kung Fu Panda); and most-notably, singer comedienne Judith Cohen, who was discovered on the classic sit-com “Good Times” as a sad-sack performer singing “Send In The Clowns.” 

Sadly, this Clothing Industry comedy didn’t do well and was a farcical flop at the box office. David Denby of New York Magazine called the film “crass and depressingly unfunny”; but liked Malato comparing her to Streisand, only “quieter, prettier, and funnier.” Ryan O’Neal spoke highly of Melato in his memoir “Both Of Us: My Life with Farrah," but thought it was a weak debut for Bergman. In his 40s when “So Fine” was released, O’Neal’s most recent success, up to that point, was with Streisand in “The Main Event” just a few years earlier. “So Fine” would appear to be a slump for him, until “Irreconcilable Differences” came out in 1984. 

Mariangela Melato and Ryan O'Neal 

Despite other bad reviews, Janet Maslin of “The New York Times” liked the hometown film, writing “Mr. Bergman's direction is for the most part skillful and confident. 'So Fine' is a little shapeless overall, especially after it sends Bobby back to his college once the jeans have made jean history. But its comic episodes are nicely controlled, and the movie has a consistent zany style. An early college sequence, with Fred Gwynne offering a wittily grotesque caricature of a department chairman and David Rounds as an ambitious underling, is perfectly in keeping with the gangster and garment episodes that come later.”

“So Fine” has a silly charm to it, but is possible the film didn't do well because it was poking fun at women in a unintentionally misogynistic manner. (I mean, it was the 80s) That being said, “So Fine” is a great film to watch because it launches the 80s as a decade, having fun and poking light at the superficial clothing design industry. The film played for a few years on cable and broadcast TV but pretty much disappeared in the 90s until now. The DVD offering from Warner Archives looks great and is presented in its original widescreen format.

Bergman would not regain popularity as a director until “The Freshman” about a decade later. Bergman, finishing his thoughts on “So Fine”: 

“The Movie was a bomb, but I must say that, to this day, some of the funniest things I’ve ever done were in that movie. Jack Warden’s performance was hysterical. The opera sequence. The whole ongoing thing between Warden and the buyers. For sheer, piss-in-the-pants funny, the movie has some of the best dialogue I’ve ever written.”

So Fine (1981)  
DVD 
$14.95

Warner Archives

WTF?! - Pajama Party (1964)

WTF?! - Pajama Party (1964)

"When the Pajama Tops meet the Pajama Bottoms someone's gonna have a Fit!"

Having breakfast at dinner time can be such a fun treat. After our beloved Annette Funicello passed last week we decided to have some friends over our house and break out our 16mm print of the 1964 crazy fun teen flick Pajama Party, starring Annette Funicello, Tommy Kirk, Elsa Lanchester, Dorothy Lamour, Buster Keaton and the back of Frankie Avalon's head. (more on that in a bit)


As our friends gathered, wearing their PJs and robes, we all took part in some yummy waffles with fruit, mimosas, and other breakfast fare. We fired up the projector and seconds later we were plunged into bed with the crazy story that is Pajama Party.

Released in the winter of 1964, Pajama Party is the story of Go Go (Tommy Kirk) a half-witted Martian sent down to earth to initiate the takeover of the planet by the Martians. Here he meets Aunt Wendy (Elsa Lanchester), a well-to-do heiress and Connie (Annette Funicello) a good girl "on the make." A second storyline involves J. Sinister Hulk (Jesse White) and his crew plotting to steal Aunt Wendy's fortune; and even a third storyline with Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) planning revenge on the beach kids for getting "footprints in his sand." Lembeck was in ALL 6 beach films, which were produced and released over the span of 3 and half short years.

Gals of Pajama Party

Cameos include Dorothy Lamour in a film-stopping dance number at the local dress shop. Her number "Where Did I Go Wrong?" had our guest shrieking with laughter; and Don Rickles entertains as Go Go's "managing officer."

Previewing in November of 1964, opening in 50 Los Angeles theaters and Drive-Ins on December 2nd, and aimed at the 15-25 year old movie goers;  Pajama Party is produced by American International Pictures and its fearless leader Samuel J. Arkoff. Arkoff mastered the art of taking a mediocre budgeted plot line, marketing it to the youngsters, tapping into their hormones and angst, and profiting on it. He was once quoted saying, "None of the beach movies ever lost money. They all made a profit."

The jury is still out on why Frankie Avalon wasn't featured in the film. We mostly see the very back of his head until the very end of the film when Avalon "reveals" it was him as the master commander the whole time. Some say that because the budget for Pajama Party was a mere $200,000 (Beach Party's budget would chime in at a whopping $600,000) AIP didn't have the amount of money to pay Avalon his desired fee, so they essentially cut his larger role into a cameo. More likely is that in the fall of '64 Frankie Avalon was busy shooting I’ll Take Sweden. AIP hired Kirk to appear with his frequent co-star Annette, from the Disney days. Disney was slowly "weaning" out Kirk because as he was growing older his general appearance and demeanor was reaching a "questionable" feminine side. (Tommy was outed by his boyfriend’s irate mother in the spring of '65 and fired off the set of The Monkey's Uncle by Disney.) AIP promoted Kirk's appearances more strongly than they promoted Avalon, and the chemistry on screen carried over into Pajama Party.

Boys on the Beach

Tommy Kirk is not without his set of bulging swimsuits and offering outfits mostly provided by Aunt Wendy. He does his fair share of chasing, including Swedish bombshell Helga (Bobbi Shaw) and Buster Keaton's American Indian character, Chief Rotten Eagle. Don Rickles even jokes "...knowing him, he'll probably catch the Indian!"

This delightful film is no Citizen Kane but it sure is entertaining. Look closely and you'll see a young Teri Garr (billed as Teri Hope) and Toni Basil (of "Mickey" fame) in the dance sequences. In her autobiography Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood, Garr writes fondly about her time spent with choreographer/friend David Winters on the film. She also talks about the day the director asked if anyone can stunt dive; "I can stunt dive." said Garr, knowing full well she couldn't and that stunt divers can make a little extra money. "What do you know how to do?" said the director. "I know how to do a Blony." (Garr made that up) "A Blony?" "Yes," said Garr. "Well how much would you want for it?" Garr replied, "500 dollars." Seeing that the director was distressed by her rate she replied, "OK, I'll do it for $250."

The cast also features the wonderful singer Donna Loren,

crooning the song "Among the Young," in a wonderful beach number feature slow sultry Susan Hart (who in every scene her dancing is so hot it seems to boil punch in the punchbowl, wilt flowers, and ignite volcanoes); also represented is Beach Maven Candy Johnson. Pajama Party was Johnson's final film in the series. At that point choreographer David Winters was using more of his friends like Garr and Basil in the numbers, and slowly pushing the veterans into the background. The supporting cast always "supported" the openings of these low budget masterpieces with public appearances in the most humble of settings. Donna Loren hosted a Thanksgiving parade in Silver Springs that year. Gossip columnist and woman-around-town Dorothy Kilgallen also makes an odd but fun cameo as a woman falling on and off one of the Rats' motorcycles during a crazy chase scene. Dorothy Kilgallen was always in the public eye with her column as well as game shows like What's My Line?.

When Buster Keaton was interviewed regarding his Indian character and what filming Pajama Party was like, he would simply reply "harrumph!" It was evident that most players in this game were doing it just for the paycheck. Pajama Party is arguably one of the best of AIP's beach movies solely for the fact that it exists simply to delight and entertain. Its ingenuous spirit works, even though the plot line is thin and the clunky dialogue is unpolished. Annette is not without her songs as well. "It's That Kind of Day," and "There Has to Be a Reason" are fun and lightly melodic. There's also some wonderful incidental music by tiki great Les Baxter. Wonderful WTF moments include;  Crazy opening credits, produced by Butler-Glouner in LA. (Butler-Glouner did tons of opening sequences for AIP.) Annette's "Stuffed Animal" song where she romantically sings about the joys of owning a creepy stuffed animal vs. dealing with boys; Annette's "Pajama Party" theme song, arriving near the end of the film. (one of our guests even exclaimed, "FINALLY! The Pajama Party!"; Racist Indian jokes from Buster Keaton; racist boobie jokes from the Norwegian (It was the 60s that's all I'm saying); and the all too crazy plot with too many antagonists.

 
Pajama Party is a celebration. It's not a deep sleep, but like waking up from a pleasant dream the next morning. Rent the DVD today on MGM home video. Better yet, buy it. You'll want to have it around and watch it whenever you're looking for a fun, guilty pleasure.

New CD Compilation

Original LP

(82 Min)