OUT OF SEASON-75 CLIFF ROBERTSON, VANESA REDGRAVE, SUSAN GEORGE- Has been for the most part a very hard find for decades. No network showings, barely if any syndication showings and the same goes for cable TV for decades. If on video years ago very limited, ANY DVD? you can check it out on YOU TUBE these days.
OUT OF SEASON-75 CLIFF ROBERTSON, VANNESA REDGRAVE, SUSAN GEORGE- Has been for the most part a very hard find for decades. No network showings, barely if any syndication showings and the same goes for cable TV for decades. If on video years ago very limited, ANY DVD? you can check it out on YOU TUBE these days.
There's only been a VHS release for OUT OF SEASON. I saw the film in the theater when it was first released, and would like to see it again. The film was one of the earliest feature productions by Lorimar, and was distributed in the U.S. by a tiny distributor (Athenaeum Films) before Lorimar signed on with majors such as United Artists and Warners to handle their distribution.
OUT OF SEASON was not registered for copyright when it was originally released, but was registered on 6 September 1994, when a 3/4 in. videocassette was submitted to the Copyright Office. The claimant on the copyright is Executive Action Enterprises, about which I know nothing.
Here’s a real rarity. CHECKMATE was an action-adventure/sexploitation film that was made in 1973. The film was a spy spoof that followed the exploits of Pepper Burns, aka Agent 00X, as she tangles with an unnamed power, represented by the sexy and intelligent Madame Chang, who is attempting to obtain the keys to a computer that controls an atomic weapon. Those keys are in the hands of men from the U.S.A., Russia, Britain, and France since those four powers jointly own a super secret satellite on which resides a nuclear bomb. The R-rated film is liberally laced with sex and nudity.
CHECKMATE was produced and directed by the Amero brothers, with John Amero producing and Lem Amero directing. Starting in 1967, John and Lem Amero collaborated on a string of softcore exploitation films and hardcore porno films, sharing and trading off the various roles of producer, director, writer, editor, cinematographer, and composer. None of their films are classics of the genre, but apparently they were profitable enough for the brothers to keep working though 1982.
Starring in CHECKMATE was Diana Wilson, who at one point reportedly had been a Playboy model. Another first-time actress, China-born An Tsan Hu, played “Madame Chang.” And an actor with the interesting name of Don Draper also made his debut in CHECKMATE. Another Playboy model, Ellen Michaels, who had been Playmate of the Month in March 1972, had a bit part in the film.
CHECKMATE was filmed in New York City, with location shooting in Central Park, the United Nations, the Plaza Hotel, and on Fifth Avenue. Filming was completed in October 1973. The 88-minute film was released by JER Pictures, most likely in late 1973, but no specific showings have been documented. Mid-Broadway Productions re-released the film in 1975 under the title PEPPER to cash in on Cheri Caffaro's popular "Ginger" series.
The first 1:30 of this clip shows some of the film—dubbed into German. In this scene, Pepper has a meeting with her boss, whose face is never seen throughout the film.
Although the opening credits of the film include a copyright statement for Circus Films, the film was not actually registered for copyright. PEPPER was released on a videocassette in 1982 by Vestron Video, but has otherwise been unavailable legitimately. It may be found on DVD from some gray market sources and as a download on a few suspect sites.
Here’s a photo collage from that video:
Diana Wilson would never star in another film. An Tsan Hu would appear as an unnamed passenger on 1976’s THE BIG BUS, but had few other roles. She later married publishing executive Lloyd Schiller. Both of them died when their Upper East Side (Manhattan) apartment bedroom caught fire in 2004. An Tsan Hu was 66. Don Draper went on to have a somewhat conventional acting career, with small roles in series episodes of “Lou Grant,” “Silver Spoons,” and “Newhart,” and roles in TV movies such as “Gideon’s Trumpet” and features such as CADDYSHACK II. Draper was active until he died in 1990 at age 61.
MAD MAD MOVIEMAKERS-74- i remember seeing this low budget comedy on a double feature with THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE-74 back in 74-MICHAEL PATAKI is in it.
MAD MAD MOVIE-MAKERS is a 1974 film produced and distributed by Bryanston Pictures. The film was the first producing credit for Steve Bono, who had started as a production manager in the late 1950s, and had most recently been an associate producer with Larry Spangler on the two NIGGER CHARLEY films (THE LEGEND OF NIGGER CHARLEY (1972) and THE SOUL OF NIGGER CHARLEY (1973)). MAD MAD MOVIE-MAKERS was directed by first-timer Ray Marsh. His only previous credit was as an associate producer on the 1972 Martin Sheen Civil War film, NO DRUMS, NO BUGLES.
MAD MAD MOVIE-MAKERS was originally titled and released as THE LAST PORNO FLICK. Starring in THE LAST PORNO FLICK were Frank Calcanini, in his only screen role, and veteran actor Michael Pataki. Pataki had been acting onscreen continuously since 1958, almost exclusively in television, and had a recurring role on “The Flying Nun.” His early 1970s feature work had been limited to small parts in exploitation films such as THE DIRT GANG (1972) and SWEET JESUS, PREACHERMAN (1973).
In a plotline similar to the 2008 film ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO, THE LAST PORNO FLICK is a comedy concerning two working men looking to make it rich by raising enough capital to bankroll a porno flick. They obtain money from their family and friends by claiming that they're making a religious film. Complications ensue when the porno is a hit. Despite the racy title, there was actually no nudity in the film.
Sources differ as to who scored the film, with Tony Bruno, Don Caverhill, and Lou Argese all being named. Bruno, whose only other scores were for HELL’S ANGELS ‘69 and DEEP THROAT PART 2, is cited most often, but only Caverhill and Argese get credit on the 27-minute gatefold soundtrack LP that was issued on Bryan Records.
Here are two tracks from the funky score, which was released on CD in 2010 and is available on iTunes.:
The budget for THE LAST PORNO FLICK was estimated at only $600,000. Filming took place from 12 November 1973 through mid-January 1974. Sources differ as to the running time of the PG-rated film, ranging from 87 to 93 minutes. The film probably began appearing in theaters in August 1974. Boxoffice magazine thought that the film “should generate a lot of word-of-mouth and be a big audience pleaser.” The review reaffirmed that “no actual pornographic material is to be seen, the emphasis being on comedy and the almost-forgotten technique of suggesting what’s going on without really showing it.” While observing that that “there is a great deal of ethnic humor, mostly Italian,” in the film, the reviewer noted that “lovely Robyn Hilton (the 39-19-34 blonde from BLAZING SADDLES) is a sight to behold” and that the photography by Irving Lippman was “first rate.”
Modern reviewers are less kind. The Motion Picture Guide gives the film zero stars, and calls it “An unnecessary spoof of the X-rated DEEP THROAT which is already a parody of itself. The humor is far from funny and tries too hard to be ‘hip,’ an automatic deathblow to a spoof.”
At some point, the film was retitled to MAD MAD MOVIE-MAKERS, possibly because having the word “Porno” in the film’s title was hurting business for the presumably family-friendly film. It was under this title that the film opened in Los Angeles and Washington DC on 11 December 1974.
The film was released on cassette as THE LAST PORNO FLICK by Abacus Entertainment, but has never had a DVD release. It had a British cassette release under the MAD MAD MOVIE-MAKERS title. It is currently available from some suspect download sites.
Steve Bono would produce the occasional film during the rest of the 1970s and 1980s (THE ONE MAN JURY, THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN GEORGIA) before retiring from filmmaking in the late 1980s. He died in 1994 at age 70. Ray Marsh would direct only one more feature (LORD SHANGO, produced by Steve Bono) but would begin a lengthy career as an assistant director in television that lasted until 2000. Michael Pataki continued a prolific acting career in television that saw him guest starring on such shows as “Charlie’s Angels,” “T.J. Hooker,” and “The Fall Guy.” He directed two low-budget 1970s drive-in exploitation features for producer Charles Band: the potently unnerving horror shocker, MANSION OF THE DOOMED (1976), and the amusingly silly soft-core comedy musical, CINDERELLA (1977). Pataki died at age 72 in 2010.
Just to mention an obscure one of my own - that I know pretty much nothing about but hey!
OK - so - not sure how it worked elsewhere, but in the UK in the early 80's you used to go to cinema, watch a short film, few adverts, then interval, then the main feature. I forget what I was taken to see (possibly ET? I saw it so many times back then...) at the old Arnolfini in Bristol, but the short film shown first was the absolutely enchanting (for a kid) The Dragon of Pendragon Castle (1952, according to teh interwebs). Would love to see this again but it's never cropped up. Any info?
MAD MAD MOVIEMAKERS-74- did get put into syndication years ago and pop up on TV stations like WPIX-TV - CHANNEL 11 IN NEW YORK, late at night. No cable exposure in years as far as i know.
I can't figure out how to add the poster photo, but I have been trying to find the Anthony Hopkins 1970's film When Eight Bells Toll, from the Alistair MacLean novel. I like the novel and found the movie good...when I was 15.
I can't figure out how to add the poster photo, but I have been trying to find the Anthony Hopkins 1970's film When Eight Bells Toll, from the Alistair MacLean novel. I like the novel and found the movie good...when I was 15.
Just to mention an obscure one of my own - that I know pretty much nothing about but hey!
OK - so - not sure how it worked elsewhere, but in the UK in the early 80's you used to go to cinema, watch a short film, few adverts, then interval, then the main feature. I forget what I was taken to see (possibly ET? I saw it so many times back then...) at the old Arnolfini in Bristol, but the short film shown first was the absolutely enchanting (for a kid) The Dragon of Pendragon Castle (1952, according to teh interwebs). Would love to see this again but it's never cropped up. Any info?
Sounds interesting, but I couldn't find much. However, the BFI site does have a listing.
I can't figure out how to add the poster photo, but I have been trying to find the Anthony Hopkins 1970's film When Eight Bells Toll, from the Alistair MacLean novel. I like the novel and found the movie good...when I was 15.
Sorry - didn't even think to look where bporter hails from. Multi-region player then? It's worth seeing....not Hopkins' finest moment, but it's worth a look.
NEITHER THE SEA NOR THE SAND-73-this little ghost story barely played anywhere in America on its theatrical release, It has also been a stranger to cable and free TV for decades.Was hard to find if it was ever on video. Any DVD?
BROTHER OF THE WIND was an outdoor adventure released in 1973 by Sun International Productions. The story concerns an aged, widowed hunter and mountain man, Sam Monroe, who refuses to leave his solitary cabin in the beautiful but harsh Rocky Mountain countryside. Although Sam is content to live alone, he is pleased when a female wolf and her newborn pups befriend him after the male of the family is killed by a bull elk. Sam’s life changes in a number of ways because of his growing attachment to the wolves. In addition to the wolves, 30 other animals appeared in the film (including a bear, cougar, elk, deer, raccoon, beaver, weasel, muskrat, and fox), which made the film a true wildlife experience.
The part of “Sam Monroe” was played by Dick Robinson, a wildlife handler and cameraman who first acted in an earlier Sun International film, TOKLAT (1971). That film starred long-time character actor Leon Ames, who serves as the narrator for BROTHER OF THE WIND. In addition to acting, Dick Robinson also produced and directed BROTHER OF THE WIND. Co-producing and writing the screenplay was John Mahon, who would later be involved in a few other Sun International films.
Composing the score and a title song were Gene Kauer and Douglas Lackey. The German-born Kauer had started his composing career in the late 1950s, under his given name of Guenther Kauer, doing low-budget sci-fi films such as THE ASTOUNDING SHE-MONSTER (1957) and THE CAPE CANAVERAL MONSTERS (1960). As Gene Kauer, he had been collaborating on scores with American Douglas Lackey since Lackey’s first film, 1964’s THE SILENT WITNESS, an early George Kennedy film. In the 1960s, the duo continued composing for a string of B-pictures like the 1966 Euro-spy film AGENT FOR H.A.R.M. Just before BROTHER OF THE WIND, they had scored the 1972 Chuck Connors Civil War drama THE PROUD AND THE DAMNED. But it was their scoring of 34 episodes of the 1969-72 television documentary series “Animal World,” produced and narrated by Bill Burrud, that probably brought the pair of composers to the attention of Sun International.
BROTHER OF THE WIND was filmed over a 2-year period, from 1970 to June 1972 in the Canadian Rockies, with the cooperation of the Canadian Forest Service and the Alberta Fish and Game Department. The majority of shooting was done in wildlife compounds, which were shot so that the fencing didn’t appear on camera. The film was shot in 16mm, being blown up to 35mm for release. Although a brief prologue in the opening credits suggests that the "Sam Monroe" seen on screen is an actual person and that the film is a documentary, Monroe is a fictional character. The title of the film is presented in the opening credits as part of the lyrics to the theme song: "Like the wind, your soul is free, you'll always be, A Brother of the Wind."
The 88-minute film may have had some of its “four-wall” bookings beginning in November 1972, but it saw most of its showings in early 1973. BROTHER OF THE WIND opened in nine Los Angeles theaters on 17 January 1973. Cinema National Corporation acted as a sub-distributor for the film in most U.S. markets. The film proved to be extremely profitable, grossing more than $7.5 million by the end of January. At that time, Sun International president G. M. Ridges expected the ultimate gross to be about $15 million. As one example of BROTHER OF THE WIND’s popularity, in February 1973, the film broke a 54-year-old attendance record at the Colonnade Theatre in Millersburg, PA, when 2,847 patrons saw the film on a single Saturday. In its review of the film, Boxoffice magazine declared that “family audiences, nature and animal lovers will find this outdoor wildlife film worthwhile entertainment. . . . The scenery is beautiful in Technicolor and there are some excellent photographic studies of the animals in closeup.”
BROTHER OF THE WIND also played in a number of European countries, such as Sweden, where it played in 1975. Here is an Italian poster for the film:
The opening credits of BROTHER OF THE WIND state that Sun International, Inc. copyrighted the film in 1972, but it was not actually registered for copyright. The film has never had a legitimate U.S. home video release, although it did have some television showings. It may be available on DVD from some gray market sources, most likely copied from tapes of those TV showings. Reportedly the film was issued in 2012 on DVD in Germany. But earlier, when the American Film Institute sought out a print to view for its cataloging project, the only print that could be located was missing the second of its five reels.
Dick Robinson would produce, direct, or act in about a half dozen additional outdoor adventures during the 1970s and early 1980s. Gene Kauer and Douglas Lackey would go on to compose for the other major distributor of outdoor dramas during the 1970s, Pacific International Enterprises, on films such as THE ADVENTURES OF THE WILDERNESS FAMILY (1975) and ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE (1976). In the early 1980s, they would go their separate ways. Kauer’s final major score would be for the 1983 Asian gangster thriller THE ONE ARMED EXECUTIONER. He died in 1983 at the age of 61. Lackey would give up composing in 1983, but would continue working as a music editor on more than 100 productions up until 2009.
NEITHER THE SEA NOR THE SAND-73-this little ghost story barely played anywhere in America on its theatrical release, It has also been a stranger to cable and free TV for decades.Was hard to find if it was ever on video. Any DVD?
Dan - NEITHER THE SEA NOR THE SAND is still available on DVD. Image Entertainment released it on their "Redemption" series of horror dvds. I have the dvd and it and it looks great. It's a great little thriller - an erotic ghost story with some genuinely creepy moments, and beautifully photographed.
Looks like Image has two different DVDS of this available. I have the one released in 2007, which you can still purchase for $5.99. They have a recently upgraded edition (with different cover artwork) which costs $17.99.
The few i heard who did see this, said it was pretty good as well.Too bad it didn't get a bigger release, but you and i know that story. It is a story that is a big part of genre history. So many of those low budget genre films that played at many theatres a few years before did not when THE EXORCIST took the genre biz by surprised. It change the whole way a genre film would be exposed. A movie like SAND, a few years before would have played in many American theatres on a double feature for at least a week. Film companies became so scared after THE EXORCIST was a smash to take a chance anymore with a run of the mill[not run of the mill as far as how good it was, that's just an opinion, but run of the mill for B,O potential] product.The European genre film really took a hit. While i did like THE EXORCIST, it is a shame what happened.Somehow genre fans lost all those wonderful hours of genre entertainment that was given to them with modest production values. In a movie it's all about the story. The theatrical industry and the world would never be the same.
If you were to look at alot of people who became well known in the industry and others who didn't. you will notice like all things in life, it is not always about talent but timing. Many talented people made a film for the video market a little too late in the 80's when the video industry popularity started to leveled out. They missed the bandwagon. However the guys who jumped on the video bandwagen when video was just growing to giant proportions in the early 80's and made a name for themselves later on. Even though some might feel their early product was bad.In the early 80's as video stores were opening everywhere they needed product to fill their shelves alongside the big blockbuster films.Whatever you made then, you got your film sold. You got good exposure and then took it from there. Such was not always the case with the people who started later in the biz. In the same way CHRISTOPHER LEE and PETER CUSHING[BOTH FINE ACTORS] hit it at the right time to become well known in the genre. People like RALPH BATES and the like came in when that type of film was going out, so they [fine actors too] didn't become household names.There are of course so many stories like these that occured in the film industry, often not talked about much.Like that hit song from the early 60's, TIMING, that's what it is all about.Of course i am not blaming the EXORCIST, for everything, but there is no question that film create so many problems for so many people in that field. HAMMER for one.