Wednesday, August 31, 2011

SHANTY TRAMP



DIRECTOR:
Joseph P. Mawra

WRITERS:
Reuben Guberman
Joseph P. Mawra
K. Gordon Murray

CAST:
Lee Holland ( AKA Eleanor Vaill )
Kenneth Douglas ( AKA Otto Schlesinger )
Lewis Galen
Bill Rogers
Lawrence Tobin



Emily ( Lee Holland )


Emily's father ( Kenneth Douglas )


Daniel ( Lewis Galen )


Preacher ( Bill Rogers )


Savage ( Lawrence Tobin )


Emily shares a filthy shack with her alcoholic and abusive father. She's a whore and proud of it. Her moral compass broke a long time ago, and she doesn't seem too concerned about fixing it anytime soon.

A sanctimonious-horny-preacher brings his traveling show to town. Emily attends one of his meetings and chats with him after it ends. They instantly want to jump each other's bones, but the preacher's assistant reminds him about prior commitments. So they make a date for later that night.

Emily decides to slither on over to a local bar. Minutes later, a biker gang arrives. Their leader is called Savage.

Savage spots Emily dancing with a guy and decides he wants her for himself. The doofus promptly gets his ass kicked by the rest of the gang. Emily could care less!

She agrees to sell her companionship to Savage for a "fin" ( $5.00 ). So they borrow a room in the back of the bar. Unfortunately for Emily, Savage doesn't feel like paying for some loving, so Savage lives up to his name.

Daniel hears Emily yelling and saves her.

Savage and the gang vow vengeance on Daniel.

Emily thanks Daniel by offering up her body. He initially rejects her. Moments later, "little Daniel" convinces him to take a trip to "beaverville".

Wouldn't you know it, her father walks in on them. Emily plays the victim and falsely accuses Daniel of raping her.

Soon a ton of white men are hunting for Daniel. Since Daniel is black and lives in the south, that automatically makes him guilty of anything and everything. So trying to convince an angry mob of rednecks otherwise, is fruitless.

Savage and his gang go to Daniel's house, and they accidentally end up killing Daniel's mother. So they take off.

Daniel needs to get out of town. Out of desperation, he steals a car from some drug dealers. The dealers chase after him.

Meanwhile, Emily is on the run from the cops after she uses her father as a human pin-cushion.

The preacher is getting ready to leave town. Will Emily meet the preacher in time to leave with him?

Will Daniel get away, and clear his name?

Emily loves playing with fire, and now she's burned several people... including herself...



QUOTES:
Daniel's mother: "Daniel, you quit staring at that shanty tramp!"

Preacher: "Amen sister Emily, Amen..."

Emily: "Why don't you go on home, or find yourself a nice warm spot in the gutter and sleep it off!"

Daniel's mother: "You hear me boy?.. This time of night, it ain't smart for black folk to be seen downtown"

Savage: "You don't know what fun is, you teasing little bitch!"

Emily: "Come and get it, man..."

Daniel: "Tramp!"

Preacher: "Do ya hear me?!.. The devil is having himself a party!"

Daniel: "She lies!!.. she lies!!!.. SHE LIES!!!!"

Emily's father: "I got a little game you can play with your pa.."

Preacher: "I'm going to show that shanty tramp the power and the glory..."



VIDEO INFO:
DVD
FULLscreen
Black & white
Region one
Company - ALPHA
NOT rated
Extra #1 - Double feature called COMMON LAW WIFE.
Extra #2 - A black and white "nudie short" called ALICE FROM DALLAS.
Extra #3 - I counted at least 11 trailers.
Inserts - Yes. It contains a Alpha Video mini catalog.

OBTAINED AT - CD Universe

PRICE - $5.79



DO I WANT MY MONEY BACK?:
NO!...

UPDATED on May 28, 2016.....

THE RIALTO REPORT found and interviewed Joseph P. Mawra. It was Mr. Mawra, NOT Joseph G. Prieto aka José Prieto, that directed SHANTY TRAMP.

This movie is a shitload of fun!

Everyone does a great job.

It took A LOT OF GUTS to make this movie in the south during the 1960s. I'm NOT saying that because of the sleaze factor, I'm saying it because of all the racial issues it brings up.

FYI: According to John Harrison of REEL WILD CINEMA ( Australian fanzine - no longer published ), Bob Clark - of BLACK CHRISTMAS, PORKY's, and A CHRISTMAS STORY fame - was assistant director!

ALPHA's version of SHANTY TRAMP looks like crap. The best thing about it, is the price, and the fact it's part of a double feature. The other movie is called COMMON LAW WIFE. There's also a vintage nudie short called ALICE FROM DALLAS.

SOMETHING WEIRD also has this movie for sale ( as a DVD-R or download ). So you may want consider buying their version instead of ALPHA's.

NOTE: I have NOT seen SOMETHING WEIRD's version, so I can NOT tell you anything about it. But, let's face it, it's got to be better than ALPHA's version...

Do yourself a favor, and do NOT buy this movie from OLDIES... The customer service at OLDIES.COM is among the worst I've ever encountered!... You've been warned!...

I used the BFI and SOMETHING WEIRD websites as sources for some of the cast information.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

BREATHLESS



DIRECTOR:
Jim McBride

WRITERS:
François Truffaut
Jean-Luc Godard
L.M. Kit Carson
Jim McBride

CAST:
Richard Gere
Valérie Kaprisky
John P. Ryan
Robert Dunn
William Tepper
Garry Goodrow
Waldemar Kalinowski
Art Metrano
Miguel Pinero
Jack Leustig


Jesse Lujack ( Richard Gere )


Monica Poiccard ( Valérie Kaprisky )


Lt. Parmentel and Sgt. Enright ( John P. Ryan and Robert Dunn )


Paul ( William Tepper )


Berrutti ( Garry Goodrow )


Jesse is a con man and drifter. He never seems to think about the consequences of his actions.

Monica is from France and attending college in Los Angeles. She hates herself for falling under Jesse's spell.

Their romance has more ups and downs than a roller coaster.

Jesse heads to Los Angeles after stealing a Porsche 356 in Las Vegas.

He drives recklessly and ends up attracting the attention of a cop. One thing leads to another, and before you know it, the officer is dead. Jesse instantly becomes a hunted man.

He goes looking for Monica and tries to convince her to go to Mexico with him.

While he waits for Monica to make up her mind, Jesse bounces all over town trying to get his hands on some quick cash.

Meanwhile, the cops harass Monica and try to pressure her into divulging Jesses's whereabouts.

The pair decide to run, but the cops are hot on their trail.

They finally manage to find a hiding place. The next morning, Monica makes a decision that will change their destiny...





QUOTES:
Monica: "Desperado?.. What does it mean?"

Paul: "You know Frank Lloyd Wright?.. This is Frank Lloyd Wrong"

Jesse: "You're like one of those girls that'll fuck everybody in the world, except the guy who loves her"

Monica: "Stare at you and stare at you, and I can't see anything"

Jesse: "Don't take a shower. I want us to smell like we've been fucking"

Lt. Parmentel: "Listen.. LISTEN!.. Don't f.. u.. c.. k.. with the L.A.P.D."

Monica: "I don't want to be afraid of life, or anything else"

Monica: "It dosen't matter if I love you.. It's wrong for us.."

Jesse: "Adios amigo!.."





VIDEO INFO:
DVD
FULLscreen
Color
Region one
Company - MGM
Rated R
Extras - A theatrical trailer for BREATHLESS... That's it!
Inserts - Yes. It contains a four page color folder.



OBTAINED AT - Big Lots

PRICE - $3.00



DO I WANT MY MONEY BACK?:
NO!...

As a general rule, I hate remakes. However, there are exceptions to that rule. Such as THE THING, and BREATHLESS.

This is a remake of À BOUT DE SOUFFLE.

When I was a kid, I saw the orignial version on television, and I instantly loved it.
It felt like a breath of fresh air.

It's funny how your opinion of some films change with time. I still like À BOUT DE SOUFFLE, and I still regard Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut as kick-ass fimmakers. However, I can no longer watch the original without wanting to yell at the screen. It just seems far too talky, and much too slow.

Meanwhile, I used to hate BREATHLESS. Now, I love it. In fact, it does NOT feel like a REMAKE anymore.



I love the camera work. The scenes look so beautiful. Such as when Monica is at the bus stop waiting, and we see the Santa Ana winds blow through her hair. The instrumental music by Phillip Glass fits this scene perfectly.

I did NOT appreciate seeing Richard's "gear" several times. However, the filmmakers even things out by showing us Valerie's "tunnel of love" a few times... ha-ha-ha-ha...

X performs an outstanding version of BREATHLESS. Unfortunately, it only plays during the end credits.

NOTE: This movie has been butchered to FULLscreen!... That's such a fucking stupid thing to do... Plus the video and audio quality is NOT good.