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Maryjane
(1968 USA): The unwarranted excitement is almost palpable at
Seal Manors. The elusive Maryjane, last spied by this scribe
on television during the 1970s and never available on home
video, returns to the small screen. This film has been on my
wants list for years, and now that itÕs finally within my
grasp, I should probably come to grips with the fact that
what enthralled me as an adolescent may bore me silly as an
adult. After all, director Maury DexterÕs other clunkers
include a number of titles - The Day Mars Invaded Earth, The
Young Swingers, and The Mini Skirt Mob amongst them - that
promised many more thrills than they actually delivered.
MaryjaneÕs premise, though, remains interesting: a high
school teacher (aging teen heartthrob Fabian) smokes dope,
lives to tell the tale, and tries to break up the local gang
of drug peddlers. Amongst the supporting cast of this AIP
teensploitationer are Teri Garr, Dick Gautier, and future
director Gary Marshall, and a groovy Mike Curb soundtrack
(available, of course, via CapitolÕs Tower Records
subsidiary) is the final icing on the cake. Or should I say
hash brownie?_
Double Feature! __MARYJANE 1968 _U.S. film. Cool 60s
marijuana exploitation movie about a delinquent teenage pot
smoking club called ÒMary Jane.Ó The film begins with a car
full of pot smoking teens driving recklessly down the road
until they hit and kill a bystander then go off a cliff and
die themselves! The civic leaders are up in arms about what
to do with this evil weed problem! A loner, loser teen wants
to join the Mary Jane club so bad heÕll do anything! The
mean club leader gets the loser stoned on hash and makes him
steal! Fabian plays an art teacher who tries to help the
kids while he falls for a hot blonde teacher who we find out
later is a junkie-slut and the town dope dealer!Ñbut she
wonÕt let Fabian even cop a feel! Terrific 60s druggy
soundtrack by Mike Curb and Sidewalk Productions includes
the tunes ÒThe Fun Zone,Ó ÒGrass Party,Ó ÒTheme from Mary
Jane,Ó and ÒStore Stealing.Ó Fabian, Diane McBain, Michael
Margotta, Kevin ÒWild In The StreetsÓ Coughlin, Patty ÒBad
SeedÓ McCormack, Joe E. Ross, Russ Bender, Gary Marshall,
Teri Garr, Dick Gautier, Peter Marshall, Phil Vandervort,
Robert Lipton. Written by comedian Dick Gautier and game
show host Peter Marshall. _
THE ANGRY BREED 1968 _U.S. film. Hawaii Five-O's "Danno" as
a Nazi biker dressed in full SS storm trooper regalia! He
rapes a 60s bikini beach babe on Malibu beachÑluckily sheÕs
saved by a teen hero! Hero gets a break in the movie
business then gets the royal shaft from big Hollywood
producer! Bizarre semi-nude exotic dancer LSD costume party!
Wild garage fuzz rock that sounds like Steppenwolf meets the
Count V! Bikers, hippies, homos, weirdos, boozers, LSD and
rock n roll! Sixties rock n roll by Jaime and The Jury, and
The Orphan Egg. Murray MacLeod, James MacArthur, William
Windom, Jan Murray, Jan Sterling, Lori Martin, Melody
Patterson, Burt Taylor.
THE WILD ANGELS 1966 _U.S. film. "Their credo is violence...
Their God is hate..." Excellent biker film stars Peter Fonda
as Heavenly Blues, the leader of a violent biker gang. The
gang takes their dead member, Loser (Bruce Dern), to his
final journey and funeral. Loser receives his last service
in a coffin covered with swastika flag, the disapproving
priest is knocked out cold, and the violent, drunken orgy
ensues. Tons of knarly fuzz guitar from Davie Allen and the
Arrows! Also on soundtrack: Mike Curb, The Hands of Time,
and The Visitors. Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, Michael J.
Pollard, Diane Ladd, Lou Procopio, Coby Denton and real
Hell's Angels from Venice, California. __
The first season of War of the Worlds was groundbreaking and
refreshingly innovative. In many ways, it was the
predecessor of shows like "The X-Files". The first season
was very much like a game of chess between the Blackwood
Project and the aliens- led the triumvirate Advocacy
(featuring the underrated actress, Ilse Von Glatz- who was
chilling as an Advocate). Towards the end of the season,
there was a mythology carefully being built with the
introductions of new characters such as the renegade
alien/human hybrid- Quinn and the Qar'To Synth, Katara.
Also, the show was blessed with creative writing, excellent
direction- and casting Ann Robinson as Sylvia Van Buren was
a nice coup for the producers.__However, Paramount had plans
to assassinate the show and installed Frank Mancuso Jr. as
the new executive producer. He obliterated the first season
storyline, continuity, most of the characters and killed the
show in the process. But to many fans, the only real season
of WOTW was 1988-1989.
posted 2005-07-20 16:48:07
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