The Trip (1967/II)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Jack Nicholson (written by)

Release Date:

23 August 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A Lovely Sort of Death

Plot:

Paul Groves (Peter Fonda), a television commercial director, is in the midst of a personality crisis...

Plot Keywords:

Acid | Guru | LSD | Director | Sex

Cast

Peter Fonda	...	Paul Groves
Susan Strasberg	...	Sally Groves
Bruce Dern	...	John
Dennis Hopper	...	Max
Salli Sachse	...	Glenn
Barboura Morris	...	Flo
Judy Lang	...	Nadine
Luana Anders	...	Waitress
Beach Dickerson
Dick Miller	...	Cash
Caren Bernsen	...	Alexandra
Katherine Walsh	...	Lulu
Michael Nader
Bárbara Ransom	...	Helena
Michael Blodgett	...	Lover
Tom Signorelli	...	Al
Boyd Santell
Mitzi Hoag	...	Wife
Luree Holmes
Earl Finn
Roger Arroyo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Bogdanovich	...	(uncredited)
Brandon De Wilde	...	Extra (uncredited)
Randee Lynne Jensen	...	Extra (uncredited)
Gram Parsons	...	House Band Member (uncredited)
Angelo Rossitto	...	(uncredited)
Frankie Smith	...	Go-Go Girl (uncredited)
Susan Walters	...	Go-Go Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Roger Corman

Writing credits
Jack Nicholson		(written by)

Produced by
Roger Corman	....	producer
Frances Doel	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Electric Flag		(as The American Music Band)

Cinematography by
Archie R. Dalzell		(as Arch R. Dalzell)

Film Editing by
Ronald Sinclair

Art Direction by
Leon Ericksen

Makeup Department
Ted Coodley	....	makeup artist
Ray Forman	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Jack Bohrer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Rapp	....	assistant director
Dennis Hopper	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Karl Brainard	....	props (as Karl R. Brainard)
Richard M. Rubin	....	props

Sound Department
Philip Mitchell	....	sound (as Phil Mitchell)

Special Effects by
Bob Beck	....	special psychedelic effects producer
Allen Daviau	....	special psychedelic effects producer
Peter Gardiner	....	special psychedelic effects producer
Roger George	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Allen Daviau	....	assistant camera
Charles Hannawalt	....	key grip
Robert A. Petzoldt	....	lighting technician (as Robert Petzold)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Richard Bruno	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Electric Flag	....	performer: musical score (as The American Music Band)

Other crew
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	presenter
James Blumberg	....	technical advisor
Sharon Compton	....	production assistant
Beach Dickerson	....	location manager (as Beach Dickersen)
Leon Ericksen	....	production coordinator
Dennis Jakob	....	montage sequences
James H. Nicholson	....	presenter
Bonnie Prendergast	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1967) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1967) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Gloria Filmverleih AG (1969) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Charlatan Productions (special psychedelic effects creator)

Other Companies

• Ryder Sound Services  sound
• Edit-Rite  sound effects
• Groscourt Productions  music produced by

Also Known As:

A Lovely Sort of Death (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

85 min | West Germany:78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (1968) | Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) (1968-1991) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:R (original rating) | UK:R (video rating) (1988) | USA:Not Rated | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Jack Nicholson wrote this screenplay for Corman based on his own experience of taking LSD under controlled laboratory conditions and also on his marriage break-up with first wife, Sandra Knight.

Quotes:

Max: I wish there was some hip way of telling you this, baby, but, ah... you're one with and part of an ever-expanding, loving, joyful, glorious, and harmonious universe.
Paul Groves: Funny.
Max: Yeah, in a way. But, you play your personal games.
Paul Groves: Alright, I know. Everybody knows. But nobody lives that way.
Max: Is that your defense, man?
Paul Groves: Yes. I mean, no. I'm guilty. I'm guilty.
Max: Right! But don't wallow, because it's fake and disgusting!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Allen Daviau, ASC on Psychedelic Film Effects (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Softly and Tenderly

There were (and are still) many imitators, but there's only one real "Trip", and this is it!

This is a classic exploitation film that inspired a ton of imitation "acid films", most of them having no plot and lots of the same imagery you see here (complete with naked females and zooms). "The Trip" definitely has more direction and structure than it's spinoffs, yet one would still hope for more story development in the early half of the film. Clearly, Corman's savvy was able to get away with putting lots of cheap effects on the screen, thus stretching a 30 minute plot into an 85 minute feature.

Much of the film is full of various imagery of Peter Fonda running around in different costumes, in different strange places, and very little is told about his real character. He is a rather passive character in this film, and doesn't elicit much sympathy from the audience, even though his performances were satisfactory. The cinematography is quite uninspired, even if adequate from a techical POV, though it has some fine point gaffes (like double shadows). One of the most frustrating aspects of this film is that the potential it had for visual treatment was not used to nearly it's full potential, even on the budget it was made for.

With the exception of the flash cuts editing, stylistically this film bears a more conservative filmmaking approach that might have not been as appropriate as a more "new wave" approach. Indeed, two years later, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper were to take elements of "The Trip", and the earlier "Wild Angels", combining them with the 'new wave' style of filmmaking to produce the masterpiece "Easy Rider".

For all it's shortcomings, "The Trip" did very well at the box office, something that would not have happened today without much more expensive effects, and more known cast members (even though Fonda, Strassberg and Dern were known faces at the time).