Poor Pretty Eddie (1975)

Directors:

Chris Robinson
David Worth

Writer:

B.W. Sandefur (writer)

Release Date:

June 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

All He Wanted Was A Friend.

Plot:

A wrong turn on a jazz singer's road trip results in her car breaking down near an isolated lodge run by a faded starlet and a young, homicidal Elvis impersonator. |

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Car | Southerner | Woman In Jeopardy | Sadist

Cast

Leslie Uggams	...	Elizabeth 'Liz' Wetherly
Shelley Winters	...	Bertha
Michael Christian	...	Eddie Collins
Ted Cassidy	...	Keno
Dub Taylor	...	Justice of the Peace Floyd
Lou Joffred	...	Odell
Slim Pickens	...	Sheriff Orville
Red Lawson	...	The Salesman
Sherif Smith	...	The Deputy

Also Known As:

Black Vengeance
Heartbreak Motel
Redneck County Rape

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

Artaxerxes Productions

Trivia:

Loosely based on Jean Genet's play "The Balcony" - the first film version of which also starred Shelley Winters in 1963.

Quotes:

Orville: Did he bite you on your titties?

Hidden Gem!

I bought this film from a car boot sale in Finland (Yes, this wonderful film was apparently released in Finland as a rental in the early eighties.) mainly because of its cover that suggested that it would be a blaxploitation film. That it was not. Instead it proved to be a genuinely stylish piece of cinema with some upsetting (exploitation) scenes not unlike Texas Chainsaw or The Last House on the Left. Probably, though it was not violent enough to compete with them or sick enough to challenge Pink Flamingos. So it was never recognized and quickly forgotten. Anyhow, the thing that surprised me the most was that this film looked stunningly good. The compositions were beautiful as was the lightning. The story was fast paced and had enough twists to keep me interested till the end.

Sadly, however, there is one big minus to this film; it seems to me, that the filmmaker(s) were a bit too conscious with the "shocking" content of their script. Whenever an event with shock value occurs it is highlighted in the worst "look, we dare show this"- manner.

All in all a very enjoyable piece of trash with a difference- competence in filmmaking!

P.S. If you still have doubts after reading this I must say that any film that has both Shelley Winters and Slim Pickens cannot be nothing but good!