THE TODD KILLINGS 1971

"Right out of today's headlines! The youth cult...the buried bodies...the shocking impact of what is happening now!" 

Released in the midst of that early 70's sub-genre of murderous teens (or hippies) that came about post-Manson, THE TODD KILLINGS was based on the case of Charles Schmid ("The Pied Piper of Tucson"), who as a 23-year-old high school dropout in the mid-'60s killed several young girls in the region around Tucson, AZ. while using his Svengali-like hold over a group of local teenagers to help him dispose of the bodies.

Directed by Barry Shear (ACROSS 110TH STREET) and written by Dennis Murphy & Joel Oilansky, it stars Robert F. Lyons (AVENGING ANGEL 1985) as "Skipper" Todd a charming early twenties sociopath who becomes the social leader of a group of teenagers in a small California town. Featuring a terrific cast consisting of new faces including a pre-WALTONS Richard Thomas plus the wonderful Belinda Montgomery along with veterans Gloria Grahame (THE BIG HEAT), Barbara Bel Geddes (VERTIGO), Fay Spain (DRAGSTRIP GIRL) along with Ed Asner, Michael Conrad, and in perpetuum heavy William Lucking.

The film starts out with a deliberately disjointed storyline as we're shown three young people disposing of a body in the nighttime desert which is intercut with a police interrogation along with a mother reporting her missing daughter. As the group drives away immediately we see their hierarchy which includes the leader "Skipper" Todd (Lyons) and his two sycophants - Norma (Holly Near ANGEL, ANGEL, DOWN WE GO), a girl with obvious self-esteem issues who clings to Todd both physically & emotionally (and to whom he treats with a cruel indifference) and a toady named Andy.

Todd holds sway over the youth of a small California town whose main diversions include cruising the local main street or hanging out at a nightspot. Being several years older than them, they seem to look upon him with almost reverence as he strides among them like a wanna-be-God as he even arranges for sexual hook-ups between the teens (and himself). An aspiring rock star who spends his spare time writing (without too much conviction it would seem) songs, he tools about town in a purple dune buggy dressed in mod clothes while sponging money off his mother (Barbara Bel Geddes) who operates a somewhat lower-end retirement facility. There are some parallels to Manson, as he also had dreams of rock stardom and controlled the sex lives of his followers.  

At the start of the film while returning from the desert burial Todd and his two cronies pick up Billy Roy (Richard Thomas) a youth who knows Todd and is returning home from reform school. Todd drops off Billy Bob at and his home and charms his mother (Gloria Grahame). We never learn what Billy Roy was in reform school for (although we get the feeling that it involved a girl) and his shaved head & denim work clothes suggest a prison more than "reform school". It's here that we witness the off-kilter atmosphere of the town with that will continue through the film with oblivious adults & teachers along with young people devoid of a conscious all of which paint a very dark picture of American family life. 

Billy Roy, who is in awe of Skipper's magnetism with women, is attracted to a woman he remembers from school (Sherry E. DeBoer THE VELVET VAMPIRE) and he awkwardly tries to attract her while being prodded on by Skipper. At the same time Skipper is devoting much of his time to breakdown the refusal of high schooler Roberta (in a very nice performance by Belinda Montgomery) to surrender her virginity. Throughout this Shear intercuts scenes of Skipper's interrogation by detectives Michael Conrad (UN FLIC) and William Lucking (HELL'S BELLES) and it's revealed that one of his minions has turned him in.  

Although we see the killings and they are brutal, Shear does it more with restrained terror than outright horror that while this is to be commended for not using these to rub the viewers face in them, it doesn't begin to convey the shocking true events. It's this combined with Lyon's low-key approach to the killer is that causes the film to miss its mark as one of the great true crime films of the era. The actual Charles Schmid was short of stature and filled his cowboy boots with crushed cans and cardboard in order to appear taller while sloppily applying putty to make his nose appear bigger and painted a large mole on his cheek. Has this been incorporated into the film's plot it would be for a more bizarre (and interesting) killer as the movie version comes across as a murderer but one who's cool, polite to the elders, just slightly creepy as a result come across like a murderous Eddie Haskell. 

Despite the above mentioned, this a is an interesting hidden 70's gem, well worth a look, and deserves more recognition. Lyons gives a fine performance in what is an underwritten part and Belinda Montgomery stands out in her performance as the focus of Skipper's interest and it's always great to see Gloria Grahame even in a small role (you really wish that both she and Bel Geddes were given larger roles). THE TODD KILLINGS is available from Warner Archive on a MOD DVD.

THE FARMER 1977

"They Committed Murder, Rape, Arson and One Mistake...They left The Farmer Alive"

"He doesn't get mad. He gets even." 

After decades of being unavailable and morphing into one of the great holy grails of '70s exploitation revenge cinema, THE FARMER has finally (sort of) escaped out into the wild. Long teased by Bill Olsen at Code Red for a DVD release going as far back as 2006 (the trailer popped up on several of his releases) and in addition several screen grabs from the restoration were posted. Since then, he's talked of music rights, unpaid IRS tax liens on the film, etc., and claiming that only "23 people would buy it".  

Recently it showed up on YouTube posted by Van Lukassen in a transfer from a bootleg VHS he had purchased. The upload was removed about a week later due to copyright infringements (reportedly instigated by Bill Olsen) but not before it had been downloaded and since then has shown up on the Internet Archive (although it seems to be gone from there as of this writing), but has appeared on "that"  torrent site.

Obviously derived from a multi-generational tape source (see the screengrabs) with several instances of tape roll and audio/video dropouts although far from pristine it's watchable and back in the pre-DVD days of VHS collecting, I paid $20.00 for bootleg VHS tapes (usually with burned in Greek subs or such) at Chiller Theatre Conventions or via mail order that looked on par or worse than this. 

Produced by and starring Gary Conway (I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN 1957) it was directed by editor David Berlatsky (THE DEEP 1977) in his only directorial credit. Filmed in the summer & fall of 1975 around Atlanta GA., according to the AFI Catalog website the film went through financial difficulty during production before being picked up by Columbia in 1976 for distribution and had its world premiere in Detroit, MI. on Feb. 25, 1977. It seems to have had a limited theatrical run (sometimes titled BLAZING REVENGE or THE KILLER FARMER), although allegedly it ran at Marine Corps bases throughout the country. According to Variety (via the AFI website), the film had to be reportedly trimmed to avoid an X-rating for violence from the MPAA.  TV Guide called it "A totally negative film of violence that barely avoided an X rating". 

Of course, the big question is - does the film live up to its decades-long quest and hoped for status as one of the great revenge exploitation films of the era? The answer is yes and no. Falling into the category of "decorated returning veteran seeks vengeance" genre, the film is interesting in that it sets its timeframe in post-WWII rather than the usual Vietnam era '70s, and to its credit, it does attempt to address the issue of race and prejudice. On the downside, there is a highly convoluted & drawn-out plot that takes much too long to get where it needs to go and to what we're all waiting for.

Conway plays Kyle Martin a decorated WWII Sgt. who upon returning home to his family farm finds it destitute and in dire financial shape after the death of his father. It's been looked after by an African American caretaker, Gumshoe (Ken Rendard TRUE GRIT 1969) and with whom Kyle seems to have a close relationship (which will play out in the film climax) Immediately Kyle runs into problems with the local bank who demands payment for the back taxes owed. 

In the aftermath of a road accident near his farm, Martin rescues gangster Johnny "O" (Michael Dante THE BIG SCORE 1983) from his wrecked car, and as a reward, Johnny gives him $1500.00 which is still short the amount needed for the bank. There is also Betty McCrail (Angel Tompkins THE TEACHER 1974) a former girlfriend of Martin's, who now works for Johnny "O", and she rekindles her relationship with Martin. Later Johnny is blinded in a gangland altercation and offers Kyle more money if he will take vengeance for him on those responsible. Kyle waffles initially but is soon forced into a bloody vendetta when the gangsters violently attack those close to him. 

The movie works as expected (you basically know which characters are destined to die the moment they're introduced) but because the film takes almost an hour to get both the reason for and the actual instigation of the title character's vengeance it seems rather meandering for that first hour and the ending is highly implausible which is a shame as the film would end nicely without that last scene. 

The film does have some interesting moments including Martin hanging his uniform and Silver Star on a scarecrow and the action sequences are terrifically brutal and live up to the hype (Martin is particularly effective with his shotgun) along with being well-edited (which makes sense as the film's director is an editor). For a low-budget film, there is an excellent feeling for period detail including clothing & vehicles, and an actual parade is neatly integrated into the plot.  

Conway does a good job as the title character often wears aviator sunglasses which hide his eyes and give him a blank expressionless stare. As mentioned, the violence is extremely brutal including acid thrown in a face, a man burned alive, non-flinching close-ups of shotgun blasts to bodies, point-blank shootings to the groin & face, and an especially harrowing & brutal rape in a barn. 

The music is by Hugo Montenegro (I see the soundtrack pop up occasionally in used bins as it's much easier to find than the film itself) and features a song by ex-Byrd Gene Clark titled American Dreamer which was also used in the Dennis Hopper film AMERICAN DREAMER in 1971.

Since the film's appearance on YouTube Bill Olsen has made statements yet again concerning a possible release at some point, now with "only 26 people wanting to buy it" (which at least is three more than before).

Here are some screengrabs that Code Red DVD posted back in 2006 showing their restoration work:

TRUCK TURNER 1974

Black, Bold and Bloody Mean! 

"Anybody ask you what happened, tell 'em you've been hit by a truck...Mac "Truck" Turner!" 

In recent years blaxploitation has been parodied and riffed on so much that the entire genre has sadly become an almost huge joke upon itself and lost in the shuffle is the fact that there are excellent films here along with more artistry at work in them then you might imagine. TRUCK TURNER was released just as the genre was peaking with THREE THE HARD WAY, FOXY BROWN, ABBY, and TNT JACKSON among many others all being released the same year. 

After the massive success of his soundtrack for 1971's SHAFT, it seemed only natural for the composer Isaac Hayes would make the transition to acting, and his role in TRUCK TURNER was immediately preceded by the quirky but excellent TOUGH GUYS which paired him with Lino Ventura (and is overdue for a legit release). And of course, Hayes supplied the soundtrack to both films with his work on TRUCK TURNER soundtrack is great and stands right up there with his work on SHAFT.

Written by Oscar Williams (BLACK BELT JONES) along with Michael Allin (ENTER THE DRAGON) and uncredited help from Leigh Chapman (DIRTY MARY AND CRAZY LARRY), it was originally conceived by American International as a project for a Caucasian actor (Robert Mitchum and Ernest Borgnine were among those considered). It was re-written right before production as a blaxploitation vehicle which according to the informative commentary on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray by director Jonathan Kaplan caught him by surprise. Kaplan also relates that when Isaac Hayes was first shown the script, he objected to the title character's misogyny and the use of the word "bitch" with the result that they took the character in a different direction than most blaxploitation male leads and in turn brought a rather sweet love story into the plot. 

The opening credits start off in the shiny & new office building Los Angeles and then moves to blighted urban streets with endless rows of bail bondman storefronts and were introduced to the title character who on a bit of reverse-SHAFT, lives in a squalid apartment littered with food containers and empty beer bottles.  Hayes is ex-football player-now bounty hunter Mac "Truck" Turner who along with his partner Jerry (Allen Weeks - who was the recipient of the "picking your feet in Poughkeepsie" interrogation by Gene Hackman in THE FRENCH CONNECTION) are hired by a slimy lawyer (the great Dick Miller in a wonderful pink sports jacket) to track down Leroy "Gator" Johnson (Paul Harris ACROSS 110TH STREET) a notorious pimp who skipped bail leaving Truck's friend & bondsman Nate Dinwiddie (Sam Laws HIT MAN). Tracking Gator down, Truck & Jerry participate in a high-speed car chase while pursuing the pimp in a spectacularly staged sequence. 

After Truck kills Gator in a shootout, Gator's "business partner" Dorinda (in an off-the-rails performance from STAR TREK's Nichelle Nichols) vows revenge on Turner thereby setting in motion the main plot of the film. Dorinda who operates her girls out of a swanky Beverly Hills house (with a huge picture of her late partner adoring the living room) gathers a cadre of her fellow pimps (one of whom wears a variety of terrific western shirt/matching eye-patch combos) and offers half a cut of her business to whoever kills Turner. The standout among the would-be assassins is the cold, calculating & very quietly menacing Harvard Blue (Yaphett Kotto).

Nichols as Dorinda is a true force of nature here - not so much chewing scenery but devouring it whole and then spitting it back out. She seems to be gleefully glad to shed her Star Trek image and her long uninterrupted monologues are the highlight of the film as she spews bile at anyone that comes within her sight.  Throwing out lines such as "We call her Turnpike, cuz you gotta pay to get on and pay to get off!" she brings a grin to your face whenever she is on-screen.

The film alternates between bloody squib-filled shoot-outs (Hayes's Turner carries a .44 Magnum in a nod to DIRTY HARRY) and light-hearted moments (there is some genuinely funny stuff here). Although Hayes's acting range is limited, he brings a great presence & charisma to the screen whether being shirtless while coolly dispatching would-be assassins (along with a complete lack of police presence) or sharing some tender (and sometimes funny) moments with his girlfriend Annie (a nicre performance from Annazette Chase THE MACK). Although Week's performance as Turner's partner Jerry has come under criticism from some, I think he is quite good here and his scenes with Hayes show some real chemistry between the two (along with some light comedy) and makes me wish there were a sequel with the pair and Chase's Annie. 

Jonathan Kaplan had started out with Roger Corman on NIGHT CALL NURSES and THE STUDENT TEACHERS (which is my favorite of the "student" and "nurses" cycle) and THE SLAMS with Jim Brown. He worked his way up the food chain later directing WHITE LINE FEVER, HEART LIKE A WHEEL, and MR. BILLION (which deserves a nice Blu-ray) among others then a busy career in TV. In TRUCK TURNER he stages some great action sequences including a prolonged and bloody shootout in a hospital with patients on gurneys being pushed over, an operating room being invaded with exploding blood bags, and a nifty death POV sequence.