B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - THE DEATH OF RITCHIE (TV 1977)

Looks like a lot of fun to me, I don't know. Seriously and for those that don't know, The Death Of Ritchie is one of the most iconic TV movies of the entire '70's decade. I was roughly 15 when it aired and i can tell you that both Robby Benson and teens taking drugs were very hot topics at the time. The film is based on a true story where a father who couldn't control his teen's behavior from drug abuse was forced to take the law into his own hands. The father here is good ole Ben Gazzara and he is at his Gazzara best with a ferocious intensity, his scenes with Benson as father and son a perfect chemistry. At the time more emphasis was on Benson as a model but his performance here is really amazing. Streams free on Tubi, Freevee, Roku and Plex, if this was being rated on the standard scale I would give it five stars, 'nuff said. 2.75 stars/2.75

Thursday, August 29, 2024

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON NEEDS TO SELL A BUNCH OF DOPE OR HIS PAROLE OFFICER GENE HACKMAN WILL PUT HIM BACK IN KRIS' FIRST FILM "CISCO PIKE" (1972)

 

I once came so close to meeting Kris Kristofferson that I was literally in the man's driveway. It was the late 70's and a buddy of mine at Hollywood High School, he played sax and I still know him. He and his family knew both Kris and Charlie Bronson and my friend and I were out in Malibu on a Friday night. My friend turned to me and said, "look, I'm not going to promise anything, but we're real close to Kris' house and let's stop by and maybe I can get you in. I had a lot of celebrity actor's kids as friends so I'd been thru this scenario before, no sweat. 

Unfortunately, after sitting in the car for an hour, my friend reemerged and said there was too much going on in the house and it wasn't a good time ;-(. Lol, luck of the draw but I always remember that moment, sitting in that driveway, when I see him onscreen. 

Now, this same saxophone playing buddy of mine once said to me that Kris was a great guy but "couldn't act his way out of a paper bag." I remember saying he deserved more credit than that though I agreed Kristofferson wasn't likely to be winning a Best Actor nomination real soon. (Funny enough, he did garner a Golden Globe for A Star Is Born, a movie listed on a lot of "worst film ever made" lists.)



I say all this because I was shocked and surprised seeing his first outing here in Cisco Pike. He's quite good, looks like he's had the chops from the beginning. He plays a songwriter here, he's bribed by his probation officer (an early Gene Hackman) to sell a bunch of dope from the evidence room and make a certain amount by Monday morning. That's basically the plot in a nutshell, there are some cool support performances, in particular, a stunningly gorgeous Karen Black and good ole Harry Dean Stanton. If you watch closely you'll see a couple of cool shots of Kris and Harry actually onstage together during a montage. 

And best of all, one of those "real" 70's movies we talked about recently. This would make a great double feature with Daryl Duke's Payday. 

Cisko Pike currently streams on Tubi, Roku & your Amazon Prime subscription. Thumbs way up.

 3.75 stars/5

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