An aging horror star questions his place in modern Hollywood, while a disturbed young man goes on a shooting spree.An aging horror star questions his place in modern Hollywood, while a disturbed young man goes on a shooting spree.An aging horror star questions his place in modern Hollywood, while a disturbed young man goes on a shooting spree.
- Awards
- 1 win
- Marshall Smith
- (as Monty Landis)
- Waiter
- (as Tim Burns)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBy the time this film was made (from November 1967 to December 1967), Boris Karloff was 80 years old and in very poor health, was suffering from both emphysema and rheumatoid arthritis, had only half of one lung (both the other half and the other lung had been removed due to cancer) and spent the time between takes in a wheelchair wearing an oxygen mask. He also wore braces on both legs and had difficulty walking or even standing up without his cane; the weakness of his legs is visible in some scenes in the film. Fortunately, Karloff lived long enough both to see the finished film and enjoy the well-deserved accolades that he received for his performance in it.
- Goofs(at about one hour and 28 minutes into the film) At the very end of the film, the drive-in theater is empty the next day, except for the killer's car. This is illogical, since the victims' cars should be there, too.
- Quotes
Byron Orlok: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'd like to leave you with a little story to think about as you drive home through the darkness. Once upon a time, many, many years ago, a rich merchant in Baghdad sent his servant to the marketplace to buy provisions. And after a while, the servant came back, white-faced and trembling, and said, "Master, when I was in the marketplace, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and I turned to look, and I saw that it was Death that jostled me. And she looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Oh, Master, please, lend me your horse, that I may ride away from this city and escape my fate. I will ride to Samara, and Death will not find me there." So the merchant loaned him the horse, and the servant mounted it and dug his spurs into its flank, and as fast as the horse could gallop, he rode towards Samara. Then the merchant went to the marketplace, and he saw Death standing in the crowd, and he said to her, "Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?" And Death said, "I made no threatening gesture. That was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him here in Baghdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samara."
- Crazy creditsThe film's original theatrical prints began with a title card reading, "Why gun control? Why did a lunatic sniper kill or maim 11 innocent victims in Texas on June 3, 1966? Why were over 7,000 Americans slain or wounded by gunfire in 1967? Why in 1968 after assassinations and thousands of more murders has our country no effective gun control law? This motion picture tells a story that sheds a little light on a very dark and a very deep topic." This title card was added by Paramount Pictures in the wake of the assassinations of both Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, but it was not approved by director Peter Bogdanovich and was removed from later releases of the film.
- Alternate versionsThe film was cut for a "GP" rating for a 1971 re-release of it in order to capitalize on the success of Peter Bogdanovich's then-recent hit film, The Last Picture Show (1971). Later home video releases of it are uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 100 Years of Horror: Boris Karloff (1996)
- SoundtracksGreen Rocky Road
(uncredited)
Written and performed by The Daily Flash (Don MacAllister, Steve Lalor, Jon Keliehor and Doug Hastings)
Peter Bogdanovich juxtaposes the fictitious horror of old movie monsters with the real horror of gun violence in America, and that seems to be the main thrust of a lean, straightforward plot. It was certainly topical at the time following the University of Texas tower shooting and political assassinations of 1968, and it's grown in relevance, since America has done nothing but take steps backward to control what should be considered a national emergency. The film does not preach in the slightest (as I'm in danger of here, apologies to anyone who reads this), but it comes across as a plea for gun control when we see this guy saunter into a shop and purchase guns and ammunition with ease.
I liked the film's directness, how it shows the suffering of the victims, and how it gives a little glimpse into all those 60's retro aspects - the home décor, slang, street scenes, and drive-in movies. It was nice to see Nancy Hsueh in a good supporting role, and clips from a pretty good old film (The Criminal Code (1930)), as well as a dog (The Terror (1963), which also starred Jack Nicholson). The film isn't majestic by any means, but there is enough here to make me recommend it. Oh, and loved this little tale Karloff tells in that wonderfully eerie voice of his:
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'd like to leave you with a little story to think about as you drive home through the darkness. Once upon a time, many, many years ago, a rich merchant in Baghdad sent his servant to the marketplace to buy provisions. And after a while the servant came back, white-faced and trembling, and said, 'Master, when I was in the marketplace, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and I turned to look, and I saw that it was Death that jostled me. And she looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Oh, master, please, lend me your horse, that I may ride away from this city and escape my fate. I will ride to Samarra and Death will not find me there.' So the merchant loaned him the horse and the servant mounted it, and dug his spurs into its flank, and as fast as the horse could gallop he rode towards Samarra. Then the merchant went to the marketplace and he saw Death standing in the crowd and he said to her, 'Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?' And Death said, 'I made no threatening gesture - that was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him here in Baghdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.'"
- gbill-74877
- Jun 4, 2020
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $130,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1