Der Morgen, als Ginger kam

This early work starring Sissy Spacek is not a bad period piece. Spacek was 25 when she starred in this movie as a hitchhiker who falls for a middle aged businessman who picks her up. Even at this early age, you can tell that Spacek knows her craft and gives a deeper performance than her older costars. While there are some campy moments and forced dialog, I found that the low-budget film's unvarnished feel brought back a real sense of life in the early 1970s. There is a scene where the two male costars get drunk, and it really is a realistic portrayal of having fun while you are drunk! There are some funny moments, and it's far from a bomb. I purchased the DVD for $1 at my local dollar store, and felt it was worth at least that!

Cutesy drama, almost unendurably dated--and with clichéd characters and dialogue to boot--features a young Sissy Spacek as a health-conscious, free-spirited woman, a hippie folk singer hitchhiking with her guitar across the country; she gets a ride from Monte Markham, a just-divorced businessman who's been advised to find himself a new girl to forget the old one. There are some surprisingly fine shots by cinematographer William K. Jurgensen of Spacek thumbing it on the road, but her relationship with Markham is pure cookie-cutter. Second-feature caught Spacek just before her career was about to take off, though this is one title she'd probably like to erase from her resume. Her acting is likable enough, but her character Ginger is nothing more than a lighter version of the hitchhiker Laurie Heineman played in "Save the Tiger"--in other words, a refugee from a TV sitcom or movie-of-the-week. *1/2 from ****

I was definitely curious to check out Ginger in the Morning when I randomly stumbled upon it. The cast alone makes it worth a look. Unfortunately, the dated and uninspired dialogue, weak script, and unimaginative direction all conspire to deliver this very disappointing little film. It is kind of interesting as a snapshot of the first half of the 70's. Sissy Spacek does write and perform many of the songs throughout the film, which is another plus. The story is just one cliche after another and it's just never able to gather momentum. Sorry to everyone who worked on Ginger in the Morning but I just cannot recommend it, unless maybe for those Sissy Spacek fans out there, you might enjoy it.

This was filmed in 1972 when Sissy Spacek was 22, most probably before she filmed BADLANDS (released 10/73). It Includes a happy Mary-Tyler-Moore-like theme song by Sissy S. as well as a clever live song w/ guitar about marichino cherries sung while riding in a car after hitching a ride (and one other original song by Sissy S). Sissy shows some musical talent that would be on display later in COAL MINER'S D.

Sissy is uber-charming and charismatic and beautiful and lovely; but at this early stage she seems influenced (whether she knows it or not) by Jan Brady of The Brady Bunch, She seems like a teenager having a blast being among adults in a grown up movie (not to be cruel). That being said; this grown up movie is of the TV variety (feel, pacing, writing, writers, director, etc.); utilizing the freedom away from TV for some pretty ugly, dated male/ battle-of-sexes dialogue.

The color by CFI is not bad, and it is nice that the film is set/was shot in New Mexico providing an interesting landscape backdrop. It really is only worth taking a look at if you like Sissy Spacek, want to hear some original songs by her at 22, and/or feel like going back to the early 70's for a little visit.

While many scenes in this movie seem sexist today, the dialogue is actually how most people talked (and thought) in the early 1970s, and this includes the women characters. It was a time of dramatic social change and people, young and old, said some pretty dumb things, every day. When I saw this movie available on streaming video, I thought it would be one of those trashy low budget films that was so bad it would be funny, but I actually found it intelligent and entertaining. The relationship of the two male friends is instantly recognizable to people who have served in the military (as I did), and the romantic relationship between one of the men, and the Sissy Spacek character who is half his age, exactly captures the tension between the two clashing cultures - the "counter culture" of the 60s and 70s vs the more conservative culture of people who grew up in the 40s and 50s. Of course he says sexist things, and of course she speaks in slogans and says "far out!" all the time. Yeah, people actually talked like that back then. Worth watching if you want to know what that era was like on an interpersonal level. Also, you have GOT to see Slim Pickens play a county sheriff. A minor role but he steals every scene he is in. I love that guy.