Mudhoney

Mudhoney (1965)

*** (out of 4)

Russ Meyer drama (yes, drama) about a stranger who goes to work on a farm and soon falls in love with the woman who owns the place. This doesn't sit too well with her drunk and abusive husband nor the hypocrite preacher running around. Once again we've got a pretty well made little film that's certainly Meyer's way of bashing religion and hypocrites. The "drama" works well but there are still a few laughs as well as a limited amount of nudity. Many of the cast members from the above film also appear here.

"Mudhoney" takes the gritty "realism" of "Lorna" one step further. It's downright nasty. Perhaps Meyer's best script and most satisfying narrative. Hopper is a down-on-his-luck alcoholic wife-beater who nearly succeeds at turning a Depression-era small town into hell. He even tries to take a shortcut through heaven. Fits nicely between "Lorna" and "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" as Meyer's mid-60's b&w peak.

Seen at a Trash Film Retrospective, I do not concur with those who made the selection, or commented on the film before, here in IMDb. Director Russ Meyer may be more famous for the titillation and violence he introduced in his movies, but he is a man with a purpose, and a political message - that any intelligent viewer could see. Now, almost forty years after the film was made, the denunciation of mass hypocrisy, stupidity, alienation in American society seem more blatant, and terrifying. Those who are after crude nudity and sex scenes would better watch national television tonight. Those who are after one and a half hours of entertaining cinema with several points to remember later on, would better give themselves the trouble to watch this in a theater (Meyer's fans are still strong enough to impose him in many theme festivals), or the uncut version that made it to DVD lately. Immediately after Mudhoney, master Russ did what I consider his masterpiece, _Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1966)_. Now I hesitate between the two. Up to you to decide. Oh, yes. 'Lorna Maitland' (qv) is a southern belle Clara Belle, even if she has to contend with 'Rena Horten' (qv) cast as a mute, but whose body and facial talk speak high of her acting ability. The two buxom beauties are the 'titwillows' in this film. 'Prince Livingston' (qv) couldn't be better cast, and played, to contrast the beauty of her two 'daughters'.

Mudhoney is an early Russ Meyer film and doesn't feature the same over the top style as his later efforts; but it's surprisingly professional, features an interesting story and has all the sex and sleaze you would expect from the master Russ Meyer. The film is somewhere between a serious drama and a piece of trash and it actually works very well. The film is not as boisterous as Meyer's other 1965 release, Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! but it has a style of it's own that still works well. The central plot focuses on Calif McKinney, a drifter travelling to California from Michigan. He stumbles into Missouri and soon gets himself on a job on a farm working for the old landlord, Lute. Calif takes a fancy to Lute's daughter Hannah, but there's a problem because Hannah is married to Sidney; a drunken, adulterous, womanising good for nothing excuse for a man. Sidney has his eye on a share of the farm when Lute kicks the bucket, and colludes with the town preacher to smear Calif's name and protect the inheritance he has no right to...

Russ Meyer has a habit of pulling memorable performances out of his actors, and he certainly does that here. The film is lead by a great performance courtesy of Hal Hopper as the drunken husband. Hopper leads every scene he's in and it's a really great role for him. The rest of the cast is understated in comparison, but John Furlong looks upstanding next to Hopper and naturally the female talent is something to write home about and Meyer doesn't disappoint with his trademark here. The film is not all that explicit compared to later Meyer films, but there's still plenty of female skin on show which is nice. There's not a lot of violence in the film, though Meyer does provide a few fistfights. The story is always interesting and plenty happens in the film too. Meyer provides some good scenes of suspense and tension too which helps to keep things interesting. If there's a point to this film, it's not put across very well; but that isn't important as this film does what it was clearly intended to do and Mudhoney certainly comes recommended to my fellow Meyer fans!

My friend and I sat down to watch Mudhoney on TCM. The first two minutes or so (before the opening credits roll) convinced us this was going to be a unique and well-paced movie. We were totally drawn in by the interesting camera work and tight editing. This is the way to open a film! We knew we were in for a worthwhile viewing experience, not just an exploitation flick. Hal Hopper's performance transcends the B-genre. Deranged, sadistic, degrading, mocking, taunting, conniving, violent--he commands the screen. (This guy was Jay "Dennis the Menace" North's father?) Lovely, seductive ladies, never shown gratuitously. They behave in a manner consistent with the film world Myer's has created (some label "gritty," which is the least of this small community's issues).