Poor Pretty Eddie

Leslie Uggams stumbles into redneck run motel with stereotyped Southerners running amok. Creatively photographed, the rural setting is effectively creepy, as are the characters, all of whom can barely write their names in the mud with a sharp stick. Some eerie, Morrocone - like music adds to the oppressive atmosphere. The cast of hicks is led by Shelly Winters, with Slim Pickens and Dub Taylor lending support as a perverted sheriff and justice of the peace respectively. The big question has to be, who was the intended audience, since there is something here to offend almost everyone? A slow motion shotgun wedding finale is somewhat reminiscent of the Halloween party massacre in "Ms.45" - MERK

I bought this film from a car boot sale in Finland (Yes, this wonderful film was apparently released in Finland as a rental in the early eighties.) mainly because of its cover that suggested that it would be a blaxploitation film. That it was not. Instead it proved to be a genuinely stylish piece of cinema with some upsetting (exploitation) scenes not unlike Texas Chainsaw or The Last House on the Left. Probably, though it was not violent enough to compete with them or sick enough to challenge Pink Flamingos. So it was never recognized and quickly forgotten. Anyhow, the thing that surprised me the most was that this film looked stunningly good. The compositions were beautiful as was the lightning. The story was fast paced and had enough twists to keep me interested till the end.

Sadly, however, there is one big minus to this film; it seems to me, that the filmmaker(s) were a bit too conscious with the "shocking" content of their script. Whenever an event with shock value occurs it is highlighted in the worst "look, we dare show this"- manner.

All in all a very enjoyable piece of trash with a difference- competence in filmmaking!

P.S. If you still have doubts after reading this I must say that any film that has both Shelley Winters and Slim Pickens cannot be nothing but good!

Just found this on DVD today, in a much better transfer than the old VHS versions. Let's face it, the film would be even more obscure, had the producers not had the vision to cast Shelley as Bertha, the faded beauty who "used to be an entertainer", but now owns a run down inn that is way off the beaten path. She's also an alcoholic plagued with loneliness and insecurity, which is somewhat relieved by Eddie, a good looking but psychotic stud about 25 years younger, with whom she maintains a desperate sexual and emotional relationship.

There is some debate about Shelley's acting, that her character is really just Shelley playing herself. That is an insult to the actress, who like any talented actor draws emotion from her own experiences. This is a tour-de-force performance, particularly when she explains to Leslie Uggams (in a very one-dimensional performance) that Eddie is all the man she's got, and at her age, there won't be any others. It's a heartbreaking scene that leaves no doubt about Miss Winters acting abilities. The crazy plot reminds me of HG Lewis' "2000 Maniacs". Slim Whitman has some choice lines. Entertaining in a "Bad Movie We Love" kind of way, this trashy treasure is worth seeking out.

Like several people here, I too saw this in the wee hours of the morning on TCM, where yes folks, it ran with no introductory info, and NO TITLES. It simply ended and faded into nothingness where TCM switched back to some old Black and While film suitable for Gramma like it never happened. Maybe it didn't.

Plot: It's one of those "woman fights for her life versus redneck" films that were around a lot in the 70s. This one has an African-American singer getting stuck in the rural south where she stays at a run down inn/bar while she waits for her car to get fixed.

Meanwhile, the dashing bar owner falls in love with her, which results in the expected rape scene, this one rendered even more distasteful by the inter-cutting of shots of local mouthbreathers watching dogs screw.

She goes almost catatonic from that point forward, and every person she turns to for help just leads her deeper into a maze of grotesque public officials who don't really want to help. It's like Kafka rolled around in batter and deep-fried.

It's all so off-putting, the result is less one of bloody revenge than it is of confusion...that something so odd could have ever existed, or actually been shown on late-night television on a channel that so many people get.

Be aware film fans...reruns of this could be lurking around your next sleepless night. Try to get some sleep.

One of the great undiscovered jewels of Truly Bad Cinema! It's almost useless to try to write a commentary on this, because this film is indescribable. Leslie Uggams (whose acting consists of exactly two expressions, defensive and shrieking) plays a famous singer adrift in a redneck landscape that's like the love child of Franz Kafka and HEE-HAW; she's up against a horny young Elvis wannabee, Shelley Winters (surprise - she's drunk through most of the film!), Slim Pickens, Dub Taylor, Ted Cassidy, and a DELIVERANCE kid with a slingshot. What else can you say about a film that includes one of the most memorable montage sequences in film history: Uggams' rape is intercut with Cassidy and his friends watching dogs goin' at it, while a lilting country tune plays over the soundtrack. Or how about the scene in which Slim Pickens (as the Sheriff!) interrogates poor Leslie about her rape while begging her to "suck on one'a these tomatoes"?

This film screams (like poor Leslie) for a DVD release. Listen up, you distribs out there - this is the great lost cult film of the 70s, just lying around like some petrified critter waiting to be put on display. Pull out that jug of moonshine and enjoy!