A Bullet for Pretty Boy

Sorry, I mean Bonnie and Clyde get a re run at American International Pictures. I saw this in first release at our wonderful Sydney Capitol Theatre, home of the changed-weekly drive in double feature except this was a glorious 2500 seat plaster picture palace. A BULLET FOR PRETTY BOY + ERIK THE CONQUEROR was the 70c double feature in 1971 and I was there, with lollies and still had change from $2. Handsome pop dude Fabian made a passable Floyd mainly because he was pretty in his Matt Lattanzi way. The only reason this film was made was because of BONNIE AND CLYDE and AIP was always keen to cash in on a fad. Also they probably had access to the props and cars from BOXCAR BERTHA and BLOODY MAMA made the previous year. I miss the days of AIP, they always made trash and treasure and always entertaining. BULLET FOR PRETTY BOY was exactly like a B grade version of BONNIE AND CLYDE, banjo music and all.

Writer,Producer Larry Buchanan Directed 29 Movies, None have a Rating Above 5.something on IMDb. About Half are "Documentaries" Exploiting Super-Star Tabloid Types such as...Marylin Monroe, Howard Hughes...

or Gangsters...or the Conspiratorial...

Lee Harvey Oswald, Loch Ness Monster ("Nessie"), Mary Magdalene, Big-Foot...

and an Unwatchable Mess of Awful Sci-Fi and Horror.

Lacking the Innate Passion of "Ed Wood" for Making Movies, because He Loves Movies, and Always a Front-Running-Favorite in a "Competition" with Fellow-Travelers Like Buchanan and Why Buchanan Loses Repeatedly, for "Worst-Director".

"Eddie"always Remains Way-Ahead in "Polls", Awards and Shout-Outs, Because Buchanan's Work is Simply Irrelevant and Moot, Mainly because Most Buchanan's Work is Unwatchable, Not Interesting and Plain-Awful.

No Pizazz, that is a "Quality" that Make "Bad Movies" a Treat for Certain Fanatics. His Movies are Dull and Life-Less "Artistically".

"A Bullet for Pretty Boy" is Considered 1 of the Best in His Filmography, but Did Not Complete the Making of, Replaced by Vet Maury Dexter, when the Producers Lost Faith in Larry,

Although, Credit is Due, He Did Come-Up with an Iconic Title for a B-Movie that has Become a Catch-Phrase Among Bad-Movie-Maniacs, that Lives in Infamy and Wins by a Land-Side...

Best "Bad-Movie-Title Ever...that be the Unforgettable..."Mars Needs Women" (1968)...Not the Movie...Just the Title.

The Inept "Movie-Maker" is Always "Thinking" about "Exploiting", Buchanan will Forever be Remembered as the "Bad Director" No One Cares-About...

because His Work, to Use the Most Common Word in Negative Film-Criticism in the 2020's..."BORING"...but is Spot-On Referring to Buchanan's Work and Always Applies.

With a 1970 Budget of $350,000, and a Former "Teen-Idol", "Fabian" (Forte), who had Been Buried in the "Trash-Bin" of Musical Insignificance, along with the Other Assorted Throw-Away Rock 'n Roll Impersonators.

A Swath of Prefabricated "Singers" (Fabian could barely carry-a-note"), that Polluted the Lean Days of Rock 'n Roll (between Elvis and The Beatles), with a Notion of an Angelic, Safe, Sanitized Style and Songs that were Manufactured for Good American-Kids with Pocket-Change to Spare.

Fabian Forte, as "Pretty-Boy" shows Signs of being a Better Actor than Singer. But Buchanan's Replacement Shot All the Scenes with Any "Motion", Buchanan Only Managed to Film the Scenes with "E-Motion".

The Result is a Larry Buchanan (sort of) Movie that is Somewhat Colorful and Watchable. But if You are a "Newbie" to the Infamy of the Movie Director...Enjoy this, because its All Down-Hill from Here.

Worth a Watch (Barely)

In an effort to recharge his career as his popularity as teenage idol was now well behind him Fabian took the title role of that notorious public enemy of the Thirties Pretty Boy Floyd. It never worked and Fabian was now making his living in nostalgia concerts and an occasional film role in support. He even used his full name of Fabian Forte in the billing for this American-International Release.

Charles Arthur Floyd was a child of the 20s in dust bowl Oklahoma where they didn't share in the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties and it got worse than ever in the Depression. The film is hardly an accurate portrayal of his life still Fabian does give a good account of himself as the good looking and heartbreaking bandit who got to the position of Public Enemy Number 1 for a brief spell.

With the exception of Adam Roarke who went on to become an acting teacher of some repute as gang member Preacher you'll not have heard of any of the rest of the cast members. In a way that's good because they blend quite nicely into the story and no one takes any attention from the star.

Fabian's performance was all right, nothing special, no Oscar material here. A Bullet For Pretty Boy did fail to ignite any great enthusiasm for him as thespian.

This one follows the exploits of Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Fabian) and his gang as they rob banks through out Midwestern states (although it was entirely shot in Texas). It is pretty obvious that director Larry Buchanan is cashing in on the success of BONNIE & CLYDE (1967); for the second time actually as he made a B&C ripoff in 1968. For a low budget picture, they capture the small town feel pretty well. But reading any quick online bio for Floyd will show you the filmmakers are playing fast and loose with the truth. Floyd here - perhaps thanks to Woody Guthrie's song - is a romanticized, modern day Robin Hood-type with plenty of love for the ladies. Fabian acquits himself well in the lead role and the gorgeous Jocelyn Lane plays his love interest Betty. Adam Roarke has a small role as the character Preacher. An amazing amount of the supporting cast (Annabelle Weenick, Camilla Carr, Hugh Feagin, Gene Ross) later showed up in the horror works of S.F. Brownrigg.

Larry Buchanan, the Ed Wood of his day, made many bad movies in the '60s for American International. Apparently with this film he tried to elevate his game, took too long, got behind schedule, and got fired. Perhaps he also had artistic differences with Fabian. ;-) Anyway, yeah, the movie is wonderfully bad with many lovely bad touches - the bank robbery scenes occur in derelict buildings on the outskirts of downtown that apparently haven't been used in 35 years, Fabian's hairstyle is pure 1970, Fabian shows no apparent familiarity with the act of reading a newspaper, all the shades on the train are pulled down even though it's daytime, you can see the shadow of the camera against the train (because, um, it's broad daylight), the soulful song, not bad at first, gets used to death, etc. etc. etc. A useful text for stuff to avoid when you're making your first picture.