Mudhoney

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!

Drama takes place in Missouri during the Depression (though that adds little to the story). Drifter Calif McKinney (John Furlong) comes by a small town looking for working. He finds it at the Wade farm run by Luke Ward and his niece Hannah (Antoinette Christiani) and her alcoholic abusive husband Sidney (Hal Hopper). Calif starts to fall for Hannah--Sidney sees that and doesn't like it. He gets the town and the local preacher (Frank Bolger) to rally against Calif. Also there are the two beautiful, huge-chested sisters (Lorna Maitland and Rena Horten) who are in the local cat house...It all leads to two near rapes, violence, murder and tragedy. But it does (in a way) have a happy ending.

Sleazy (in a good way) and enjoyable Russ Meyer drama. He ignores the campy dialogue he had in his previous features and gives us a straight forward drama. The script is good and it's well-directed with some beautiful black and white cinematography. The acting was (surprisingly) pretty good--especially when you consider all the women were hired for their bodies not acting ability. Furlong and Christiani give good performances but Hopper screams all his lines and Bolger is hopeless.

There is nudity on a few occasions but it's pretty tasteful. No great shakes but right up there with "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" as one of the best Russ Meyers film.

I know this movie has it's fans, is considered a satire and is preferred to the slightly earlier, Lorna, but I just cannot agree. Certainly this has pretensions to seriousness with it's stance against the simple preacher and the easily manipulated lynch mob, but everything is so overblown all becomes simply crass. As for the bulk of the film preceding the melodramatic ending, tiresome might be the word. There is the crazy family where is Lorna Maitland is reduced to playing a bit part for some reason and the homestead that takes on the new hired hand. There is so much unwarranted screaming and hysteric laughter that I felt like switching off during the first twenty minutes. Sure there are some fine sequences, the rape and murder of the preacher's daughter is very powerful, but I think this loses direction and has a pat 'satirical' theme tagged on for want of something better. The characters are nothing like as rounded as in Lorna and as with the later, Faster Pussycat, Meyer is probably at his best with the themes kept nice and simple.

"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'.