Lost, Lonely and Vicious

Johnnie Dennis, young movie star, alternates between being a nice guy and a mope. That's the movie.

The opening narration goes as follows: "In this town of make believe, the truth behind the scenes is also filled with drama - blah blah blah - against this Hollywood backdrop of fantasy, yesterday's teenager, now growing up, faces tomorrow, still searching for kicks, but deeply searching for meaning." I deeply searched this film for meaning, but only came up with gas. Even the scene during the opening credits makes no sense.

Unknown Ken Clayton plays Johnnie. At the start of the film, Clayton bears a slight resemblance to James Dean; by the end of the film, he looks more like liberal columnist David Corn of "Mother Jones." Lilyan Chauvin, the only recognizable face in the cast, plays Clayton's acting coach. However, we never see her coaching him, and she just seems to appear in scenes for no reason. Cute Barbara Wilson plays Clayton's love interest - but you have to wait about 55 minutes before they finally make out, at which point we also see Wilson's stuffed animal fall from the sofa. The symbolism escapes me. Richard Gilden plays Walt, but I have no idea what he is doing in the picture. He works on his car, gets into two fights with Clayton (some of the body positions these two get in are hysterical), and generally ticks everyone off. Gilden is cursed with a double-whammy; he looks uncannily like 40s B-movie star Dave O'Brien, and sounds uncannily like 50s Z-movie star John Agar. Gilden has a pal named Pig, and there is a blonde dame named Darlene who shakes her rear end a lot. There is lots of stock footage of Hollywood, even though the film was shot in Tuscaloosa.

Clayton seems obsessed with death; I'll admit I considered it myself while watching this bilge. Then he is Mr. Nice Guy for awhile, then, in the climax, decides to drive at a high speed down the highway in his sports car (hey, does this remind you of any young actor with the identical initials of J. D.?) while Wilson is reading a letter he wrote to her.

If you are still awake after 70 minutes, you'll hear more psychobabble from the narrator: "And so, with an actor's dramatics, John Dennis comes to a crossroads in life."

Will Johnnie crash? Will true love win out? Will the stuffed animal fall off the sofa again?

Not bad as dumb B flicks go. Ken Clayton as Johnnie was actually a very good leading man. A James Dean lookalike, he seemed to have a big career ahead, but only acted in 4 other things and that was it. Hollywood must be rough. Same with Barbara Wilson as "Preach". Her career went by in a flash, although she had looks and talent.

Very one track story line; no intriguing side story. Just very boring and slow moving overall with a rather underwhelming finish.

Directing was decent, but not outstanding. Same as the acting.

Hey I've said this before can you please fix the Top- bill cast pictures to maintain the last visited when searching the actor it goes back to the first head character and it's a pain in the ass when you are looking through Ta Lynton.

Low-budget exploitation flick about "alienated youth" has an almost documentary presentation. The main focus seems to be the question of whether schizo Johnny, a James Dean-like overnight success, will pull himself together or crash and burn as he seems bent on doing with his unhealthy death wish. Johnny (Ken Clayton) alternates between violence and gentleness, sometimes sweet-natured and sometimes downright creepy. He all but kidnaps a young girl against her will, and winds up charming both her and her ailing father. Through it all, he seems curiously down to earth. A truly baffling character, unlike his compatriots who seem to have little talent and nothing but unrealistic dreams and little drive or ambition. It's not clear exactly by what means Johnny resolves his issues...but I suspect he expatriates to Italy, changes his name to Giorgio Ardisson, and has a flourishing career!