Ginger in the Morning

This early work starring Sissy Spacek is not a bad period piece. Spacek was 25 when she starred in this movie as a hitchhiker who falls for a middle aged businessman who picks her up. Even at this early age, you can tell that Spacek knows her craft and gives a deeper performance than her older costars. While there are some campy moments and forced dialog, I found that the low-budget film's unvarnished feel brought back a real sense of life in the early 1970s. There is a scene where the two male costars get drunk, and it really is a realistic portrayal of having fun while you are drunk! There are some funny moments, and it's far from a bomb. I purchased the DVD for $1 at my local dollar store, and felt it was worth at least that!

GINGER IN THE MORNING is a 1974 film starring a young Sissy Spacek in just her third theatrical film. Although released in '74 it was filmed in '72 so I think She filmed this before Badlands (1973).

Sissy plays the title character, Ginger. She is a hitchhiker who gets picked up by a middle-aged man named Joe. It's New Years Eve and Joe feels lonely. The two end up at Joe's apartment.

The movie starts off as a cute romantic comedy with a plot you've no doubt seen done hundreds of times before. Ginger is the "manic pixie dream girl" and Joe is the uptight square who falls in love with her.

The movie hits a snag however with the arrival of Joe's friend Charlie. Joe wants Charlie to leave so Ginger and him can, well, enjoy each other's company. Charlie becomes smitten with Ginger and doesn't want to leave. Joe then gets the idea of inviting Charlie's ex-wife Sugar over. This is when the movie takes an ugly turn. It goes from being a cute romantic comedy to a movie about bitter middle-aged people talking about marriage and divorce. Charlie then decides to get back with Sugar and they leave. Ginger now wants to leave too and Joe does that cliche' mad cap rush to find her and declare his love for her before it is too late.

With her shoulder length red/brown hair and young, freckled face Sissy Spacek physically reminds me so much of her own future daughter. Sissy even has the same mischevious grin. That being said, when Sissy sings her own song in this movie, one thing is obvious: She is no Schuyler.

I also thought that Sissy's voice sounded too childish and immature in this movie. She was 22 in this movie and She sounds like She is like she's a teenager.

I would only recommend this movie to people who are fans of Sissy Spacek or, if you're like me, a Schuyler Fisk fan who gets the kick out of seeing how much She takes after her own Mom.

Cutesy drama, almost unendurably dated--and with clichéd characters and dialogue to boot--features a young Sissy Spacek as a health-conscious, free-spirited woman, a hippie folk singer hitchhiking with her guitar across the country; she gets a ride from Monte Markham, a just-divorced businessman who's been advised to find himself a new girl to forget the old one. There are some surprisingly fine shots by cinematographer William K. Jurgensen of Spacek thumbing it on the road, but her relationship with Markham is pure cookie-cutter. Second-feature caught Spacek just before her career was about to take off, though this is one title she'd probably like to erase from her resume. Her acting is likable enough, but her character Ginger is nothing more than a lighter version of the hitchhiker Laurie Heineman played in "Save the Tiger"--in other words, a refugee from a TV sitcom or movie-of-the-week. *1/2 from ****

This was filmed in 1972 when Sissy Spacek was 22, most probably before she filmed BADLANDS (released 10/73). It Includes a happy Mary-Tyler-Moore-like theme song by Sissy S. as well as a clever live song w/ guitar about marichino cherries sung while riding in a car after hitching a ride (and one other original song by Sissy S). Sissy shows some musical talent that would be on display later in COAL MINER'S D.

Sissy is uber-charming and charismatic and beautiful and lovely; but at this early stage she seems influenced (whether she knows it or not) by Jan Brady of The Brady Bunch, She seems like a teenager having a blast being among adults in a grown up movie (not to be cruel). That being said; this grown up movie is of the TV variety (feel, pacing, writing, writers, director, etc.); utilizing the freedom away from TV for some pretty ugly, dated male/ battle-of-sexes dialogue.

The color by CFI is not bad, and it is nice that the film is set/was shot in New Mexico providing an interesting landscape backdrop. It really is only worth taking a look at if you like Sissy Spacek, want to hear some original songs by her at 22, and/or feel like going back to the early 70's for a little visit.

I was definitely curious to check out Ginger in the Morning when I randomly stumbled upon it. The cast alone makes it worth a look. Unfortunately, the dated and uninspired dialogue, weak script, and unimaginative direction all conspire to deliver this very disappointing little film. It is kind of interesting as a snapshot of the first half of the 70's. Sissy Spacek does write and perform many of the songs throughout the film, which is another plus. The story is just one cliche after another and it's just never able to gather momentum. Sorry to everyone who worked on Ginger in the Morning but I just cannot recommend it, unless maybe for those Sissy Spacek fans out there, you might enjoy it.