Cisco Pike

This film was barely seen in 1972 starring Kristofferson and Gene Hackman as a scumbag cop. Harry Dean Stanton is marvelous as Kris' friend and Karen Black is always interesting. The cute Joy Bang is even here. This film was so far under the radar, most people forgot it even exists.

A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Harry Dean Stanton. Hackman should have played more characters like this one. This may be Kristofferson's best work (as an actor) along with Blume in Love. Great cinematography and location work. I can't believe this wasn't a hit in 1972. Track this one down and you won't be disappointed.

There was plenty of "junk" in the golden age 70's, but this film should not be included.

One of the lost 70s movies that seldom turns up in books or on 'best' lists, and yet it defines the time (1972) and place (Venice Beach, CA) like no other. Leading the stellar cast is Kris Kristofferson, playing a down-on-his-luck musician - kind of ironically as his soundtrack is every bit as good as his performance. The ever-wonderful Karen Black is his much put-upon girlfriend, though a strong character in her own right. Harry Dean Stanton strums a guitar and shoots up, while Gene Hackman plays a rogue cop, Factory model Viva appears looking somewhat out of place in LA, and the Doug (Sahm) in the Sir Douglas Quintet plays himself, even doing a turn in the studio. Finally, there's the perfectly named Joy Bang, and that's pretty much all you need to know. Sure, there's a story going on about a dope deal that inevitably goes tits up, but we've all seen that before. This is a character driven movie with a vengeance and while it may be the only film of note from writer/director Bill Norton, it's a great one.

Cisco Pike was Kris Kristofferson's film debut and it's astonishing to see him looking so young. He also provided the bulk of the songs featured on the soundtrack. He plays Cisco Pike, a recovering drug dealer and semi pro musician who can't quite decide which direction his life is going to take. Crooked cop Gene Hackman approaches Kris with the chance to clear his criminal record by selling Gene's purloined stash of primo dope. The balance of the film follows Kris' efforts to unload the pot in one hurried weekend which finds him frolicking in bed with Warhol star Viva and porn actress Joy Bang, dropping in to the studio with Doug Sahm and the Sir Douglas Quartet, dining on fine food with Antonio 'Huggy Bear' Fargas, and reminiscing about old times with his strung out old music buddy H D (Harry Dean) Stanton. Add Karen Black, Severn Darden and Wavy Gravy himself, Hugh Romney, and you have an amazing time capsule and a tremendously entertaining and well acted picture. This would make a terrific double bill with 1971s Vanishing Point.

This hard to find film has always been a favorite presenting the changing L.A. music/hippie scene of the early 70's. Kristofferson, in his starring film debut, is marvelous as the down-on-his-luck troubadour of the title. At times he appears genuinely and functionally smashed, but it fits the character to a tee. It's also interesting to watch him composing his often sad, literate tunes, as one realizes this was probably how he wrote many of his greatest songs ("Help Me Make It Through the Night", "For the Good Times", "Me and Bobby McGee", "Sunday Morning Coming Down"): in lonely desperation. None of them are here, but he does do "Loving Her Was Easier" and "Pilgrim Chapter 33". The latter autobiographical song is perfectly fitting for the character of Cisco Pike. Kristofferson is so charismatic and his screen presence is such that we root for him in typical early 70's anti-hero fashion even though he is essentially a drunken pothead who cheats on his girlfriend (the always welcome Karen Black) and is racing to unload $10,000 worth of marijuana in a single weekend. But you'll seldom find a more real and lived-in performance than this debut. Sam Peckinpah saw this and cast him as the doomed Billy the Kid in his next film.

Kristofferson's desperation is fueled by crooked cop Gene Hackman (in fine if eccentric form) who himself is desperate for the money. So the thrust of the film is Kristofferson racing around L.A., weaving on the freeways in his beat-up station wagon full of pot, and encountering Roscoe Lee Browne, Wavy Gravy, Antonio Fargas, Severn Darden, Howard Hesseman, Doug Sahm, and a menage a trois with Viva and Joy Bang. It's a time capsule to be sure. In the final reel Harry Dean Stanton shows up memorably as an old buddy who's even more wasted and down-on-his-luck. The underrated B.L. Norton is behind the camera, and the film is highly recommended. This begs for a DVD release with extras. A Krisofferson commentary would be particularly insightful.

Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson is well-cast in his first film as Cisco Pike, a musician with some success a few years behind him, now just another struggling performer in Southern California. Busted twice for dealing, he's gone straight, hoping to get back into the music business which has quietly passed him by. The narcotics officer who nailed Cisco comes to him with a proposition: having just lucked into 100 kilos of weed, he wants Cisco to sell it all off in two-and-half days, give the cop 10 G's and keep the rest of the profits for himself. Writer-director B.L. Norton (whose script was reworked by an uncredited Robert Towne) creates a deceptively lackadaisical atmosphere, yet the paranoia and desperation is palpable. The vivid cinematography is by Vilis Lapenieks; performances by Kristofferson (who also contributes four songs to the soundtrack), Gene Hackman, Karen Black, Antonio Fargas, Roscoe Lee Browne and Harry Dean Stanton are each in their own remarkable. There are some problems with the film, mostly narrative: an unexplained sequence midway has Hackman's narc apparently following Cisco as he deals to his clients, leading to a violent argument that sort of dead-ends; also, Cisco is given several chances to explain his actions at crucial points in the story, but each time he frustratingly clams up (this is a problem that runs throughout the movie). Otherwise, a perceptive, quirky effort with funny asides and lovely throwaway moments. **1/2 from ****