Ginger in the Morning

Joe Maroney (Monte Markham), divorced for three months, is driving in New Mexico from Albuquerque to his home in Santa Fe when he picks up a hitchhiking free spirit, Ginger Brown, played by Sissy Spacek, and the two subsequently become romantically absorbed with each other as New Year's Eve nears, whereupon Joe's former Army comrade Charley (Mark Miller) and, coincidentally, Charley's former wife Sugar (Susan Oliver) join them with many complications as the product. Hoydenish Spacek is appealing and brings life to scriptor/producer Miller's lines, but bland Markham's metabolic rate seems to be constant throughout and Oliver, a talented actress, is given loathsome dialogue and exaggerates it, without doubt to her satisfaction, while the direction is listless and the screenplay lacks imagination, with only Spacek's reactions, although not always precisely matching her circumstances, shining through this frippery.

It looks like a television movie but it was released for the cinema. A very 1970s and dated view of a May to December romance.

Right at the beginning. Newly divorced Joe (Monte Markham) is getting badgered by Fred (David Doyle) a man he just met to sow his oats and make the most of his freedom.

While driving he picks up a young pretty hitchhiker Ginger (Sissy Spacek) and a car puncture. She is free spirited hippie and secretly pregnant.

They first stop at a hotel and later Joe takes Ginger to his place. Hoping for a good time with Ginger.

Only boorish friend Charlie (Mark Miller) turns up, followed by his estranged wife.

It leads to misunderstandings with Ginger. She was rather naively hoping that Joe could be a father figure.

The movie is a mixed bag. An early starring role for Spacek who gets to sing as well.

Mark Miller who also wrote the movie is unsure what kind of movie this is.

It could had been a tender romance between two mismatched people. When Charlie crashes into the movie. It detours into something else and the movie suffers.

While many scenes in this movie seem sexist today, the dialogue is actually how most people talked (and thought) in the early 1970s, and this includes the women characters. It was a time of dramatic social change and people, young and old, said some pretty dumb things, every day. When I saw this movie available on streaming video, I thought it would be one of those trashy low budget films that was so bad it would be funny, but I actually found it intelligent and entertaining. The relationship of the two male friends is instantly recognizable to people who have served in the military (as I did), and the romantic relationship between one of the men, and the Sissy Spacek character who is half his age, exactly captures the tension between the two clashing cultures - the "counter culture" of the 60s and 70s vs the more conservative culture of people who grew up in the 40s and 50s. Of course he says sexist things, and of course she speaks in slogans and says "far out!" all the time. Yeah, people actually talked like that back then. Worth watching if you want to know what that era was like on an interpersonal level. Also, you have GOT to see Slim Pickens play a county sheriff. A minor role but he steals every scene he is in. I love that guy.

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.

This is yet another obscure movie that I stumbled into on Prime Video. It's one of Sissy Spacek's earliest roles (I'm guessing she made this before her breakthrough role in Badlands) playing an aspiring poet and singer who hitchhikes through the southwest. She's picked up by a divorced businessman and after they spend the night at his place, his old army pal unexpectedly shows up. There's more but I'll just say that while the tone is uneven (while I recognized what scenes and lines were supposed to get laughs, I didn't find myself laughing), it's still pretty interesting as a time capsule of the early '70s and Ms. Spacek does write and sing some pretty good songs for the soundtrack. So on that note, give Ginger in the Morning a look.