The films of the 1960’s and 1970’s began an era of what have been called exploitation films. There are many examples of films that pushed the R to X boundaries and have been referred to as Sexploitation films. Today we might call them soft porn, and examples of those early films includes Daughter Of The Sun (1963) and The Twilight Girls (1961). There were also films that took advantage of a certain aspect of black culture in the 70’s and made to appeal to the young, “hip” blacks of the decade but also became quite popular with the mainstream audiences. Films from that genre include iconic movies like the Shaft and Dolemite franchises. There’s another of these kinds of films that hasn’t gotten quite the attention and aren’t as well remembered. That group of films from mainly the 60’s were called Hicksploitation. These films provided heavy stereotyping like the Blacksploitation films did, but of the ways of the south. Common themes were incest and child brides, moonshining, and inbred hillbillies. While television picked up on the fad and made these stereotypes more charming and lovable with shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, the depictions in these films flaunted the Hayes Code and other censor attempts because of the setting. It sounds crazy, but it was acceptable to have these taboos presented in rural South locations that could not be gotten away with in any “civilized” Northern location. Now Film Masters has discovered two of these films and restored them for our personal libraries.
Common Law Wife (1960-1963)
“She’s cheated. Tried to steal my money. That’s what I get for a wife.”
The dates for both of these films is problematic at best. Here’s the story for Common Law Wife. It started with filmmaker Larry Buchanan (Mars Needs Women and The Thing From Venus). He made a film in color on 16mm in areas around his native Texas. The film was finished in 1960 and called Swamp Rose. The film was about a young, rather “loose” woman who comes back to her small town and stirs up a hornets’ nest with her ex-lover, who is also the county sheriff and married. The girl’s name was Jonelle and was played by Lacey Kelly. Sheriff Jody was played by Max. W. Anderson, with Libbey Hall playing Brenda, the sheriff’s current wife. The film was two hours and could not find distribution.
It was finally picked up by Michael A. Ripps, who thought he could make a better movie out of the mess. He added a story of a rich Uncle Shugg, who was living with a woman he was getting tired of. The old man was rich thanks to some healthy oil wells, and he decides to kick girlfriend Linda to the curb and call in his niece, known as Baby Doll, to take her place. Guess what? Baby Doll is Jonelle, who now comes to town to get her Uncle Shugg’s money. Meanwhile Linda checks a little legal matter out and finds Shugg can’t get rid of her because they once signed into a no-tell motel as husband and wife. Now you have a cat-fight, a catchier title, and a shorter running time of only 81 minutes. That’s the film that survived and the one we have on the Blu-ray. George Edgley plays the old Uncle Shugg, and Annabelle Weenick is added as the titular common law wife. Very little of Swamp Rose remains. We still have the now sub-story of her messing with the sheriff, and Lacey Kelly was brought back for more scenes as Jonelle, a.k.a. Baby Doll.
Eric Sayers was the new director, and unfortunately only his version remains. Sayers did not try to hide the fact that his footage was being blended with that of another movie. Kelly’s hair is dramatically different in the different footage, so continuity is shot to hell. It has some good moments where it almost makes sense, and the promised amped sexuality isn’t as bold as the film pretends. There is almost no real nudity, and most of that vibe is implied in Baby Doll’s tease-at-every-minute performance. The film is nothing but tease and having some fun at the South’s expense. “It’s cheap, you hear. Cheap.”
Jennie, Wife/Child (1965-1968)
“You don’t have to say I do to be married.”
Again we have two films that become one. The original film was called Tender Grass, and the song from that title remains in the new film. John Landis was the director, and we had another 2-hour film that could not find distribution. Enter Robert Carl Cohen, who trimmed the film and changed the focus again to deliver the film we have here. The general plot remains the same.
Jennie (Lunsford) is the young wife of a much older Albert Peckingpaw. He’s a pretty grumpy old man, and he is always jealous of attentions paid to his young wife. That goes double for his hired hand, Mario (Reader). He’s not really interested, but Jennie keeps throwing herself at him, and eventually he succumbs to temptation. They finally take a literal ride in the hay, and they get caught by Peckingpaw, who doesn’t let on. They really fall for each other and decide to take his money and leave together, but, of course they get caught once again. When he finally springs his trap, the couple find themselves in pretty big trouble. What will his revenge be? It will surprise you a little.
The film is loaded with original pop/country songs that help tell the story, usually in a montage. There is also a questionable decision to make it look a bit like an old silent movie. Some of the score is that kind of piano drama, and they include narration cards that look just like the dialog cards in old silent movies. I found it distracting. Too bad, because while this film is billed as the B-side (look it up), I enjoyed it more than the first. The songs actually moved it all along, and they were surprisingly catchy. The silent movie bit included some slapstick and even quick makeup changes that break up what was a pretty good movie for what it was. It’s still worth a quick look.
The films are restored and look pretty darn good when you consider their age and budget. You also get restored trailers and a documentary on Hicksploitation, but it doesn’t really touch on these two films. I hope it finds an audience, because I’m quite supportive of companies like Film Masters who work to bring us old, obscure films. Not all are true gems, but I love the effort, and if you’re a film fan, so should you. “Don’t let it give you ideas.”
Â
