

I also love the names on this film. Fonda plays "Heavenly Blues", whilst Dern is known as "The Loser". I kinda love that.
Check out Corman himself discussing THE WILD ANGELS via Trailers From Hell:
Check out Corman himself discussing THE WILD ANGELS via Trailers From Hell:


Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach on Good Morning American in 1981:

Based on Terry Southern's novel and adapted by Southern, Peter Sellers and Joseph McGrath. Actually the adaptation is credited as being done by Southern and McGrath with "Additional material" by Peter Sellers, John Cleese and Graham Chapman. I always associate Terry Southern with THE LOVED ONE and DR. STRANGLOVE, so it's tricky not to come in with higher expectations. The premise here is that a rich businessman (Sellers) adopts a homeless hippie-type (Starr) and proceeds to attempt to educate him through various odd experiences and escapades. There are a great many things that I don't miss too much about 1960s films in general, but absurdist comedy isn't one of them and THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN is packed with the stuff. The film goes from one unblinkingly ludicrous scenario to another with oodles of random nonsensical asides throughout. This kind of surrealist humor has all but disappeared from cinema these days it seems. While much of it doesn't succeed as being straight-up laugh-out-loud funny, it is still outlandish enough to be quite entertaining. You can kind of see the Monty Python leanings throughout.The movie comes from a lineage of irreverent, anti-establishment 60s comedies the likes of HOW I WON THE WAR (which features another Beatle in John Lennon) and perhaps LORD LOVE A DUCK, which are both fascinating and unique. The way that THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN goes after snobbery and hypocrisy (and how money plays into both) in stuffy British society (& society at large) is endlessly amusing. While it may seem deathly dated to some, it is truly a time capsule and a film that it's safe to say isn't likely to be remade anytime soon.
PSYCH-OUT (1968; Richard Rush)
PSCYH-OUT was an AIP production and also was produced by Dick Clark's production company. Clark's company did a lot of television of course, but also produced Richard Rush's next film - SAVAGE SEVEN which was ostensibly a biker movie remake of Kurosawa. Rush would go on to make his masterpiece, THE STUNT MAN, some years later. In PSYCH-OUT, one of the first dialogue scenes in the movie feature Jack Nicholson, Adam Rourke and Max Julien. That's a heckuva cool group of would-be cult actors. You can feel their budding talents at work here though. This first scene big scene (in a coffee shop) has good energy and is bursting with the crystal clear charisma of these gentlemen. They're just dynamic dudes. Even something as simple as them hanging up posters (to the tune of The Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense and Peppermints") is fun to watch. Part of this has to do with Richard Rush's style as a filmmaker though. Especially his editing style and the use of photographic effects here. It all works well in this kind of counter culture hippie story. Back to the actors though. Those unfamiliar with Adam Roarke are in for a nice discovery. He is one of those hidden gems that cinephiles come across when they've seen a certain pocket of films. I hadn't really heard of him until I started reading that Tarantino was a fan. During the years when he was doing his film festivals in Austin Texas, he ran at least a couple Adam Rourke movies. I recall reading how he loved him in DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY so that was the first movie I ever saw him in. He's absolutely great. There's just something about the way he behaves on camera that is quite memorable. He holds his own effortlessly with the likes of Nicholson or Peter Fonda without any trouble at all. He's got movie star energy and stuff but he never really evolved beyond supporting roles. It's a little sad, but he's a joy to watch in even in those smaller roles. Oh and Dean Stockwell is in this too! And watch for an early appearance by Gary Marshall as a plain clothes cop as it is very entertaining.
PSYCH-OUT (1968; Richard Rush)
PSCYH-OUT was an AIP production and also was produced by Dick Clark's production company. Clark's company did a lot of television of course, but also produced Richard Rush's next film - SAVAGE SEVEN which was ostensibly a biker movie remake of Kurosawa. Rush would go on to make his masterpiece, THE STUNT MAN, some years later. In PSYCH-OUT, one of the first dialogue scenes in the movie feature Jack Nicholson, Adam Rourke and Max Julien. That's a heckuva cool group of would-be cult actors. You can feel their budding talents at work here though. This first scene big scene (in a coffee shop) has good energy and is bursting with the crystal clear charisma of these gentlemen. They're just dynamic dudes. Even something as simple as them hanging up posters (to the tune of The Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense and Peppermints") is fun to watch. Part of this has to do with Richard Rush's style as a filmmaker though. Especially his editing style and the use of photographic effects here. It all works well in this kind of counter culture hippie story. Back to the actors though. Those unfamiliar with Adam Roarke are in for a nice discovery. He is one of those hidden gems that cinephiles come across when they've seen a certain pocket of films. I hadn't really heard of him until I started reading that Tarantino was a fan. During the years when he was doing his film festivals in Austin Texas, he ran at least a couple Adam Rourke movies. I recall reading how he loved him in DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY so that was the first movie I ever saw him in. He's absolutely great. There's just something about the way he behaves on camera that is quite memorable. He holds his own effortlessly with the likes of Nicholson or Peter Fonda without any trouble at all. He's got movie star energy and stuff but he never really evolved beyond supporting roles. It's a little sad, but he's a joy to watch in even in those smaller roles. Oh and Dean Stockwell is in this too! And watch for an early appearance by Gary Marshall as a plain clothes cop as it is very entertaining.
Here's a great piece of an interview Richard Rush did with the A.V. Club a while back wherein he talked about PSYCH-OUT:
http://www.avclub.com/article/richard-rush-57414
"Suddenly there was a new kind of non-aggressive male, a new kind of hero. I wanted very much to make that picture. American International said, “Okay, we’ll let you make it if you give us a sequel to Hells Angels.” And so we made the deal, and I had to do The Savage Seven first. That was a motorcycle picture, so it counted as a sequel to Hells Angels On Wheels. I actually had a lot of fun doing that one. It was an interesting film, because it was cowboys and Indians except in this case it was motorcyclists and Indians. The bike against the horse. That was also the first time I use my new blocking system, critical focus, which is where “rack focus” came from. Not bad for a 13-day exploitation film shoot. [Laughs.]
Then I got to do the one I really wanted to do, which was Psych-Out. It wasn’t named Psych-Out when I did it; that was the American International name for it. Unfortunately, that was the summer it got cold in Haight-Ashbury. The movement became cold. The kids had been on the street for a couple of years, and it was all wearing thin. It was getting harder to stay alive and healthy in that environment. The dope culture had flourished to a point where it had become troublesome. So I had to deal with some of that, as well as the glory of the movement."
http://www.avclub.com/article/richard-rush-57414
"Suddenly there was a new kind of non-aggressive male, a new kind of hero. I wanted very much to make that picture. American International said, “Okay, we’ll let you make it if you give us a sequel to Hells Angels.” And so we made the deal, and I had to do The Savage Seven first. That was a motorcycle picture, so it counted as a sequel to Hells Angels On Wheels. I actually had a lot of fun doing that one. It was an interesting film, because it was cowboys and Indians except in this case it was motorcyclists and Indians. The bike against the horse. That was also the first time I use my new blocking system, critical focus, which is where “rack focus” came from. Not bad for a 13-day exploitation film shoot. [Laughs.]
Then I got to do the one I really wanted to do, which was Psych-Out. It wasn’t named Psych-Out when I did it; that was the American International name for it. Unfortunately, that was the summer it got cold in Haight-Ashbury. The movement became cold. The kids had been on the street for a couple of years, and it was all wearing thin. It was getting harder to stay alive and healthy in that environment. The dope culture had flourished to a point where it had become troublesome. So I had to deal with some of that, as well as the glory of the movement."
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