Buster and Billie

Last updated
Buster and Billie
Buster and billie.jpg
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by Daniel Petrie
Screenplay byRon Turbeville
Story byRon Turbeville
Ron Bartron
Produced by Ron Silverman
Starring Jan-Michael Vincent
Pamela Sue Martin
Clifton James
Robert Englund
Joan Goodfellow
Cinematography Mario Tosi
Edited by Michael Kahn
Music by Al De Lory
Production
company
Black Creek Billie
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • August 23, 1974 (1974-08-23)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Buster and Billie is a 1974 American neo noir crime film motion picture released by Columbia Pictures. The film was of the tragic romance/revenge film genres. It was directed by Daniel Petrie, whose credits include films such as Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981).

Contents

In the title roles were future Airwolf star Jan-Michael Vincent as Buster, and Joan Goodfellow as Billie. In supporting roles, Buster and Billie also featured Pamela Sue Martin of Dynasty fame as Buster's girlfriend Margie, and Robert Englund, in his film debut, who later shot to fame in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series as Freddy Krueger, in a small role as Buster's friend, Whitey.

This film is also notable as one of the earliest American mainstream movies to have male frontal nudity. Much of the movie was filmed in the towns of Metter and Register, Georgia, as well as in surrounding rural areas. Townspeople were excited the movie was being filmed and were unaware of the movie's risque plot or nudity.

Plot

In a small Georgia town in 1948, Buster Lane (Jan-Michael Vincent) is a handsome, popular high-school senior, who is engaged to be married to his pretty, popular high-school sweetheart Margie Hooks (Pamela Sue Martin). He is the 'big man on campus' and the leader of his group of friends.

Buster's friends often visit a girl from an underprivileged background named Billie-Jo Truluck (Joan Goodfellow), who dourly gives them the sexual favors they want. Meanwhile, Buster becomes disenchanted with Margie's refusal to have sex with him, and begins seeing Billie in secret.

At first he sees Billie just for sex but eventually finds himself falling in love with her. He becomes, in fact, so taken with Billie that he breaks off his engagement with Margie and starts appearing in public with Billie, who finds a new lease on life with Buster. They are happy for the first time in their lives. Happiness for them, though, is short-lived.

Buster's friends are extremely jealous that they cannot have Billie for their own use anymore and corner her one day when they are drunk and find her out walking. When she refuses to submit to them, they rape and kill her in the heat of the moment. Buster eventually finds her dead, and is hysterical. He then goes to the pool hall where his friends are, with the guilt evident on the faces of the main perpetrators of the crime.

Enraged, Buster kills two of them, while injuring the other two. He is put into jail for this, but is released on bail the day after her funeral, which no one attends except his parents. He rips up a truckload of flowers from garden beds in the town, and takes these flowers to Billie's graveside.

Cast

Critical reception

Roger Ebert awarded the film three (out of four) stars and wrote, "The movie’s no masterpiece, but it’s an affecting story well told, it observes its teen-age characters with a fine insight, and it almost earns its tragic ending." [1] Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times stated that the film "is at once an alluring and fiercely disappointing movie that leaves one full of regret for what might have been," its chief flaw being that the characters were "types, observed keenly but unexplained, remote rather than real, remembered, but not revealed." [2] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two stars out of four and wrote that it "crudely imitates 'The Last Picture Show'," adding, "Worse than having an implausible story line, 'Buster and Billie' makes no attempt to justify it. I can understand why Buster might leave his steady girl — she's a clothes-conscious drip — but the matchup with the emotionally troubled Billie is never justified, except as a vehicle for wringing our hearts. Contributing to the film's failure, and leaving a bad taste in our mouths, is yet another cataclysmic movie conclusion in which various acts of cruelty are performed and people die. After wallowing in forced kindness, 'Buster and Billie' concludes with forced horror." [3] Variety criticized the ending as "hysterical, synthetic and implausible melodrama which skirts meaningful resolution. Even so, Turbeville and Petrie nicely etch social behavior in post-World War II rural America. The largely unknown cast performs with beguiling authenticity, and there are many incidental observations that transcend facile nostalgia." [4] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called it "an assemblage of ingredients previously identified as crowd-pleasers" with "little life of its own—almost nothing of that feeling, which for all its craft 'American Graffiti' certainly had, that its creators were looking back at someplace they'd been." [5] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote that the film started out as "a pungent and authentic story," but once it turns dark "takes a rather precipitous header, going the way of gratuitously violent exploitation. The change in direction is extremely unattractive and ill-advised, and it may ruin the film's initially strong chances of popularity." [6]

Leonard Maltin gave the film a *1/2 score, and said that it was a "blubbery account of high school romance in 1948 rural Georgia...[and that it] can't overcome cliched premise." [7] Steven Scheuer said that it was "an uneven but perceptive film" and that, in the lead roles, Vincent played his role "with strength and charm" while Goodfellow was "touching as the acquiescent town tramp." [8]

Music

The film's title song "Billie's Theme" is sung over the opening and closing credits by Hoyt Axton. A re-recorded version appeared on Axton's "Life Machine" album the same year of the film's release.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Lady Sings the Blues</i> (film) 1972 film by Sidney J. Furie

Lady Sings the Blues is a 1972 American biographical drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie about jazz singer Billie Holiday, loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from Holiday's song. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. Diana Ross, in her feature film debut, portrayed Holiday, alongside a cast including Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, and Scatman Crothers. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1973, including Best Actress in a Leading Role for Diana Ross.

<i>Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore</i> 1974 film directed by Martin Scorsese

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is a 1974 American comedy drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the Southwestern United States in search of a better life. Kris Kristofferson, Billy "Green" Bush, Diane Ladd, Valerie Curtin, Lelia Goldoni, Vic Tayback, Jodie Foster, Alfred Lutter and Harvey Keitel appear in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Sue Martin</span> American actress (born 1953)

Pamela Sue Martin is an American actress, who is best known for starring as Nancy Drew on the television series The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977-1979) and as socialite Fallon Carrington Colby on the ABC soap opera Dynasty (1981-1984), winning a Bambi Award for the latter in 1984.

<i>Day for Night</i> (film) 1973 film by François Truffaut

Day for Night is a 1973 romantic comedy-drama film co-written and directed by François Truffaut, starring Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Léaud and Truffaut himself. The original French title, La Nuit américaine, refers to the French name for the filmmaking process whereby sequences filmed outdoors in daylight are shot with a filter over the camera lens or also using film stock balanced for tungsten (indoor) light and underexposed to appear as if they are taking place at night. In English, the technique is called day for night.

<i>The Poseidon Adventure</i> (1972 film) 1972 film by Ronald Neame

The Poseidon Adventure is a 1972 American disaster film directed by Ronald Neame, produced by Irwin Allen, and based on Paul Gallico's 1969 novel of the same name. It has an ensemble cast including five Oscar winners: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Albertson, Shelley Winters, and Red Buttons. The plot centers on the fictional SS Poseidon, an aging luxury liner on her final voyage from New York City to Athens, before it is scrapped. On New Year's Day, it is overturned by a tsunami. Passengers and crew are trapped inside, and a preacher attempts to lead a small group of survivors to safety.

<i>Carnal Knowledge</i> (film) 1971 film by Mike Nichols

Carnal Knowledge is a 1971 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Jules Feiffer. It stars Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen, and Rita Moreno.

<i>The Gambler</i> (1974 film) 1974 film

The Gambler is a 1974 American crime drama film written by James Toback and directed by Karel Reisz. It stars James Caan, Paul Sorvino and Lauren Hutton. Caan's performance was widely lauded and was nominated for a Golden Globe.

<i>Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?</i> 1971 film by Ulu Grosbard

Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? is a 1971 American comedy-drama film directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Dustin Hoffman.

<i>Loving</i> (1970 film) 1970 film by Irvin Kershner

Loving is a 1970 American comedy-drama film released by Columbia Pictures and directed by Irvin Kershner. It is based on the novel Brooks Wilson Ltd. written by pulp magazine illustrator John McDermott under his pen name J.M. Ryan. The movie starred George Segal in the lead role of a philandering illustrator and Eva Marie Saint as his wife. The cast included Sterling Hayden, David Doyle, Keenan Wynn, Roy Scheider, and Sherry Lansing. Broadway actress Betsy von Furstenberg has a small uncredited role, only one of two motion pictures she ever appeared in.

<i>The Iceman Cometh</i> (1973 film) 1973 film by John Frankenheimer

The Iceman Cometh is a 1973 American drama film directed by John Frankenheimer. The screenplay, written by Thomas Quinn Curtiss, is based on Eugene O'Neill's 1946 play of the same name. The film was produced by Ely Landau for the American Film Theatre, which from 1973 to 1975 presented thirteen film adaptations of noted plays.

<i>The Champ</i> (1979 film) A 1979 remake of the 1931 Oscar-winning film directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

The Champ is a 1979 American neo noir drama sports film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and a remake of the 1931 Academy Award-winning film of the same name directed by King Vidor. It stars Jon Voight as Billy Flynn, a former boxer who attempts to support his son and reconcile with his ex-wife by fighting in the ring again.

<i>Getting Straight</i> 1970 US comedy film by Richard Rush

Getting Straight is a 1970 American comedy film motion picture directed by Richard Rush, released by Columbia Pictures.

<i>Drive, He Said</i> 1971 film by Jack Nicholson

Drive, He Said is a 1971 American independent film directed by Jack Nicholson, in his directorial debut, and starring William Tepper, Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Robert Towne, and Henry Jaglom. Based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Jeremy Larner, the film follows a disenchanted college basketball player who is having an affair with a professor's wife, as well as dealing with his counterculture roommate's preoccupation with avoiding the draft in the Vietnam War. The film features supporting performances by David Ogden Stiers, Cindy Williams, and Michael Warren. The screenplay was adapted by Larner and Nicholson, and included uncredited contributions from Terrence Malick.

<i>The Late Show</i> (film) 1977 film by Robert Benton

The Late Show is a 1977 American neo-noir mystery film written and directed by Robert Benton and produced by Robert Altman. It stars Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, and Joanna Cassidy.

<i>Hustle</i> (1975 film) 1975 film by Robert Aldrich

Hustle is a 1975 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Burt Reynolds and Catherine Deneuve.

<i>Our Time</i> (1974 film) 1974 film by Peter Hyams

Our Time is a 1974 American drama film directed by Peter Hyams. The film was written by Jane C. Stanton, and stars Pamela Sue Martin, Parker Stevenson and Betsy Slade. The story is set at a Massachusetts school for girls in the 1950s.

<i>St. Ives</i> (1976 film) 1976 film by J. Lee Thompson

St. Ives is a 1976 American crime thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Charles Bronson, John Houseman, Jacqueline Bisset, and Maximilian Schell.

<i>Last of the Red Hot Lovers</i> (film) 1972 film by Gene Saks

Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers is a 1972 American comedy film based on Neil Simon's 1969 play of the same name. Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss and Renée Taylor star in it.

Joan Goodfellow is an American actress and singer who appeared on stage, screen, and television throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Best known for her performance in Buster and Billie (1974), she also appeared in the TV-movies Returning Home (1975) and Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill (1979). Her final film was Victor Nuñez's A Flash of Green in 1984. On stage, she was part of the original cast of Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues (1985).

References

  1. ↑ Ebert, Roger (August 21, 1974). "Buster and Billie". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  2. ↑ Van Gelder, Lawrence Van (August 22, 1974). "'Buster and Billie,' High School Youth in Rural Georgia of '48". The New York Times . 28.
  3. ↑ Siskel, Gene (August 5, 1974). "Buster and Billie". Chicago Tribune . Section 2, p. 15.
  4. ↑ "Film Reviews: Buster and Billie". Variety . June 12, 1974. 18.
  5. ↑ Champlin, Charles (October 9, 1974). "A Drowning in a Bloodbath". Los Angeles Times . Part IV, p. 11.
  6. ↑ Arnold, Gary (June 15, 1974). "Buster and Billie". The Washington Post . B7.
  7. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (1991) Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1992, Signet, New York. pg. 161
  8. ↑ Scheuer, Steven H. (1990) Movies on TV and Videocassette, Bamtam Books, New York. pg. 142
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.