Hollywood Boulevard | |
---|---|
Directed by | |
Written by | Danny Opatoshu [lower-alpha 1] |
Produced by | Jon Davison |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Jamie Anderson |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Andrew Stein |
Production company | |
Distributed by | New World Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $54,039 [3] |
Box office | $1 million (North American rentals) [3] [4] |
Hollywood Boulevard is a 1976 American satirical exploitation film [5] directed by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante (in their respective directorial debuts), and starring Candice Rialson, Paul Bartel, and Mary Woronov. It follows an aspiring actress who has just arrived in Los Angeles, only to be hired by a reckless B movie film studio where she bears witness to a series of gruesome and fatal on-set accidents. The film blends elements of the comedy, thriller, and slasher film genres. [5] [6]
The film was made as a result of a bet between producers Jon Davison and Roger Corman to make the cheapest ever film for New World Pictures. This was accomplished by extensive use of footage from other New World films, and it features a number of references and inside-jokes to the studio's previous features. [7] Principal photography took place in October 1975 over a ten-day period on a budget of $54,000.
Pompous film director Eric Von Leppe is shooting a skydiving sequence for low-budget Miracle Pictures in which an actress is killed. Candy Wednesday arrives in Los Angeles from Indiana to make it as an actor. She swiftly gets an agent, Walter Paisley, but struggles to find work until she inadvertently gets involved in a bank robbery as a getaway driver. This leads her to getting hired by Miracle Pictures as a stunt driver. She meets Eric Von Leppe, temperamental starlet Mary McQueen, sleazy producer P.G., and friendly scriptwriter, Pat. Candy and Pat fall in love and she starts to get work as an actor, becoming friends with fellow starlets Bobbi and Jill.
The group travel to the Philippines to make a violent war film, Machete Maidens of Mora Tau, starring Candy, Mary, Bobbi and Jill. Candy has to play a character who is raped, which upsets her. Later on during the shoot, Jill, Bobbi and P.G. have a threesome. During the filming of a battle sequence, Jill is shot dead by an unseen attacker. Von Leppe and Mary choose not to call the authorities, instead leaving Jill's corpse behind in the rural shooting location. Candy is traumatized by the incident.
Back in the United States, Candy, Walter and Pat all go to see Machete Maidens at a local drive-in. Candy is extremely self-conscious watching her performance, and gets drunk during the screening. She leaves the car and visits the projectionist's booth, where she tries to force him to stop the film. The projectionist tries to rape Candy, but she is rescued by Walter.
Candy, Mary, and Bobbi are next cast in a 1950s-set science fiction Western film. While shooting a car chase scene in the desert, Mary, Candy and Bobbi are almost killed in an accident after the brakes in Candy's car mysteriously malfunction. Bobbi is enraged by the incident, and tells Patrick she wants to quit working for Miracle Pictures. Late that night, Bobbi is called back to the Western town set to perform retakes. Upon arrival, she is met by an unknown individual cloaked in a black shawl. The assailant slashes Bobbi with a hunting knife before chasing her through the set and eventually stabbing her to death.
Bobbi's murder makes front-page news, and the city goes on high alert for the unknown "slasher killer". Fearing for her life, Candy announces she is leaving Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Von Leppe, P.G., Patrick, and Walter screen rushes of the film, during which they observe snuff footage of Bobbi's murder that is present on the reel. Candy drives to the Hollywood Sign, where she tearfully overlooks the city. Mary arrives, revealing herself to be the killer, and attempts to murder Candy with an axe. Pat arrives to stop Mary as she and Candy tussle. Mary is killed, however, when the Hollywood Sign topples over on her, crushing her to death.
Candy goes on to become a renowned film star, and attends the premiere for a biographical film based on her experiences while working with Miracle Pictures.
The film came out of a bet made between producer Jon Davison and Roger Corman that Davison could make a film cheaper than any other that had been made at New World Pictures. [8] Corman granted him a budget of $60,000 and only allowed ten days of shooting instead of the usual 15. The filmmakers achieved this by coming up with a story about a B-movie studio which could incorporate footage from other movies that Corman owned. [1]
According to the audio commentary on the film's DVD by Joe Dante, Jon Davison and Allan Arkush, Roger Corman originally wanted Roberta Collins to play the lead, but they fought for Candice Rialson. Diabolique magazine argued that "I'm a Collins fan, but it was the right decision because Rialson brings not just looks and comic timing, but also a plucky underdog persona that is immensely appealing." [9]
Paul Bartel credits the film with launching his acting career. He later said they were worried the film would not be long enough so they improvised a series of "TV interviews" in which each of the major characters sketches in something of his background. Bartel tried to mimic "the kind of spiel Roger [Corman] used to feed the press, speaking of the exploitation films which he often loaded with doses of ersatz social consciousness: "In this film we've taken the myth of Romeo and Juliet, combined it with high speed car action and a sincere plea for nuclear controls in our lifetime." [10]
Mary Woronov was cast in the film based on her performance in Death Race 2000 (1975), another film produced by New World Pictures. [11]
Dante, Davison and Arkush also state the part of producer PG was turned down by Barry Gordon and Dwayne Hickman, and that Rita George was dating Dean Martin during filming.
The film was shot over a period of ten days in October 1975 [6] on short ends of raw stock left over from other movies. The script was a send up of the "three girls" movies New World were making at the time such as Summer School Teachers , with the murder plot borrowing heavily from an old Bela Lugosi movie, The Death Kiss (1932). [12]
The movie was also known as The Starlets, Hollywood Starlets, The Actresses and Hello, Hollywood. [3] Dante says at one stage Corman wanted to call it Hollywood Hookers but the directors did not like that "even though it probably would have made more money if it was called Hollywood Hookers". [13]
The film features footage from the following Corman pictures:
The movie features a number of in-jokes:
The film opened in Orlando, Florida on February 20, 1976 [2] before having its Los Angeles premiere on April 28, 1976. [1]
In the United States and Canada, the film grossed approximately $1 million in rentals. [3] [4]
The Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Thomas called the film "a hilarious, often outrageous spoof of the zany world of low budget exploitation filmmaking." [14] "Definitely not for people who are looking for anything elegant or high tone", said Kenneth Turan of The Washington Post . [15]
Scott Hammen of the Courier Journal praised the film as "the funniest movie in town" upon its release in Louisville, Kentucky, adding: "Unlike most of the things on our screens nowadays which are bad without intending to be, Hollywood Boulevard is purposefully and conscientiously rotten... One may need a basic affection for low-brow Americana to really enjoy [it]. But just as there are those who indulge in a secret taste for junk food occasionally, there are a lot of us with a similar passion for junk movies and, for us, Hollywood Boulevard is a constant delight." [16]
Nathan Rabin, reviewing the film in 2002 for The A.V. Club , wrote: "The directors' ability to inject innocence into a film crawling with gratuitous sex, nudity, violence, and sexual abuse says much about the Corman contingent's unique ability to be creepy and strangely endearing at the same time. For those willing to overlook periodic missteps into the nether regions of bad taste, Hollywood Boulevard is the sort of scrappy, resourceful, smart B-movie that threatens to give shameless opportunism a good name." [17]
Concorde Video released the film on DVD in 2001. [18] Scorpion Releasing released a limited edition Blu-ray on August 4, 2016, featuring a new color-corrected restoration from the original film elements, along with new interviews from cast and crew members and other bonus materials. [19]
Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.
Rock 'n' Roll High School is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard and Dey Young. The film features the punk rock group Ramones.
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 American dystopian science-fiction action film directed by Paul Bartel and produced by Roger Corman for New World Pictures. Set in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, the film centers on the murderous Transcontinental Road Race, in which participants score points by striking and killing pedestrians. David Carradine stars as "Frankenstein," the leading champion of the race, who is targeted by an underground rebel movement seeking to abolish the race. The cast also features Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov, Martin Kove, and Don Steele.
Cannonball is a 1976 American comedy film directed by Paul Bartel and starring David Carradine. The film is one of two released in 1976 that were based on a real illegal cross-continent road race that took place for a number of years in the United States. The same topic later became the basis for the films The Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run II and Speed Zone. The film was written and directed by Paul Bartel, who also directed Death Race 2000.
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he co-wrote, starred in and directed.
Mary Woronov is an American actress, writer, and figurative painter. She is primarily known as a "cult star" because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies and on stage at Lincoln Center and off-Broadway productions as well as numerous times in mainstream American TV series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider. She frequently co-starred with friend Paul Bartel; the pair appeared in 17 films together, often playing a married couple.
The Terror is a 1963 American independent horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson, the latter of whom portrays a French officer who is seduced by a woman who is also a shapeshifting devil.
Piranha is a 1978 American horror film directed and co-edited by Joe Dante from a screenplay by John Sayles, based on a story by Richard Robinson and Sayles. The film stars Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Steele, and Dick Miller. It tells the story of a river being infested by lethal, genetically altered piranha, threatening the lives of the local inhabitants and the visitors to a nearby summer resort.
Chopping Mall is a 1986 American independent techno-horror film co-written and directed by Jim Wynorski, produced by Julie Corman, and starring Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, and Barbara Crampton. It focuses on three high-tech security robots turning maniacal and killing teenage employees inside a shopping mall after dark.
Candice Ann Rialson, also known as Candy Rialson, was an American actress known for her starring role in Hollywood Boulevard (1976). According to one obituary, "although never reluctant to take her clothes off, Rialson was always more 'cutie' than sleazy, but she became so notorious for her B-movie work that mainstream directors hesitated to hire her". She inspired the character played by Bridget Fonda in Jackie Brown.
Allan Arkush is an American director and producer of films, television and videos. He is a collaborator of Joe Dante.
Tara Lorraine Strohmeier is an American former actress who appeared in memorable B-movies in the 1970s, many of them made for drive-in theater business and have since acquired large cult followings.
Night Call Nurses is a 1972 American sex comedy film directed by Jonathan Kaplan. It is the third in Roger Corman's "nurses" cycle of films, starting with The Student Nurses (1970).
The Student Teachers is a 1973 film directed by Jonathan Kaplan. It was inspired by the "nurse" cycle of pictures starting with The Student Nurses (1970). Roger Corman says it was one of the best of the cycle. It was made by the same team who had done Night Call Nurses.
Candy Stripe Nurses is a 1974 American comedy film written and directed by Alan Holleb, and starring Candice Rialson. Produced and distributed by New World Pictures, it was the last in their popular "nurses cycle" of films that commenced with The Student Nurses (1970).
Eat My Dust! is a 1976 American action comedy film written and directed by Charles B. Griffith, and starring Ron Howard.
Moonshine County Express is a 1977 action film from New World Pictures.
That Guy Dick Miller is a 2014 documentary directed by Elijah Drenner. The film had its world premiere on March 7, 2014 at South by Southwest and looks into the life and career of character actor Dick Miller. Funding for the film was raised through a Kickstarter campaign.
Machete Maidens Unleashed! is a 2010 Australian documentary film directed by Mark Hartley.
Danny Opatoshu is an American screenwriter best known for his work in exploitation films in the 1970s for directors such as Jonathan Kaplan and Allan Arkush with whom he attended New York University Film School.