| I Need | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ferd Sebastian |
| Written by | Beverly Sebastian as "Ann Cawthorne" |
| Produced by | Ferd Sebastsian Beverly Sebastian |
| Starring | Ceci Weathers |
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7,000 [1] |
I Need (or I Need a Man) is a 1967 American drama film concerned with a young girl who becomes a schizophrenic nymphomaniac after a childhood rape. [2] It was the first movie from Beverly Sebastian and Ferd Sebastian, who self financed it for $7,000 and filmed it around Houston. The Sebastians distributed the film themselves and managed to recoup their money, launching their careers. [1] [3] [4]
Prior to starring in I Need, Tom Hunter guest starred on the 1960s, U.S television series Flipper and Hawk, then Gunsmoke, after. Working mostly in European-made films, Hunter starred in The Vampire Happening (1971), The Human Factor (1975), and The Cassandra Crossing (1976). [5]
The credited writer "Ann Cawthorne" was a pseudonym for Beverly Sebastian. [6]
Ferd Sebastian later said "Like in most of our films we did all the work. But in that one, I mean all [films we do], there was only the two of us and the cast which was about 4 people." [7]
Per the IMDb.com, the film was released in the U.S on December 28, 1967, the Netherlands on August 28, 1969, and France in August 1970.
Ferd Sebastian said ". . . it is the only picture we ever made in black and white and that it was too artsy. . . . It has a little sex and it has a little of this but it's very artsy. It looks like a Fellini film or something." [8]
The Sebastians said the film was not making money in cinemas until a distributor bought the film, and created a poster using a still from the movie where a woman looks like she is having sex, then added the log line "I need a man." This was a successful technique although the Sebastians recognised it misrepresented the film. [8]
A 1993 article said the film had made several hundred thousand dollars. [9]