Scream Free!

Last updated
Scream Free!
Directed byBill Brame
John Lawrence (uncredited)
Screenplay by James Gordon White
John Lawrence
Produced byJohn Lawrence
executive
Maurice Smith
Ray Dornn
Lynn Steed
StarringRuss Tamblyn
Richard Beymer
Lana Wood
Production
company
Dorad Productions
Distributed byHollywood Star Pictures
Release date
  • 1969 (1969)
Running time
80 mins
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish

Scream Free! is a 1969 American film. It reunited two of the stars of the film of West Side Story, Russ Tamblyn and Richard Beymer, who appeared opposite Lana Wood, the sister of Natalie Wood, who was also in West Side Story.

Contents

The film was also known as Free Grass and Street Drugs.

The film was re-edited in 1989 for a video release with new scenes added and released under the title Street Drugs. [1] [2]

Premise

A man flees with his girlfriend on his motorbike to Mexico.

Cast

Production

The film was shot in March 1968 based on a script by John Lawrence who produced it through a company formed with Maurice L. Smith. [3]

James Gordon White, who worked with Lawrence on The Glory Stompers also worked on the script. He recalled "I didn’t like working on the script. The guys that had the original story credit were given that for putting up the money." [4]

Filming took place in Los Angeles with scenes shot at Griffith Park under the title Free Grass. [5]

Reception

Shock Magazine said "Despite some tedious stretches, it's recommended for anyone into counterculture nostalgia, or members of the Russ Tamblyn Fan Club. " [6]

Video Beat said "Things to look for: Richard Avedon's psychedelic John Lennon posters covering an entre wall, lots of smoking joints, crash pads, psychedelic rock band, "The Boston Tea Party," strobe lights, an unbelievable amount of flashing trippy effects (there's even an end credit for "Psychedelic Lights and Visual Effects") and an absolutely goofy ending." [7]

Psychotronic Video said "A lot of people would enjoy this lost feature (which isn’t a biker movie, although, characters do ride cycles). It deserves to be released in it’s original form." [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Wood</span> American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and film editor

Edward Davis Wood Jr. was an American filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, and pulp novelist.

<i>Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me</i> 1992 film by David Lynch

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a 1992 psychological horror film directed by David Lynch and written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It serves as a prequel to the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991), created by Mark Frost and Lynch, who were also executive producers. It revolves around the investigation into the murder of Teresa Banks and the last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer, a popular high school student in the fictional Washington town of Twin Peaks. Unlike the series, which was an uncanny blend of detective fiction, horror, the supernatural, offbeat humor, and soap opera tropes, the film has a much darker, less humorous tone.

<i>The Trip</i> (1967 film) 1967 American counterculture-era film directed by Roger Corman

The Trip is a 1967 American psychedelic film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman and written by Jack Nicholson. It was shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, the Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California, over three weeks in March and April 1967. Peter Fonda stars as a young man who experiences his first LSD trip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russ Tamblyn</span> American actor

Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn, is an American film and television actor and dancer.

<i>Beyond the Valley of the Dolls</i> 1970 film

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a 1970 American satirical musical melodrama film starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, Phyllis Davis, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett, and David Gurian. The film was directed by Russ Meyer and screenwritten by Roger Ebert from a story by Ebert and Meyer.

<i>The Haunting</i> (1963 film) 1963 British horror film by Robert Wise

The Haunting is a 1963 British horror film directed and produced by Robert Wise, adapted by Nelson Gidding from Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film depicts the experiences of a small group of people invited by a paranormal investigator to investigate a purportedly haunted house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Beymer</span> American actor

George Richard Beymer Jr. is an American actor, filmmaker and artist who played the roles of Tony in the film version of West Side Story (1961), Peter in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), and Ben Horne on the television series Twin Peaks.

<i>Good Morning and... Goodbye!</i> 1967 film by Russ Meyer

Good Morning and... Goodbye! is a 1967 American exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer. It features Alaina Capri, Karen Ciral, as well as Meyer regular Jack Moran, who co-wrote the script.

<i>The War of the Gargantuas</i> 1966 Japanese film

The War of the Gargantuas is a 1966 kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Referred by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV as a "quasi–sequel" to Frankenstein vs. Baragon, the film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the third and final collaboration between Toho Co., Ltd and Henry G. Saperstein. The film stars Russ Tamblyn, Kumi Mizuno and Kenji Sahara, with Yû Sekida as Sanda and Haruo Nakajima as Gaira. In the film, scientists investigate the sudden appearance of two giant hairy humanoid monsters that culminates in a battle in Tokyo.

<i>Human Highway</i> 1982 film by Dean Stockwell

Human Highway is a 1982 American comedy film starring and co-directed by Neil Young in his film and directional debut under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey. Dean Stockwell co-directed the film and acted along with Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, and the band Devo. Included is a collaborative performance of "Hey Hey, My My " by Devo and Young with Booji Boy singing lead vocals and Young playing lead guitar.

<i>West Side Story</i> (1961 film) 1961 film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins

West Side Story is a 1961 American musical romantic drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, written by Ernest Lehman, and produced by Wise. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same title, which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris, and was photographed by Daniel L. Fapp in Super Panavision 70. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

<i>The Last Movie</i> 1971 film by Dennis Hopper

The Last Movie is a 1971 metafictional drama film directed by Dennis Hopper, who also stars as a horse wrangler named after the state of Kansas. It is written by Stewart Stern, based on a story by Hopper and Stern, and stars an extensive supporting cast including Stella Garcia, Don Gordon, Peter Fonda, Julie Adams, Sylvia Miles, Samuel Fuller, Dean Stockwell, Russ Tamblyn, Tomas Milian, Toni Basil, Severn Darden, Henry Jaglom, Rod Cameron, Kris Kristofferson and Michelle Phillips. The plot follows a disenfranchised stuntman (Hopper), who begins a filmmaking-centric cargo cult among Peruvian natives after going into self-imposed exile.

<i>Tom Thumb</i> (film) 1958 film by George Pal

Tom Thumb is a 1958 British musical fantasy film produced and directed by George Pal, and released by MGM. The film, based on the fairy tale "Thumbling" by the Brothers Grimm, is about a tiny youth who manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Zugsmith</span> Director, producer and screenwriter (1910–1993)

Albert Zugsmith was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s.

<i>Deathsport</i> 1978 film

Deathsport is a 1978 science fiction action sports B-film produced by Roger Corman and directed by Allan Arkush and Nicholas Niciphor. The film stars David Carradine and Playboy Playmate Claudia Jennings. It would be one of Jennings' last films before her death.

<i>West Side Story</i> (1961 soundtrack) 1961 soundtrack album by various artists

West Side Story is the soundtrack album to the 1961 film West Side Story, featuring music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Released in 1961, the soundtrack spent 54 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's stereo albums charts, giving it the longest run at No. 1 of any album in history, although some lists instead credit Michael Jackson's Thriller, on the grounds that this run for West Side Story was on a chart for stereo albums only at a time when many albums were recorded in mono. It did also spend 6 weeks at the top of the Billboard chart for mono albums. In 1962, it won a Grammy award for "Best Sound Track Album – Original Cast". In the United States, it was one of the best-selling albums of the 1960s, certifying three times platinum by the RIAA on November 21, 1986.

<i>Follow the Boys</i> (1963 film) 1963 film by Richard Thorpe

Follow the Boys is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, and Janis Paige, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Shot on location on the French and Italian Riviera, Follow the Boys was MGM's second film vehicle for top recording artist Francis following Where the Boys Are (1960). While Francis' role in the earlier film had been somewhat secondary, she had a distinctly central role in Follow the Boys playing Bonnie Pulaski, a newlywed traveling the Riviera.

"Episode 4", also known as "The One-Armed Man", is the fifth episode of the first season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. The episode was written by Robert Engels, and directed by Tim Hunter. "Episode 4" features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Piper Laurie and Richard Beymer, and introduces series co-creator David Lynch in the role of Gordon Cole.

Randee Lynn Jensen, born April 28, 1949 is an actress from San Bernardino, California. During the 1960s she acted in films such as The Pit and the Pendulum and The Gay Deceivers. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, she had a number of parts in exploitation and biker films. She had appeared in over ten films in the biker genre alone. These include The Glory Stompers, The Cycle Savages and The Girls from Thunder Strip. She has also worked in film production, casting and other behind the scenes roles. Prior to her main work in film she had done stage work.

<i>Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces</i> 2014 feature-length compilation of deleted and extended scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces is a 2014 feature-length compilation of deleted and extended scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a 1992 film directed by David Lynch and written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It was released over twenty-two years after the movie and the original series ended and three years before the revival, Twin Peaks: The Return, aired.

References

  1. 1 2 "Free Grass". Psychotronic Video. No. 9. Spring 1991. p. 11.
  2. "Video retreads and bungled Bs". Daily News. 6 March 1991. p. 37.
  3. "John Saxon set for 'lead'". The Los Angeles Times Part IV. 11 March 1968. p. 32.
  4. Albright, Brian (2008). Wild beyond belief! : interviews with exploitation filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s. p. 216.
  5. "Behind the scenes in Hollywood". New Castle News. 4 April 1968. p. 6.
  6. Review of film at Shock Magazine
  7. Review of film at Video Beat