Sneak Prevue Mailbag: Sneaking into R-rated films as a teenager

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

Nothing is better than a silly, pointless comedy. And “Kentucky Fried Movie” fits that requirement perfectly. I write a little about “Kentucky Fried Movie” in this edition of the Sneak Prevue Mailbag.

I also talk about the high cost of movie concessions and reminisce about sneaking into R-rated film as an underage teenager.

Every Friday, I dig deep into the mailbag and answer some of the more interesting questions from readers of this blog. If you have a question, write me at editor@sneakprevue.info and I’ll try to answer it on this blog.

Mr. Cassreino: I’ve been reading your blog now since it began last month. I find it quite interesting and even used your suggestions in deciding which films to watch on Netflix. Have you ever seen “Kentucky Fried Movie?” – John in Durango.

Sneak Prevue Mailbag: Waiting forever just to see a movie

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

I have stood in line literally hours just to buy a ticket to see a film high on my want-to-see-list – a list that through the years has included “Earthquake,” “The Towering Inferno,” “Jaws” and “Star Wars.”

I know “Earthquake” and “The Towering Inferno” are embarrassing, guilty pleasures. But, hey, “Earthquake” played at the Joy Theater in downtown New Orleans in late 1974 accompanied by that wonderful, ear-piercing gimmick called Sensurround (“Feel it as well as see it in Sensurround”).

And I couldn’t wait to experience a real, live, 9.0-magnitude, end-of-the-world, Armageddon-is-coming earthquake in the comfort and safety of a climate-controlled movie theater. I wasn’t disappointed.

But “Jaws?” Now that’s a different story. In fact I’ll talk about my experiences with that film when I answer questions in this week’s edition of the Sneak Prevue Mailbag. As you no doubt already have discovered, the Sneak Prevue Mailbag feature moves to Fridays beginning this week.

Redford, Dunaway headline thrilling ‘3 Days of the Condor’

THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975)

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

Robert Redford was at his best in the 1970s when he used his box-office drawing power to make a series of well-crafted, well-acted films that showcased his talent and on-screen charisma.

Besides “The Sting,” “The Way We Were” and “All the President’s Men,” one of my all-time favorite Redford films from that period is “Three Days of the Condor” – a tightly-wound, paranoia-laced thriller from 1975.

Redford teamed with actress Faye Dunaway a year after her critically-acclaimed performance in “Chinatown.” Under Sydney Pollack’s precise direction, the three turned a so-so novel into a crackling suspense film.

The movie’s timing was perfect. By building a thriller around an man caught in a CIA web of deceit, “Three Days of the Condor” appealed to the cynical beliefs of a nation still recovering from Watergate and Vietnam.

Bad movies I love: Cheap, hilarious rip-offs of ‘The Exorcist’

ABBY (1974)

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

Shortly after the box-office success of “The Exorcist” in 1973, studios flooded screens with cheap, American and European knock-offs that played second-run theaters and the drive-in circuit.

From Italian films like “The Return of the Exorcist” and “House of Exorcism”  to Spain’s “Exorcismo” and Turkey’s hysterically funny “Seytan,” film makers cashed in on the hottest craze in cinema: Satanic possession.

Even backers of the original “Exorcist” produced a terrible sequel, “Exorcist 2: The Heretic.” That film was followed years later by the equally bad “The Exorcist 3” and two separate, completely different versions of what was, essentially, “The Exorcist 4.” Let’s hear it for another shining example of Hollywood originality. How could anyone dare to think he or she could duplicate the success of the greatest horror film of all time?

Now, here’s where the fun begins. Buried in this huge, overflowing pile of rotting, stinking garbage of “Exorcist” sequels and cheesy rip-offs are two small gems – movies that are wildly entertaining simply because they are so pathetically awful.