Sweet Substitute

In the mid seventies we got a new TV station in Vancouver. During their first few years on the air they played an unusual assortment of movies. Films like BLACK MAMA,WHITE MAMA and CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS were shown alongside LA BELLE ET LA BETE and 8 1/2. Also aired were several obscure Canadian films,including SWEET SUBSTITUTE. I remember it had the look of a feature-length student film and that a lot of it was filmed on the streets of Vancouver, where I live. It was interesting to see cars and hairstyles from a decade earlier juxtaposed against those familiar buildings. The story had something to do with a small group of young adult males. The only two parts that stand out in my memory involved the guys stopping to look at a Beatles poster and one of them picking up a prostitute but chickening out on the deal. It had a stark look to its black & white photography, accentuated by the minimal dialogue.I'd like to see SWEET SUBSTITUTE again sometime, although the novelty of seeing my home town in a movie has long since worn off. It seems like most films are shot up here nowadays.

I caught this movie on Bravo, while channel surfing. I stopped, because I recognized English Bay as the beach where the two male leads were studying. After watching longer, I noted several Vancouver street scenes, which was a twist, given that few films were made in the city in the 1960s. The film itself is quirky and some of the minor characters seem to stumble over their lines.The plot line is interesting, though -- we see the protagonist, Tom, struggle with losing his virginity. However, when Tom gets his tutor pregnant, just after becoming engaged to his girlfriend, he and his friends threaten to ruin the tutor's reputation. The movie is more frank than you might expect for the times, although, being a Canadian film, this subject matter may have been more routine for the decade.

I caught this movie on Bravo, while channel surfing. I stopped, because I recognized English Bay as the beach where the two male leads were studying. After watching longer, I noted several Vancouver street scenes, which was a twist, given that few films were made in the city in the 1960s. The film itself is quirky and some of the minor characters seem to stumble over their lines.The plot line is interesting, though -- we see the protagonist, Tom, struggle with losing his virginity. However, when Tom gets his tutor pregnant, just after becoming engaged to his girlfriend, he and his friends threaten to ruin the tutor's repuation. The movie is more frank than you might expect for the times, although, being a Canadian film, this subject matter may have been more routine for the decade.

This is a very campy and moralistic teen movie from the early sixties. It's all about horny teens and one guy's struggle with his hormones. The ending was rather confusing and very abruptly resolved.

I am more interested in the lead actor ROBERT (Bob) HOWAY who played Tom. His dark, handsome Cliff Robertson good-looks should have landed him more leads but accordingly his credits were mostly 60's TV MOWs or walk-ons. He had lots of sex appeal and showed talent despite the lack luster script and direction.

What does anyone know about him...is he still alive, working in films or living in Vancouver where this early low budget flick was made?

The movie aired today (March 20th 2005) at 2PM on BRAVO here in Canada

After completing "The Bitter Ash," (which was the second film of Kent's I saw), he then made "Sweet Substitute." In this case, it was the last of his films I was able to get a hold of and I wasn't disappointed at all. This has to be one of the most enduring films to stay with me after viewing (along with "Faces" and it's honesty and sincerity have certainly had a profound effect on me. The characters and plot line both allow the times to shine out with the date of this film, but are relevant today, and being that the piece is ultimately about human relationships, expectations, and insecurities, I believe it will always be a landmark in independent art film. Unfortunately not enough other people have had the good fortune of discovering such great work as I have, but hopefully that will change in the future.