Poor Pretty Eddie

Just found this on DVD today, in a much better transfer than the old VHS versions. Let's face it, the film would be even more obscure, had the producers not had the vision to cast Shelley as Bertha, the faded beauty who "used to be an entertainer", but now owns a run down inn that is way off the beaten path. She's also an alcoholic plagued with loneliness and insecurity, which is somewhat relieved by Eddie, a good looking but psychotic stud about 25 years younger, with whom she maintains a desperate sexual and emotional relationship.

There is some debate about Shelley's acting, that her character is really just Shelley playing herself. That is an insult to the actress, who like any talented actor draws emotion from her own experiences. This is a tour-de-force performance, particularly when she explains to Leslie Uggams (in a very one-dimensional performance) that Eddie is all the man she's got, and at her age, there won't be any others. It's a heartbreaking scene that leaves no doubt about Miss Winters acting abilities. The crazy plot reminds me of HG Lewis' "2000 Maniacs". Slim Whitman has some choice lines. Entertaining in a "Bad Movie We Love" kind of way, this trashy treasure is worth seeking out.

Leslie Uggams stumbles into redneck run motel with stereotyped Southerners running amok. Creatively photographed, the rural setting is effectively creepy, as are the characters, all of whom can barely write their names in the mud with a sharp stick. Some eerie, Morrocone - like music adds to the oppressive atmosphere. The cast of hicks is led by Shelly Winters, with Slim Pickens and Dub Taylor lending support as a perverted sheriff and justice of the peace respectively. The big question has to be, who was the intended audience, since there is something here to offend almost everyone? A slow motion shotgun wedding finale is somewhat reminiscent of the Halloween party massacre in "Ms.45" - MERK

This great but weird film is certainly among my favorites .Its probably not for all tastes ,but a superb film I think.Y'know its like that car wreck you can't take your eyes off it.The acting by all incredibly good !And the direction excellent. What makes this film so much better than a hundred exploitation films like it ? The detail in each scene is fascinating !I've often wondered what creating this film must have taken on the cast and crew etc. Its a real shame this piece of artistic fantasy remains obscure and forgotten .Maybe the powers that be want it that way ,no doubt.Fortunately I obtained the videotape many years ago. If you can find this ,grab a rare 70's cult classic (dare I say?).You won't believe your eyes .

Like several people here, I too saw this in the wee hours of the morning on TCM, where yes folks, it ran with no introductory info, and NO TITLES. It simply ended and faded into nothingness where TCM switched back to some old Black and While film suitable for Gramma like it never happened. Maybe it didn't.

Plot: It's one of those "woman fights for her life versus redneck" films that were around a lot in the 70s. This one has an African-American singer getting stuck in the rural south where she stays at a run down inn/bar while she waits for her car to get fixed.

Meanwhile, the dashing bar owner falls in love with her, which results in the expected rape scene, this one rendered even more distasteful by the inter-cutting of shots of local mouthbreathers watching dogs screw.

She goes almost catatonic from that point forward, and every person she turns to for help just leads her deeper into a maze of grotesque public officials who don't really want to help. It's like Kafka rolled around in batter and deep-fried.

It's all so off-putting, the result is less one of bloody revenge than it is of confusion...that something so odd could have ever existed, or actually been shown on late-night television on a channel that so many people get.

Be aware film fans...reruns of this could be lurking around your next sleepless night. Try to get some sleep.

One of the most deeply disturbing films of the early 70s, bar none, POOR PRETTY EDDIE is also, at times, morbidly comical as well. A murky, surreal tale centering on a black superstarlet singer(Leslie Uggams) who becomes stranded alone in a small, backward Southern town. She takes a room in a tumbledown lodge run by Shelley Winters and "Eddie", her handsome "kept" boy. Eddie becomes discordantly smitten with Uggams, rapes her, beats her, and vows his undying love to her as a distraught Ms. Winters looks on.

Flush with heterodox characters and nightmarish imagery, POOR PRETTY EDDIE is a mind-bending, jaw-dropping, head-scratching freak-on-wheels which is equal parts effective and defective.

6.5/10...file under "uncategorizable".