Wild Seed

Two kids on the run, a twenty-year-old boy and a seventeen-year-old girl are running away. They meet on the road and at first, the girl is very reluctant to travel with him. But, after a while, she changes her mind. She's on her way to LA while he tells her he's on his way to San Diego. They travel together with him protecting her against tramps, railroad cops, state and county cops, and everyone else in general. As they travel, they begin to fall in love. Will their love continue to grow? Regardless, will they make it to their destinations? Or, will something prevent them from making it? This is an excellent movie and I wish Universal would put it on video.

I call this an "artsy" film because of the type of outdoor photography used throughout this film.

Back in 1967 Wild Seed received a TV showing on one of the networks' night at the movies. I was so delighted with Michael Parks' performance, I went out of my way to see the film again at a second-run movie house. This is a film which should still be available. It's surely one of Parks' best cinematic appearances and makes one wonder how his career never really took off. (Perhaps he figured after playing Adam in The Bible, he'd given his all to start mankind on its road to perdition.) This would be a great movie to receive the Anchor Bay DVD treatment. In truth I remember the actual details of Wild Seed rather sketchily but the character of the drifter has remained in my memory for four decades. Wild Seed is a realistic depiction of alienation and redemption.

The great Conrad Hall (the original Outer Limits) photographed Wild Seed in black & white and his mastery of light and shadow fit the noir mood of this melancholy story. The late Michael Parks is excellent and Celia Kaye in an early role perfectly projected the innocence of am earnest young girl inexperience in life. An experienced actress would have come across as artificial and "Hollywood." Their growing love story is completely believable. The direction by Brian Hutton is effective. Much of the story takes place on freight trains which gets a little tedious but the logistics of shooting these sequences had to have been complex and somewhat dangerous. It was produced by Marlon Brando's production company and it would not have been a stretch to see a 50s era Brando take the Parks role but not in 1964. Parks was more Dean than Brando in demeanor and it's hard to understand why Then Came Bronson hasn't been released on DVD when every piece of junk is. Turner Classics made a bad decision to pair this with Parks' and Ann- Margret's Bus Riley's Back In Town for a 2AM showing Nov. 25, 2017 on TCM Underground instead of giving it an 8PM time slot with a guest when more people would have tuned in to appreciate this little-seen gem. These films are all wrong for Underground which focuses on psychotronic, whacked-out films.

An obscure film set in the mid/late 1950's about a youth running away from her grandparents (NewJersey) to find her father (CA). She is unexpectly rescued and befriended enroute. Trust and friendship blossom as they travel by freight trains to California. The ending begs a sequel. Both genders will enjoy, independently or together. ///---Where can I get a copy ?!?!?!?---/// The "Journey of Natty Gan" is a lightweight, rambling version of this tale.

One of my favorite films from the '60's, "Wild Seed" was a touching sensitve view of two lost souls thrown together---a common plot of the times. This however, was in my opinion, one of the best performances by Michael Parks. I recall that the film was completed in about 3 weeks, done on a very low budget, and some of the dialogue was, in fact, ad libbed because of the cost. Parks carries off his role as a drifter with a heart so beautifully. We see that he really wants to reach out to the Celia Kaye character, but is so impacted by his past that he doesn't exactly know how. Eventually, the kindness he seeks from others shines through. I agree that Celia Kaye's acting is the weaker part of the film. She was a newcomer (and what did happen to her?)in this film; but Parks shines as someone aching to connect with someone in a purposeful sensitve way. He does so, sometimes, not with dialogue, but with a look, a shrug, a distanced stare, using the environment as part of his character. His characterization is reminiscent of a low-key James Dean; nuances are Parks' strength. The filming uses the seamier sides if cities as backdrop, yet, with rain-washed streets, there is something hopeful in those scenes. It's must-see for people wanting to see a classic story of the '60's generation and why we wandered and connected with strangers at critical times in our lives.