The Sweet Ride

On the beach, three single guys and Jackie Bissett in her 20's - what more could you hope for. Tony Franciosa (good actor) plays aging tennis bum who skirt-chases, Bob Denver as the nebbish who's not dumb, and Michael Sarrazin (who was Ms. Bisset's real-life love interest back then) and the stunning Jackie in her beauty prime. Watching this flick is like hanging out with friends you like for the weekend that make you want to go home after a while. Furtive glances abound. There's definitely not enough women in this plot.

A 6 out of 10. Best performance = Tony Franciosa. He works the room in the most shallow 60's way (like Tony Curtis did), but you like the guy because he never gives up. A fun flick with great locale!

This movie essentially revolves around three men by the names of "Collie Ransom" (Anthony Franciosa), "Dennis 'Denny' McGuire" (Michael Sarrazin) and "Choo Burns" (Bob Denver) who share a beach house in Southern California and pretty much take the world as it comes. Then one day an attractive woman by the name of "Vicky Cartwright" (Jacqueline Bisset) appears and catches the eye of both Dennis and Collie but since Dennis was the first to meet her he is given the opportunity to date her first. What he doesn't realize, however, is that she is dealing with some personal issues that will make it difficult for anybody to get close to her at this particular time. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film had an enormous amount of potential as it was gifted with talented actors and some good supporting musical numbers from both Dusty Springfield and the extremely talented but poorly managed rock group known as the Moby Grape. Unfortunately, the director (Harvey Hart) apparently had no idea what he was doing as the plot meandered all over the place with several sub-genres colliding with one another before ending on a dramatic and somber note. That being said, although I liked the overall late-60's atmosphere, I couldn't quite come to turns with the fragmented ambiance and for that reason I rate is as just average.

A mystery begins to unfold in the first two minutes of The Sweet Ride (1968), as we try to figure out who, almost killed, Vickie (Jacqueline Bissett), and left her for dead on the side of the road. The film switches into flashback mode from there and eventually, returns us back to current-day, leaving the last half-hour of the film, to fill in the missing pieces. We also have Anthony Franciosa as Collie Ransom and Michael Sarrazan as Denny McGuire, the tennis fraud and the surfer kid, who both fall under the spell of the beautiful, sexy Vickie Cartwright. The Sweet Ride (1968), is a different kind of crime-drama. There is definitely comedy sprinkled into this film, but it's mostly a drama. I was surprised by the amount of nudity seen in this film for 1968, but it was released, just at the time, that the change to the MPAA rating-system was happening. 1967-1969 was the start of the modern era of film. I also was stuck with a poor-quality, blurry, 4:3 copy of his film, that I found on YouTube, so I couldn't tell how noticeable the nudity was.

Bob Denver plays the third friend of, Collie and Denny's, interestingly named Choo Choo Burns. He is a hippie musician, in this very 1968 movie. The Sweet Ride (1968), shows signs of the Vietnam War in the background, by taking humorous shots at the crazy old Army guy, who lives next door. There's also plenty of marijuana use. Wow, Gilligan smoking a bong. That was great. His role in the Sweet Ride (1968), is a different kind of film for him. He's busy figuring out if his girlfriend is pregnant through half of the film. Thumper (Michele Carey), Choo Choo's girlfriend, is really hot and enhances this interestingly, unconventional role for Denver, because we were so used to seeing innocent, young, Gilligan for three years and not seeing a pot-smoking, ladies-man, who ironically gets drafted into the Vietnam War. Gillian's Island (1964-1967), ended the year before this film was released.

By the way, Jacqueline Bissett does a good Russian impersonation in the middle of the film. The story begins to get out of control slightly, with too many characters coming and going. The last half hour brings us to current day and the mystery becomes an afterthought. They really ruin the excitement of the mystery, that they had been building up to, since the beginning of the film. The poor character development, continuity and editing makes it look like Choo Choo disappeared. The passage of time isn't handled well. I guess his denouement was going to the drafting office, with his pink colored dog. Then he disappears. The film ends on an unsatisfying, boring finish, not really solving anything. However, the film is good enough, because the music was good, the jokes were good, the dedicated performances by the cast were good and some of the scenes worked out well.

PMTM Grade: 5.8 (D) = 6 IMDB.

Hollywood starlet, beaten down by the high price of glamor and success, is ready to leave her career for a mercurial surfer, who is under the thumb of a controlling tennis bum. Cheesy Twentieth Century-Fox answer to the youth movement in cinema of 1968, complete with swastika-wearing bikers and also a funny buddy (Bob Denver) straight out of the "Beach Party" movies from the earlier part of the decade. Jacqueline Bisset is obviously a beautiful women, but not so much here; the combination of gummy color cinematography and an unattractive part conspire to make the up-and-coming star look haughty and silly. Tanned, muscular Tony Franciosa gives the stilted proceedings a little kick, but Franciosa had already outgrown parts like this smug tennis hustler (it's the type of dumb role which would help kill off interest in him as an actor in the next few years). Although the picture is swill, there is some fascination (for buffs, at least) in seeing a major studio frantically trying to be 'with it'...keeping up with the kids, as it were. ** from ****

This film exemplifies its era both as an artifact, and in content. As the poster proclaims, it has it all: surfers, bikers, broads, not to mention Selective Service. (Maynard G.Krebs avoids getting drafted by pretending to be Gilligan-see for yourself!) A great theme song, too, written by Lee Hazelwood, and sung by Dusty Springfield.