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

A friend and I watched "Poor Pretty Eddie" on the big screen, during a film night special appropriately entitled Rednecksploitation. Let me tell you, along with the ramshackle cinema hangar & the poor quality of the original film spool, the story & atmosphere of this movie catapulted us straight back to the glorious highlight-years of rancid 70's drive-in grindhouse exploitation! Movies like "Poor Pretty Eddie" will not and simply cannot be made anymore nowadays, because they're filthy, always discriminating to someone, rough, women-unfriendly and shameless. If someone made something like this today, groups of protesters would march outside the theaters until the owners have no other choice but to cancel the showings. Anyway, this fabulously entertaining film is shockingly perverse, hilarious and nightmarishly uncanny all at the same time. You've never encountered a bigger bunch of disturbed rednecks, not even in "Deliverance" or "Just before Dawn", and the script covers even the most controversial themes, like racism and rape. Leslie Uggams portrays a popular (and rather cocky) whose car naturally breaks down at the wrong place at the wrong time. On her way to a vacation Liz Wetherly strands in Southern Redneck Hell, at a miserable motel owned by a faded showgirl (now an obese and depressed old lady), a creepy-looking hunting dog lover and last but not least the wide-smirking & clearly deranged Elvis lunatic Eddie Collins. Eddie wants to keep her there, very much against the will of ol' Bertha, and continuously tries to impress her with his questionable singing talents, big white smiling teeth and flamboyant outfits that reveal his muscles and massive amount of chest hair. When all friendly approaches fail, Eddie rapes Liz and forces her into marrying him. Needless to say she slowly & tragically starts losing her senses. This low-budget exploitation classic naturally thrives on atmosphere & demented character drawings instead of on convoluted plotting and special effects. The lead characters are wondrously twisted, but literally every single one of the supportive characters are remarkable as well, like the sleazy tomato-sucking sheriff (the late grate Slim Pickens), his slingshot operating retard-sidekick and the perverse & fat-bellied judge/pool bar owner. Many of the crazed sequences in "Poor Pretty Eddie" literally need to be seen to be believed, for example the astonishingly tasteless montage of Liz' rape interlarded with images of two dogs copulating in front of an assembly of seemingly aroused farmers and to the tunes of another great country song. The acting performances are great; notably outstanding are Shelley Winters (Oscar winner AND exploitation siren, respect!), Ted Cassidy (the original Addams Family's Lurch) and of course Michael Christian as the titular not-so-poor and not-so-pretty Eddie. The climax sequence, set during an authentic and joyful hillbilly wedding party, is terrifically violent with slow-motion massacres and a total absence of sound. The film is overall poorly made, but several shots are surprisingly imaginative and the filming locations were definitely enchanting. "Poor Prettie Eddie" is most definitely a hidden gem. Sometimes falsely promoted as a Blaxploitation flick (with an a.k.a title "Black Vengeance") and the cover image here on the website makes it look like an average Psycho-inspired slasher movie, in reality the film is a totally unique and unforgettable drive-in experience.

An obscure treat! This flick deserves to be a new cult classic. It is rich in tawdry sick sexuality and over the top performances. Shelley Winters gives a tour-de-force as the faded burlesque beauty surrounded by a court of simpletons who indulge her fantasies and create a bizarre, Fellini-esque world of sad rejects. The twisted plot ostensibly centers around Leslie Uggams' hellish enslavement at a backcountry inn that makes the woods of "Deliverance" seem tame. But the real story is between Shelley and her men. This movie is fabulously tasteless!

I bought this film from a car boot sale in Finland (Yes, this wonderful film was apparently released in Finland as a rental in the early eighties.) mainly because of its cover that suggested that it would be a blaxploitation film. That it was not. Instead it proved to be a genuinely stylish piece of cinema with some upsetting (exploitation) scenes not unlike Texas Chainsaw or The Last House on the Left. Probably, though it was not violent enough to compete with them or sick enough to challenge Pink Flamingos. So it was never recognized and quickly forgotten. Anyhow, the thing that surprised me the most was that this film looked stunningly good. The compositions were beautiful as was the lightning. The story was fast paced and had enough twists to keep me interested till the end.

Sadly, however, there is one big minus to this film; it seems to me, that the filmmaker(s) were a bit too conscious with the "shocking" content of their script. Whenever an event with shock value occurs it is highlighted in the worst "look, we dare show this"- manner.

All in all a very enjoyable piece of trash with a difference- competence in filmmaking!

P.S. If you still have doubts after reading this I must say that any film that has both Shelley Winters and Slim Pickens cannot be nothing but good!