TO LORD

. . They
. . Get
FEATURE REVIEWS Story Synopsis; Exploitips; Adlmes for Newspapers and Programs
THE STORY:
"3 Women" (20th-Fox)
Texas woman Sissy Spacek becomes a therapist at
Desert Springs, a California rehabilitation center for the
elderly. Fellow Texan Shelley Duvall, who fancies herself
as a iemme tatale, shows her the routine and takes her
in when roommate Beverly Ross moves out. Spacek's
quiet friendliness contrasts with Duvall's phony consumer-orlented
outlook. He-man Robert Fortier, the
women's landlord, is the husband of mural painter Janice
Rule, an enigmatic type about to give birth. They also
run a broken-down tavern, Dodge City, complete with
target range. When Duvall and Fortier spend the night
together, Spacek is so hurt by her roommate's harsh attitude
that she attempts drowning. During her recovery,
Spacek refuses to acknowledge her elderly parents, Ruth
Nelson and John Cromwell. Duvall cares for Spacek out
of guilt, and becomes repressed after quitting her job.
She finds that Spacek is much more aggressive. Fortier
drunkenly attempts to see both women as Rule is about
to give buth. Duvall helps deliver a dead boy. Later, after
Fortier's "accidental" aeath, Duvall takes on the mother
role for Rule and a now-quiet Spacek.
EXPLOITIPS:
The unusual qualities of the film should be stressed.
The Altman name and those of the leads should be good
marquee bait.
CATCHLINES:
Dreams Can't Hurt You.
THE STORY: "69 Minutes" (N.B. Releasing)
The film opens with a typical TV billboard ("Tonight
on '69 Minutes' . . ."), followed by introductions of the
co-anchorpersons. Preceaing the show are the usual commercial
messages, which are variations on well-known
products, including "Mi-. Whipper" squeezing "Charming,"
a lovely lady selling the merits of "underwater real estate"
and "a lost tribe of degenerates ruined several decades
ago by the introduction of the credit card system." Airing
the magazine show is CBX, "The Outlaw Network," and
it leans heavily on commercials. There are pitches for
"Best Car Buy for Under $82" and "If It's Not Fresh, I'm
Out of Business." CBX throws in a few good words for its
upcoming shows: "Dungeons of Fun," "Colored Cowboys"
ana "Rolling for Wheelchairs." The magazine show's
backbone is its exposes. They include "Microwave Degeneration,"
"Woodstock IV," "Dr. Klabbitz, Pioneer of Malpractice"
and suburban housewives "Cruising for Jailbait."
Also included is a test of the civil defense warning
system utilizing actual H-bomb footage underscored by
pleasant dance music.
EXPLOITIPS:
Have radio disc jockeys invite listeners to call in to
tell what they would like to see really happen in certain
TV commercials.
CATCHLINES:
Will Never Be Seen on TV . . . Warning: Strong Satire.
If You Can't Take It, Don't Come!
.Nov
. Dec
Apr
THE STORY: "Audrey Rose" (UA)
In Pennsylvania in 1965, five-year-old Audrey Rose is
burned alive with her mother in an auto crash. In New
York in 1976, happily married Marsha Mason notices
Anthony Hopkins lurking nearby when she takes daughter
Susan Swilt to school. Hopkins, a metallurgist, makes
contact and tells Mason and husband John Beck, partner
in an advertising agency, that he believes Susan to be
the reincarnation of his daughter Audrey Rose. While
Beck considers Hopkins to be insane, the man's sincerity
wins Mason over when he is able to calm Susan during
one of her nightmares. When Hopkins takes Susan to
his apartment. Beck has him arrested. Robert Walden
defends Hopkins with maharishi Aly Wassil's
testimony.
Mason voices her belief in Hopkins. Estranged from his
wife, Beck arranges for doctor Norman Lloyd to hypnotize
Susan and bring out the truth. Susan recalls her
aeath as Audrey Rose and then she dies. Hopkins brings
her ashes to India so that her soul can finally be at rest.
EXPLOITIPS:
Tie in with the Warner paperback edition of the novel.
Any articles on reincarnation and hypnosis can be useful
for news items.
CATCHLINES:
A Haunting Vision of Reincarnation That Will Change
Your Ideas About Life After Death Forever . . . Suppose
a Stranger Told You Your Daughter Was His Daughter
in Another Life? Suppose It Was True?
THE STORY: "SuperVan" (Empire)
Mark Schneider leaves his
father's service station and
heads out in his van for the annual Van Freakout and
a chance to win $5,000. He rescues Katie Saylor from
attempted rape by a motorcycle gang, but his van is
demolished in the escape. He and Saylor contact his
buddy, Tom Kindle, at Mid-America Motors, owned by
Morgan Woodward, sponsor of the competition and
builder of vans. Kindle has scrapped Woodward's plan
for a new design for a van and has built one of his own
with solar power. Kindle lets Schneider and Saylor drive
the SuperVan in the Freakout, and they win after narrow
escapes from his cycle gang and several exciting carvan
chases. Saylor reveals that she is Woodward's
daughter and that she loves Mark. Woodward and Kindle
are at odds over the change in design of the van to be
mass-produced, but there is an eventual meeting of the
minds for a new line of SuperVans and a happy ending.
EXPLOITIPS:
There are multiple opportunities for tie-ins with motor
car dealers and van clubs. A display of a beautiful van
m front of
the theatre is a must.
CATCHLINES:
See the Country's Top Vans Inside, Out and Round
About! . That Free-Wheelin' Feelin'! . . . Sparkling
New Music With the Hit Song, "Ridin' High" . . . Solar
Power on Wheels to the Rescue!
THE STORY: "Hollywood High" (Peter Perry)
Teenagers Marcy Albrecht, Sherry Hardin, Rae Sperling
and Susanne delight in cruising along Hollywood
Boulevard in a red roadster, frolicking on the beach with
Fenzy (.Kevin Mead) and other young men, and participating
in love-ins on the sand. Their studies are less
than mediocre while they strive to cope with effeminate
history teacher Hy Camp and female chauvinist French
teacher Kress Hytes. The girls happen to meet silent
star Maria Winters at Mark Lawhead's gasoline service
station. Sperling seduces Lawhead to retrieve car keys
belonging to the seemingly indigent Winters. An appreciative
Winters throws open her Hollywood Hills mansion
for love-ins, participating vigorously herself.
EXPLOITIPS:
Available are two trailers, one rated G, the other R; TV
trailers, one 30-second, the other 20-second, plus 60-
second and 30-second radio spots.
CATCHLINES:
Too Hot for TV—You'll Never See Them on the Late
Show! . . . Meet the Sun-and-Surf Bunnies Who Love
Their Action Hot! . Play in the Sun—But They
Play Around After Dark!
JAMS
THE STORY: "Aguirre . . ." (New Yorker)
On Christmas Day, 1560, explorer Gonzalez Pizarro
(Alejandro Repulles) splits up his expedition which is
searching for the legendary city of gold, El Dorado, in
Peru. Don Pedro de Ursua (Ruy Guerraj is assigned to
travel down a river when the jungle becomes impenetrable.
Father Carvajal (Del Negro), Don Lope de Aguirre
• Klaus Kinskii and others use rafts for their journey.
Ursua's wife (Helena Rojo) and Aguirre's daughter (Cecilia
Rivera I, aged 15, accompany them. When one raft
is caught in a whirlpool and its passengers are killed by
Indians, Ursua decides to turn back. Aguirre assumes
command and makes fat Guzman (Peter Beiling) the
emperor of El Dorado as they claim the land they see
for Spain. Fever and hunger take their toll while cannibals
lurk nearby. Guzman's gluttony causes his murder,
after which Aguirre has Ursua hanged. Later, during a
raid on an Indian village, Rojo disappears into the jungle.
Finally, only Aguirre survives escape from fever or
a deadly arrow, as his daughter and most of the men lie
dead or sick. Now insane, Aguirre dreams of a new dynasty
for himself, the wrath of God.
EXPLOITIPS:
The story and locale should be of interest to historical
societies. Play up the film's presentation at Cannes.
CATCHLINES:
Se D
The t Legendary El Dorado Lured Them On. The Wrath
of God Sealed Their Fate.
BOXOFFICE BookinGuide :: April 11, 1977