Wednesday, January 8, 2025

MIA: Rare ’70s Movies



Hey there, groovy people! It’s been a few years since I reached out for help tracking down elusive movies, and longtime readers will recognize a few titles here from previous posts of this nature. Anyway, here’s the drill—in my quest to paint as full a picture of ’70s cinema as possible, I’d love to track down some or all of the following movies, which have eluded my normal pathways for finding films. I prefer to patronize only legit sites, so thanks in advance for not recommending iffy bootleg portals, and of course if anyone can lay their hands on physical media I’d be into making the appropriate arrangements. (Alas, the VHS rig that served me well for many years has transitioned off this mortal plane, so I’m living that DVD/Blu life.) Some of these pictures may be truly lost, but for the obsessive cinema blogger, hope always burns bright. Oh, and I’m especially interested in tracking down Black Chariot, a 1971 drama with Bernie Casey, because a 4K restoration has been making the rounds but, as sometimes happens, I didn’t hear about an LA screening until after the fact. Any tips on future chances to catch this one would be greatly appreciated! Similarly, thanks so much for anyone who can help me lay my retinas on . . .
 
Black Cream a/k/a Together for Days (1972) directed by Michael Shultz
The Black Pearl (1977)
Challenge (1974) & The Brass Ring (1975) with Earl Owensby
Country Music (1972) with Marty Robbins
Death Play (1976) with James Keach
Dirty Movie (1973) with Tom Skerritt
Distance (1975) with James Woods
Dreams of Glass (1970)
Events (1970) feat. Robert Altman
Extreme Close-Up (1973) written by Michael Crichton
A Fable (1971) with Al Freeman Jr.
The Gentle People and the Quiet Land (1972)
Goodnight Jackie a/ka/ Games Guys Play (1973)
The Great Balloon Race (1977)
Hanging on a Star (1978)
Irish Whiskey Rebellion (1972) with William Devane
Last Foxtrot in Burbank (1973)
Legacy (1975) directed by Karen Arthur
Life Study (1973) with Tommy Lee Jones
The Limit (1972) with Yaphet Kotto
No Longer Alone (1978) feat. Billy Graham
Okay Bill (1971) directed by John G. Avildsen
The Only Way Home (1972) with G.D. Spradlin
Prisoners (1975) with Howard Hesseman
Richard (1972) with Mickey Rooney
Sammy Somebody (1976) with Susan Strasberg
Scream, Evelyn, Scream! (1970)
Shhh (1975) with Rita Moreno
Silence (1974) with Will Geer
Spirit of the Wind (1979) with Chief Dan George
Walk the Walk (1970) with Bernie Hamilton
Welcome to the Club (1971) with Jack Warden
Who Says I Can’t Ride a Rainbow? (1971)
Willy & Scratch (1975) with Claudia Jennings
You’ve Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You’ll Lose That Beat (1971)


19 comments:

  1. I have a little list of some obscurities that I do not believe you have had the opportunity to cover. Two of these, Night-Flowers and Cycles South, were mentioned in comments back in 2017; the others perhaps have not been mentioned before.

    Ain’t That Just Like a Honkey! (1975)
    America First (1972)
    Bleep (aka Teenage Tease) (1971)
    Call Me by My Rightful Name (1972)
    Cycles South (1971)
    Looking Up (1977)
    Loose Ends (1975)
    Never the Twain (1975)
    Night-Flowers (1979)
    Once (1973)
    Please Stand By (1972)
    Redneck Miller (1976)
    Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972)

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    1. Thanks for sharing this list. Although I wasn't familiar with a couple of these, most have been on the much longer directory I maintain of hard-to-find titles. The quest never ends!

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  2. Oh yes, and still hoping for that review of Milestones (1975)!

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  3. Forgot to mention: Passing Through (1977), which is now in the National Film Registry. I found this one online.

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    1. I've yet to confirm whether that one ever got a proper release, which means it might fall outside the blog's criteria. Nonetheless, it's been on my radar for quite a while.

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  4. Extreme Closeup is on video as Sex Through A Window which are reasonably priced on Ebay

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  5. Don't know if you have access to ScreenPix, but I've watched many Seventies obscurities via their channels (and from the '50s and '60s as well). About a month ago, I caught Sonny & Jed AKA Bandera Bandits (1972) with Telly Savalas and Susan George, which has not been reviewed nor on your list.

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    1. Thanks for the tip re: Screenpix. Alas, "Sonny & Jed" is a European movie and not a priority for the blog, the main focus of which is American productions.

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  6. Also, the following animated features have yet to be covered: Santa and the Three Bears (1970), Guitar Picks and Roach Clips (1975), (Tarzoon) Shame of the Jungle (1975), and Once Upon a Girl (1976).

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  7. The Great Balloon Race (1977) is AKA Olly Olly Oxen Free and is available both on disc and on You Tube.

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    1. Indeed, "Olly Olly" is readily available by its alternate title, "The Great Balloon Adventure," and I posted a review in 2015. This search is for a picture called "The Great Balloon Race," starring Chris Robinson. The titles are easily confused.

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  8. Do you still plan on reviewing The Deadly Art of Survival? I brought it to your attention a few years ago.

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    1. That one's borderline because it was barely released (apparently self-distributed only in NYC), so it's on the maybe list. Focus of the blog is on legit theatrical releases.

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  9. Will Geer and his daughter in (I really can't make out the poster) what appears to be part of the "heartwarming/rural/nature" cycle of films that dotted the Seventies? I'm in!

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    1. Just looked it up on IMDB and Ellen's kid, Will's grandson, is in it as well.

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  10. EVENTS is available from DVDlady.com.
    EXTREME CLOSE-UP and THE ONLY WAY HOME can be found at Modcinema.com.
    HANGING ON A STAR is available on VHS on Amazon.
    SILENCE is available on VHS on eBay.
    WALK THE WALK is on Mubi.
    PLEASE STAND BY is on YouTube.
    LEGACY, SPIRIT OF THE WIND and GUYS GAMES PLAY are all on DVD.
    LAST FOXTROT can be watched at fullmoonfeatures.com.

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  11. From the early days of sneak-watching HBO - I tried for years to figure out the title of a film that I finally found on a downloaded HBO guide at Internet Archive called The Last Romantic Lover. French, dir. by the Emmanuelle films director, released in 1978. Might be out of the purview of the blog but, hey, since it was on repeat for American teens to catch in 1981? Released on Blu-Ray in 2022. As a side note I also finally found Skateboard, another one I couldn't remember the title of, but I see you're ahead of me on that one. Love the blog, hope you might go even further into the eighties -

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  12. Fairplay (1971) would seem to meet all your criteria. There is a widescreen print in the Absolute Westerns account at YouTube. At first I thought it might be missing the opening credits, but no, they are eight minutes in.

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