Dusty and Sweets McGee
| Dusty and Sweets McGee | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Floyd Mutrux |
| Written by | Floyd Mutrux |
| Produced by | Michael Laughlin Floyd Mutrux |
| Starring | Clifton Tip Fredell Kit Ryder Billy Gray Bob Graham Nancy Wheeler Russ Knight |
| Cinematography | William A. Fraker |
| Edited by | Richard A. Harris |
| Music by | Jake Holmes Van Morrison Ricky Nelson |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $350,000[1] |
Dusty and Sweets McGeeis a 1971 Americandrama filmwritten and directed byFloyd Mutrux.[2]The film stars Clifton Tip Fredell, Kit Ryder,Billy Gray,Bob Graham, Nancy Wheeler and Russ Knight. The film was released byWarner Bros.on July 14, 1971.[3][4]
Production
[edit]In the alternative Hollywood of the 1970s, director Floyd Mutrux got the green light to produce a film about young drug addicts. Eager to tap into the youth market, and without a clue of how to do it, studio heads signed off on the film despite it having no viable script. It was instead based on some interviews with actual drug addicts.[5]
Plot
[edit]Dusty and Sweets McGeefollows the two young addicts of the title as they idly spend their days in early 1970s Los Angeles. The camera rolls as the addicts roam the streets of LA from downtown to the beach. Car radios play the hits of the day as they aimlessly go about their drug-addicted lives. Eating hot dogs atPink's,committing petty crime, scoring drugs and cruising the sunset strip are lovingly documented by Mutrux.
There is no plot, but what evolves is a portrait of lost, young souls adrift in a failedconsumer society.[6]Affluent America is all around them, shiny and sun-drenched like a beautiful California orange, but there is something rotten at the core of this fruit.Vietnamrages on, theWatts riotswere still smoldering in people's minds to the South as the big, shiny convertibles rolled majestically down the endless freeways. Manyneo-realistfilms, including this one, indict society for failing to provide for its citizens economically;Dusty and Sweets McGeeseems to point a finger at spiritual deficit.[7]
Cast
[edit]- Clifton Tip Fredell as Tip
- Kit Ryder as Male Hustler
- Billy Grayas City Life
- Bob Graham as Little Boy
- Nancy Wheeler as Nancy
- Russ Knight as Weird Beard
- William A. Frakeras The Cellist
Reception
[edit]FilmmakerThom Andersenpraised the film for its "lyricism, sense of wonder and humor".[8]
Controversy
[edit]In 1998, film criticLeonard Maltinsettled a libel suit brought by cast memberBilly Gray,whom Maltin had identified in his review of the film as a real-life drug addict and dealer. The statement had appeared in print for nearly 25 years in Maltin's annual movie guide before Maltin publicly apologized for the error.[9][10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Call the Cops: It's Time to Call the Cops By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 7 Mar 1971: D11.
- ^The New Yorker
- ^"Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971) - Overview".Turner Classic Movies.RetrievedApril 18,2015.
- ^Howard Thompson. (July 15, 1971)."Movie Review - Dusty and Sweets McGee - Dusty and Sweets McGee' at Coronet".The New York Times.RetrievedApril 18,2015.
- ^Dusty and Sweets McGee / The Panic in Needle Park|Hammer Museum
- ^UCLA Film & Television Archive
- ^15 Great American Movies Influenced buy Italian Neo-Realism — Taste of Cinema
- ^Film at Lincoln Center
- ^Father Knows Bud Didn't Use Heroin - SF Weekly
- ^"Maltin now knows it's best to apologize".New York Daily News.15 July 1998. Archived fromthe originalon 20 March 2016.Retrieved20 March2016.