Targets (1968)

Elderly horror-film star who, while making a personal appearance at a drive-in theater, confronts a psychotic Vietnam veteran who's turned into a mass-murdering sniper.

Director:

Peter Bogdanovich

Writers:

Peter Bogdanovich (screenplay), Polly Platt (story),

Stars:

Tim O'Kelly, Boris Karloff, Arthur Peterson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim O'Kelly	...	Bobby Thompson
Boris Karloff	...	Byron Orlok
Arthur Peterson	...	Ed Loughlin
Monte Landis	...	Marshall Smith (as Monty Landis)
Nancy Hsueh	...	Jenny
Peter Bogdanovich	...	Sammy Michaels
Daniel Ades	...	Chauffeur
Stafford Morgan	...	Salesman - 1st Gunshop
James Brown	...	Robert Thompson Sr.
Mary Jackson	...	Charlotte Thompson
Tanya Morgan	...	Ilene Thompson
Timothy Burns	...	Waiter (as Tim Burns)
Warren White	...	Grocery Boy
Mark Dennis	...	Salesman - 2nd Gunshop
Sandy Baron	...	Kip Larkin

Storyline

Byron Orlok is an old horror-movie star who feels that he is an anachronism. Compared to real-life violence, his films are tame. Meanwhile, Bobby Thompson goes on a killing spree...

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Plot Keywords:

drive in | sniper | delivery boy | high powered rifle | dead woman on ground | 

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Taglines:

TARGETS are people...and you could be one of them!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Before I Die

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$130,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Saticoy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Bogdanovich named his own character "Sammy Michaels" after Samuel Fuller (whose middle name is "Michael") in gratitude for the work Fuller did on the script.

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Goofs

The mother's body temporarily disappears from entryway to room where she was shot when Bobby carries his wife's body into another room, but somehow reappears when he returns.

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Quotes

[to the police]
Bobby Thompson: Hardly ever missed, did I?

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Frankenstein 1970 (2010)

User Reviews

As close to "A" as a "B-Movie" can get.

Roger Corman explains in his autobiography that he handed this "spec" project to the up-and-coming Bogdanovich primarily because he could basically pay the kid peanuts. Bogdanovich understood Corman's economic sensibilities well, and cut as many corners as he could. He uses Cormans regular bit-players as well as plenty of Jack Nicholson footage from 1963's "The Terror" - another Corman B-movie. Corman's specifications for the film were simple: make a cheap film referring to the recent Charles Whitman shootings at the University of Texas, and make it fast. The script draws heavily from the real-life Whitman story; the all-American boy gone bad kills his wife and mother, and then proceeds on a killing spree, shooting anyone in his sights from a snipers nest. This story is intertwined with that of Byron Orlocks ageing horror legend nearing retirement; here Boris Karloff plays himself, for all intents and purposes. Bogdanovich plays a major role in the film himself, and there is obvious affection between the young director and Karloff in the scenes they share. Although Bogdanovich's wife Polly Platt takes a screenwriting credit, it is often said that her role was actually more of a partner in all Bogdanovich's early work, collaborating and counter-balancing his excesses. There is probably a lot of truth to this theory, as after the couple separated Bogdanovich's suffered a deep decline. I had read much of the history of `Targets' in Peter Biskind's `Easy Riders - Raging Bulls' and Corman's own `How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime', and have been lucky enough to catch it twice on cable in the last week. It really is a very competent debut, and Bogdanovich truly makes the most of what humble resources he had at his disposal. See it.