The Christian Licorice Store (1971)

A tennis champ falls in with the Hollywood crowd, finds himself being corrupted by the life in the fast lane.

Director:

James Frawley

Writer:

Floyd Mutrux

Stars:

Beau Bridges, Maud Adams, Gilbert Roland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Beau Bridges	...	Cane
Maud Adams	...	Cynthia
Gilbert Roland	...	Jonathan 'JC' Carruthers
Allan Arbus	...	Monroe
Anne Randall	...	Texas Girl
Monte Hellman	...	Joseph
Jaclyn Hellman	...	Mary
'Butch' Bucholtz	...	Himself
Jean Renoir	...	Himself
Dido Renoir	...	Herself
Walter Barnes	...	P.C. Stayne
McLean Stevenson	...	Smallwood
Howard Storm	...	McGhee
Greg Mullavey	...	Robin
Larry Gelman	...	Assistant Director

Storyline

Franklin Cane is a red-hot professional tennis player who climbs the ladder of success with his trainer, Jonathan, at his side. Jonathan was once considered the greatest American tennis player and intends to guide Franklin to the high-road. Franklin does not transcend the interest he has in local Hollywood-type parties littered with has-beens, wannabes and think-they-ares. It is there that he meets Cynthia, a pretty photographer who makes a living photographing people like French filmmaker Jean Renoir and taking production photos of commercials. Cane becomes slowly seduced by the fast-track life and, when Jonathan suddenly passes away in his sleep, he succumbs to a lifestyle that is completely devoid of morality. He drops off Cynthia at the side of the road, so to speak, and continues driving to a bleak, uncertain future.

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Plot Keywords:

tennis | success | glamorous lifestyle | cameos | decadence | 

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Taglines:

The world is yours if you're a winner.

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bir sporcunun günlügü

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Center Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Monte Hellman's appearance came about due to the film's writer, Floyd Mutrux, who wrote much of the screenplay for Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop but lost credit in an arbitration with the Writer's Guild due to the fact he was not a member of the Guild. So Hellman agreed to appear in this film.

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Quotes

Hollywood Party Guests: We were gonna cast Lee Marvin, the new great American star. But we couldn't get him so I want to my assistant and said, "Do what you think is right but cast this thing!" Two days later, he calls me back and says, "I've got someone." And I say, "Sensational. Who?"... and he says "Julie Newmar."

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are contained in the movie-within-the-movie when the party-goers are summoned to the theater room of the swanky house. While they roll, two audience members discuss various items of business and an unruly doctor.

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Connections

References The Dirty Dozen (1967)

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Soundtracks

"Pleasant Street"
Written and Performed by Tim Buckley

User Reviews

A weird movie, typical of the seventies...

A rare movie never commented on IMDb yet. So, I go for it. Well, everything has already been told in the plot line. I first thought of a Michael Ritchie movie, in the line of DOWHILL RACER, in a semi documentary style, a bout an athlete. But the James Frawley's film focuses more on the "inside", psychological aspect of the lead, Beau Bridges. Sometimes, the audience don't know where this film is driving at. Very weird film, as we saw so many during the seventies. The famous counter culture. It can be seen as a rather depressing movie, from a certain point of view. Gilbert Roland is touching as a vet tennis player. And watching Beau Bridges talking to Jean Renoir is also very surprising.