Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Floyd Mutrux

Writer:

Floyd Mutrux (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Wind it up baby, the Solid Gold Weekend is coming to a close...

Plot:

A "straight" couple dabbles in drugs and become heroin addicts. |

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Heroin Addict | Heroin | Heroin Addiction | Theft

Cast

Clifton Tip Fredell	...	Tip
Kit Ryder	...	Male Hustler
Billy Gray	...	City Life
Bob Graham	...	Little Boy
Nancy Wheeler	...	Nancy
Russ Knight	...	Weird Beard
William A. Fraker	...	The Cellist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arnie Ginsberg	...	Woo Woo
Stephen Parks	...	Money Man (as Stephen L. Parks)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Parson

Trivia:

The real names of Dusty and Sweets are listed as Beverly and Mitch.

Movie Connections:

References Performance (1970)

Soundtrack:

Into the Mystic

Among the very finest films of the 1970s

I had read about this film for years. Critics hold it in high regard, and it has never been released on a video format of any kind anywhere in the world. When I first moved to L.A., in the Winter of 2004, it was being shown at a revival theater with director Floyd Mutrux in attendance. I rushed to see it. The theater was packed and the crowd was extremely reactionary. That was because the film, DUSTY AND SWEETS MCGEE, owned us all for 100 minutes. It was a breathtaking experience.

The film is a dizzying mix of verite-style interviews with real L.A. heroin addicts and "dramatic" vignettes concerning the same people. In other words, we meet a junkie who speaks to us about his/her life experiences (usually non-actors), and then we see them "acting" in a scene with the other "characters". There's nothing quite like this movie.

The visual approach is spellbinding. Much of the movie is in close-up, with these desperate faces filling the screen. It is at times very imposing, and that's the intent. I would liken the visuals to those of a Cassavetes movie. That's not to say that Mutrux's approach is derivative. The most exciting thing about DUSTY AND SWEETS is that it is completely unique in every respect.

Fight tooth and nail to get your hands on a copy of this brilliant, harrowing, compelling film. I found a gorgeous video print from a DVD bootlegger. I have no idea where he found such a clean and vivid print of this rarity, but it looks great. The point is that it's out there, and I urge everyone reading this to track it down. It will have a major impact on your life, and I truly mean that.