Cisco Pike (1972)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Bill L. Norton

Writer:

Bill L. Norton (written by)

Release Date:

1 October 1979 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Gene Hackman and Kris Kristofferson and Karen Black and Viva and a footrace...a crooked cop...a lot of money and so little time.

Plot:

Cisco is an ex-rock star who has become a drug dealer. A corrupt cop blackmails Cisco to sell marijuana for him...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Nudity | Venice Beach | Los Angeles California | Corruption

Cast

Kris Kristofferson	...	Cisco Pike
Karen Black	...	Sue
Gene Hackman	...	Officer Leo Holland
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Jesse Dupre (as H.D. Stanton)
Viva	...	Merna
Joy Bang	...	Lynn
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Music Store Owner
Chuy Franco	...	Mexican Man
Severn Darden	...	Lawyer
Herb Weil	...	Suspicious Customer
Antonio Fargas	...	Buffalo
Doug Sahm	...	Rex (as Douglas Sahm)
Howard Hesseman	...	Recording Engineer (as Don Sturdy)
Allan Arbus	...	Sim Valensi (as Alan Arbus)
Frank Hotchkiss	...	Motorcycle Officer

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (theatrical rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Acrobat Productions

Trivia:

Seymour Cassel was set to star but left shortly before filming began. Kris Kristofferson was a last minute replacement.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Crew with black pants and red shirt reflected in the brown station wagon, 26 minutes into the movie, after Cisco's montage of selling the packages. He meets a guy at a housing construction site.

Soundtrack:

Loving Her Was Easier

A lost early 70's gem

This hard to find film has always been a favorite presenting the changing L.A. music/hippie scene of the early 70's. Kristofferson, in his starring film debut, is marvelous as the down-on-his-luck troubadour of the title. At times he appears genuinely and functionally smashed, but it fits the character to a tee. It's also interesting to watch him composing his often sad, literate tunes, as one realizes this was probably how he wrote many of his greatest songs ("Help Me Make It Through the Night", "For the Good Times", "Me and Bobby McGee", "Sunday Morning Coming Down"): in lonely desperation. None of them are here, but he does do "Loving Her Was Easier" and "Pilgrim Chapter 33". The latter autobiographical song is perfectly fitting for the character of Cisco Pike. Kristofferson is so charismatic and his screen presence is such that we root for him in typical early 70's anti-hero fashion even though he is essentially a drunken pothead who cheats on his girlfriend (the always welcome Karen Black) and is racing to unload $10,000 worth of marijuana in a single weekend. But you'll seldom find a more real and lived-in performance than this debut. Sam Peckinpah saw this and cast him as the doomed Billy the Kid in his next film.

Kristofferson's desperation is fueled by crooked cop Gene Hackman (in fine if eccentric form) who himself is desperate for the money. So the thrust of the film is Kristofferson racing around L.A., weaving on the freeways in his beat-up station wagon full of pot, and encountering Roscoe Lee Browne, Wavy Gravy, Antonio Fargas, Severn Darden, Howard Hesseman, Doug Sahm, and a menage a trois with Viva and Joy Bang. It's a time capsule to be sure. In the final reel Harry Dean Stanton shows up memorably as an old buddy who's even more wasted and down-on-his-luck. The underrated B.L. Norton is behind the camera, and the film is highly recommended. This begs for a DVD release with extras. A Krisofferson commentary would be particularly insightful.