Poor Pretty Eddie (1975)A wrong turn on a jazz singer's road trip results in her car breaking down near an isolated lodge run by a faded starlet and a young, homicidal Elvis impersonator. Writer:B.W. Sandefur |
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Poor Pretty Eddie (1975)A wrong turn on a jazz singer's road trip results in her car breaking down near an isolated lodge run by a faded starlet and a young, homicidal Elvis impersonator. Writer:B.W. Sandefur |
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Leslie Uggams | ... |
Elizabeth 'Liz' Wetherly
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| Shelley Winters | ... |
Bertha
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Michael Christian | ... |
Eddie Collins
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| Ted Cassidy | ... |
Keno
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| Dub Taylor | ... |
Justice of the Peace Floyd
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Lou Joffred | ... |
Odell
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| Slim Pickens | ... |
Sheriff Orville
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Red Lawson | ... |
The Salesman
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Sherif Smith | ... |
The Deputy
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A wrong turn on a jazz singer's road trip results in her car breaking down near an isolated lodge run by a faded starlet and a young, homicidal Elvis impersonator.
In a decade full of memorable exploitation films, its a shame "Poor Pretty Eddy" doesn't have a larger cult following. Its really a lost gem from that great period of film-making. Its hilarious, demented, bizarre, and actually a disturbing portrait of racism. Whether it was included just to turn in a profit or not, the portrayal or racism in this film is much more disturbing than anything offered by Hollywood today. Its more effective than either "Crash" or "Monsters Ball" in my mind, because it refuses to manipulate the audience. Maybe I'm looking a bit too much into this however. For exploitation fans, it offers plenty of sleazy and depraved delights.
The film is much more well made than any other hicksploitation film. The acting in particular is great and all the characters are memorable. Leslie Uggams makes a great heroine, both strong and sympathetic. Shelley Winters, Slim Pickens, and especially Michael Christian (playing the Elvis impersonator from Hell) are all over-the-top and campy yet fascinating and completely fitting to the material. Ted Cassidy is also a standout as the one likable redneck of the bunch, offering a strong performance (one of the films few flaws is that it doesn't develop some of the characters to their fullest potentials). The dialog is hilariously politically incorrect. "Poor Pretty Eddy" is one of the 70s best exploitation films. (8/10)