Street Music (1981)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

H. Anne Riley

Writer:

H. Anne Riley (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Hotel | Protest | Independent Film

Cast

Elizabeth Daily	...	Sadie
Larry Breeding	...	Eddie
Ned Glass	...	Sam
Marjorie Eaton	...	Mildred
W.F. Walker	...	Jasper
Miriam Phillips	...	Hattie
D'Alan Moss	...	Monroe
Robert Díaz	...	Julio
John Romano	...	Mr. Potts
David Parr	...	Mr. Simmons
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Osvaldo H. Villazon III	...	Alejandro

Runtime:

Canada:90 min | USA:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:R

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Pacificon Films

Soundtrack:

Close the Show

They needed those little robots from *batteries not included. (spoilers)

This was truly an odd sort of low-budget comedy simply because the characters are all over the place. The synopsis on the box, and the title of the film, makes it seem more like a movie about an aspiring singer and her dreams of success. But Elizabeth Daly's character, Sadie, the street singer who aspires for bigger things, is really only incidental to the main plot--that of the Victory Hotel, which is scheduled for demolition and it's older residents trying to fight back against its closure.

Sadie and Eddie are the main characters of the story. She, as said before, is a street singer. She invites the closing of the Victory Hotel, a kind of slum, because she wants to move with Eddie to Los Angeles after being approached by a music manager from the city. Eddie the strange character because, just as Sadie becomes frustrated with him, so too may the audience. He's a tour bus driver today and a good friend to the aging residents at the decaying San Francisco hotel. But, unlike Sadie, he continues to ignore it's closure and very much doubts its potential demolition, assuring himself (and everyone else) that at the last minute, something is going to be done to save the hotel. Throughout the film, he's often dangling between reality and his own fantasy world. Meanwhile, the rest of the residents of the Victory Hotel, elderly folks, team up with young room attendant/resident who encourages the folks to fight back against the corporation and the city and save their homes.

The film is really all over the place, switching gears and focus several times throughout the film. It first seems as though we're watching a film about a young couple trying to figure out their futures, but once we learn more (and become further involved) with the events at the Victory Hotel, everything changes (although, the rift between Sadie and Eddie is evident throughout). It wasn't a bad little production, however, and I would recommend giving it a try if you're able to find it. The performances were nice and I was surprised to see that Larry Breeding, who played Eddie, died the following year. If you can work through the kinks in the story, you might actually enjoy it.