There's Always Vanilla (1971)

A young man returns to his home city of Pittsburgh and moves in with an older woman whom he begins to rely on for emotional and financial support.

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

Rudy Ricci

Stars:

Raymond Laine, Judith Ridley, Johanna Lawrence

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Raymond Laine	...	Chris Bradley (as Ray Laine)
Judith Ridley	...	Lynn Harris (as Judith Streiner)
Johanna Lawrence	...	Terri Terrific
Richard Ricci	...	Michael Dorian
Roger McGovern	...	Mr. Bradley
Ron Jaye	...	Fox
Bob Wilson	...	TV Network Executive
Louise Sahene	...	Samantha
Christopher Priore	...	Mr. Manspeaker
Robert Trow	...	Ralph
Bryson Randolph
Val Stanley	...	TV rug commercial director
Vincent D. Survinski	...	Delivery man (as Vincent Survinski)
Eleanor Schirra	...	Mrs. Harris
S. William Hinzman	...	Drunk guy in bar (as Bill Hinzman)

Storyline

Chris Bradley is a young man who returns to his home city of Pittsburgh after several years of drifting and working odd jobs around the country since his discharge from the U.S. Army. Rejecting moving back in with his father and not wanting to return to the family business of manufacturing baby food, Chris meets and shacks up with Lynn, an older woman who works as a model in local TV commercials, and whom becomes his 'sugar mama' of supporting him financially and emotionaly, which begins to put a strain on the affair especially when Lynn finds out that she's pregnant and does not feel that Chris would make a responsible father or husband.

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Plot Keywords:

tv commercial | nudity | drifter | narration | bar | 

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Taglines:

Every woman knows why the wrong man is irresistible!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 February 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Affair

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Latent Image, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is 'George A. Romero''s second film, and according to him, his worst. He stated that the writer was "very lazy" and showed little interest in the production, leaving halfway through the shooting.

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Quotes

Chris Bradley: This is my father, he can still cut the mustard!

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Connections

References On the Beach (1959)

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Soundtracks

"Wild Mountain Thyme"
Sung by Johanna Lawrence

User Reviews

Romero's second film isn't as bad as you think or what the filmmaker said about his second film.

A free-spirited young man (The late:Ray Laine) comes back home to Pittsburgh trying to make a new life for himself but when he meets a beautiful young model (Judith Ridley) that affects his life and they fall in love. But the two couple are so different from each other and they try to make their relationship work, despite their complicated lifestyle.

Directed by George A. Romero (Creepshow, Knightriders, Martin) made an interesting, bittersweet drama that is a certainly an Unusual film even for director:Romero. Romero made this film, because he feared being typecast as a "Horror Director". Romero claims this film to be his worst, because he felt his heart wasn't in the right place. When he made the film in the early 1970's. But i liked this film, because of Laine and Ridley strong performances. The behind the scenes moments where Ridley makes Television Commercials are the highlight, that's what Romero was doing in his career at that time.

DVD has an fine non-anamorphic widescreen (1.77:1) transfer and an fine-Dolby 2.0 mono sound. DVD has an interview with the filmmaker:Romero, trailer and Romero's biography. This DVD is double feature with "Season of the Witch". Only faults in the film is Romero's use of flash cutting at several moments and an flawed conclusion. The film has amusing moments for Romero's fans, which Romero close friends like John A. Russo, Russell Streiner, Bill Hinzman and the late:Vince Survinski were involved with Romero's first film "Night of the Living Dead". Which his close friends appears in cameos. Written by Rudy Ricci (Who also wrote the story for Dan O'Bannon's 1985 Cult Classic "Return of the Living Dead"). This film is also known as "The Affair". (****/*****).