Mudhoney (1965)

It's 1933, in the midst of the Depression and Prohibition. Calif, a stranger with a past walks into Spooner, Missouri on his way from Michigan to California. He hires on with Lute Wade to ... See full summary »

Director:

Russ Meyer

Writers:

Raymond Friday Locke (screenplay), Billy Sprague (screenplay) (as W.E. Sprague)

Stars:

Hal Hopper, Antoinette Cristiani, John Furlong

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hal Hopper	...	Sidney Brenshaw
Antoinette Cristiani	...	Hannah Brenshaw
John Furlong	...	Calif McKinney
Rena Horten	...	Eula
Princess Livingston	...	Maggie Marie
Lorna Maitland	...	Clara Belle
Sam Hanna	...	Injoys
Stuart Lancaster	...	Lute Wade (as Stu Lancaster)
Nick Wolcuff	...	Sheriff Abel
Frank Bolger	...	Brother Hansen
Lee Ballard	...	Sister Hansen
Michael Finn	...	Thurmond Pate (as Mickey Foxx)
Fred Owens	...	Milton (as F. Rufus Owens)
Wilfred Kues	...	Lynch mob (as W. Kues)
Charles Felix

Storyline

It's 1933, in the midst of the Depression and Prohibition. Calif, a stranger with a past walks into Spooner, Missouri on his way from Michigan to California. He hires on with Lute Wade to earn some travelling money, but gets entangled in a bad family situation: Lute's daughter is married to Sidney, a good-for-nothing drunk that frequents the rural equivalent of a whorehouse and beats his wife and is just waiting for Lute to kick the bucket to get his money. When Sidney and a local wacko preacher begin orchestrating a smear campaign against Calif, he finds it difficult to conceal his past and his growing affection for Sidney's wife.

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Plot Keywords:

sexploitation | hixploitation | preacher | bathtub | breasts | 

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Taglines:

...leaves a taste of evil!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1965 (France)

Also Known As:

Mudhoney... Leaves a Taste of Evil!

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eve Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

The rock group Mudhoney took their name from this film. They arguably kick started the grunge genre and were a massive influence on Nirvana. Kurt Cobain used to wear their T-shirts on stage.

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Quotes

Maggie Marie: Don't pay her no mind, young fella. Eula, that's the child's name. She can't talk. Can't hear, neither. They do say she makes some right pretty sounds once you get to know her.

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Crazy Credits

Closing quote: "One man's evil can become the curse of all." --Publilius Syrus

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Connections

Featured in TCM Underground: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!/Mudhoney (2006)

User Reviews

Surpringsly Sly B/W Coolness!

For some reason, I expected more crass (and I've seen Russ Meyer films from the late 60s and early 7s) and exploitive (although they are in docu-creepy realistic funny way) rendition of a story like this. I couldn't have been more mistaken. Perfectly cast - Hal Hopper (the ultimate sleaze-bag in a worn linen suit, babes galore - Lorna Maitland and her beautiful mute sister (can't remember her name) who was mute (and has no lines)...the "crazy" and hilarious mother of the these two "Lil Abner" rejects who makes moonshine ..on the side - whose name is Princess something (in real life)...Anyway, I'm making it sound complicated and it's not and it's not "dirty" (even for then). It's funny, serious (darkly later), kind of sexy, great b/w cinematography and the ending is on the plains.

I never thought this film would be good. Meyer's best film (that I've seen - which is about half his output). Well-done.