The Trip (1967)

After his wife leaves him, a disillusioned director dives into the drug scene, trying anything his friend suggests.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Jack Nicholson

Stars:

Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Fonda	...	Paul Groves
Susan Strasberg	...	Sally Groves
Bruce Dern	...	John
Dennis Hopper	...	Max
Salli Sachse	...	Glenn
Barboura Morris	...	Flo
Judy Lang	...	Nadine
Luana Anders	...	Waitress
Beach Dickerson
Dick Miller	...	Cash
Caren Bernsen	...	Alexandra
Katherine Walsh	...	Lulu
Michael Nader
Bárbara Ransom	...	Helena (as Barbara Ransom)
Michael Blodgett	...	Lover

Storyline

Paul Groves (Peter Fonda), a television commercial director, is in the midst of a personality crisis. His wife Sally (Susan Strasberg) has left him and he seeks the help of his friend John (Bruce Dern), a self-styled guru who's an advocate of LSD. Paul asks John to be the guide on his first "trip". John takes Paul to a "freak-out" at his friend Max's (Dennis Hopper) pad. Splitting the scene, they score some acid from Max and return to John's split-level pad with an indoor/outdoor pool. Paul experiences visions of sex, death, strobe lights, flowers, dancing girls, witches, hooded riders, a torture chamber, and a dwarf. He panics but John tells him to "go with it, man." Would you trust John?

---

Plot Keywords:

looking at oneself in a mirror | exploitation film | grindhouse film | psychotronic film | drugsploitation | 

---

Taglines:

A Lovely Sort of Death

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Lovely Sort of Death

Filming Locations:

California Incline, Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min 79 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The band in the club near the beginning is the International Submarine Band, featuring Gram Parsons on vocals. However, their early country-rock sounds were removed and the psychedelic sounds of The Electric Flag were dubbed into the film.

---

Quotes

Paul Groves: [feeling the effects of the LSD] I don't believe it. I mean, is this... is this really it? Is it really happening there? Look at those crosses on the mount!
John: [pointing] See the real tall one there? That's Channel 13.
Paul Groves: Wow!

---

Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits. The title of the movie only appears onscreen once: above the pre-movie disclaimer.

---

Connections

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

---

Soundtracks

Psyche Soap
Written and Performed by The Electric Flag

User Reviews

Groovy trip, man

This virtually plotless film is about an advertising executive, going through a divorce, who decides to experiment with LSD.

Most of the film, and obviously the whole reason behind making it, are the psychedelic "trip" sequences. That is the main problem with this film. While the hallucinations initially look impressive and quite enjoyably surreal, they lose their impact quickly and soon become quite dull.

However, the film can be quite enjoyable as a snapshot of late sixties Californian psychedelia (all the weird, colourful paintings on walls, and almost every second sentence ending in "man").

Peter Fonda is quiet bland as the executive, but Dennis Hopper is worth watching in his role as a drug dealer.

It is worth watching if you're interested in late-sixties psychedelia, LSD, Peter Fonda or drug movies, others may want to pass.