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?

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Plot Keywords:

lsd | 1960s | looking at oneself in a mirror | exploitation film | grindhouse film | 

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Taglines:

A Lovely Sort of Death

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack Nicholson wrote this screenplay for Corman based on his own experience of taking LSD under controlled laboratory conditions and also on his marriage break-up with first wife, Sandra Knight.

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Quotes

Waitress: You're stoned out of your mind, aren't you? Oh man. What's the matter with you guys, isn't the real world good enough for you, love freak?

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970) (2000)

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Soundtracks

Senior Citizen
Written and Performed by The Electric Flag

User Reviews

Something for the time capsule!

How can you not like this film? The cast is incredible, but most Roger Corman films have great casting as we all know. Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Salle Sachse, Dennis Hopper, Susan Strasberg, Dick Miller (Of course), Luana Anders, Peter Bogdanovich and written by Jack Nicholson!! Can you imagine what was going on during the filming of this? Wonderful hippie special effects as Fonda goes on his "Trip". And I truly enjoyed the soundtrack. Especially the theme song. If anyone knows how I can get a copy of the soundtrack, let me know. This film is a real curio and it reminds me of the old days when a bunch of young guys with very little money just went out and made a film. I don't think this film is endorsing LSD, but all that type of stuff was pretty new back then and this was just a film that was taking a chance. All those hippie type of movies are fun to watch and this one is certainly interesting!

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