Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972)

A cocky Harvard graduate transports a load of marijuana from Boston to Berkeley, California. His girlfriend gets busted with the second load. He and a friend go against a dirty cop and a Cuban gangster to get the load and the girl back.

Director:

Paul Williams

Writers:

Douglas Crichton (novel) (as Michael Douglas), Michael Crichton (novel) (as Michael Douglas)

Stars:

Howard Gardner, Robert F. Lyons, Ellen Barber

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Howard Gardner	...	Lecturer
Robert F. Lyons	...	Peter
Ellen Barber	...	Annie
John Lithgow	...	John
Joy Bang	...	Sandra
Nancy Belle Fuller	...	Avis Girl
Barbara Hershey	...	Susan
Demond Wilson	...	Rupert
Gene Borkan	...	Musty
Herbert Kerr	...	Emir
Ted Williams	...	Receptionist
Buzzy Linhart	...	Buzzy
Anitra Walsh	...	Townie Girl
Paul Williams	...	Barry
Charles Durning	...	Murphy

Storyline

Peter is a cocky Harvard law student, who's tired of being square, so his best friend and theater director John gets him into the drug business. Peter loves the excitement of the gig and agrees to transport a suitcase full of pot from his suppliers to him. As a fan of the Rolling Stones' song Sympathy for the Devil, he picks Lucifer as his street name. At the drug dealers' hideout, Peter meets Susan and falls for her hard, since she's the complete opposite of his somewhat prudish and stuck up square girlfriend Annie. Susan likes him too and agrees to take him to a train station to hide the dope in one of the lockers there. They hit it off quickly. When they arrive at the station they notice a military officer, who's overseeing a funeral transport for what seems to be a casket of a dead soldier from Vietnam. This sight gives the two cold feet, so they leave to spend a night together at one of her musician friends' place. Peter then completes the job but soon asks John for another gig, ...

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Plot Keywords:

marijuana | drugs | drug dealer | drug trafficking | cocky | 

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Taglines:

From the best selling comedy-thriller set at Harvard and Berkeley

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1973 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Dealing

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'John Lithgow''s debut.

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Goofs

When Murphy enters the cab outside South Station, it's a 1971 Plymouth Satellite. When they get on Route 128 bound for Walden Pond, it grows into a '71 Plymouth Fury.

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Connections

Referenced in 'Obsession' Revisited (2001)

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Soundtracks

I Can't Turn You Loose
Written and performed by Otis Redding

User Reviews

One of the better movies about the drug culture of the early 70's

It's a crying shame Warner's has never released this. I don't know if it's the subject matter or the classic packed soundtrack full of big acts that's preventing them from doing something with this one. The comment on the front page about the slugs seems to have been written by someone who has not seen the film. There is no Jimmy and NO SLUGS. What you do get is a very pro pot themed film about a guy who moves weed cross country for his dealer, seemingly just because he enjoys the thrill. Back in the early 70's you could get stuff in and out of airports without any effort too. The film does not advocate harder drugs though, and shows the pot dealer ( a terrific John Lithgow in his debut...with HAIR! ) and his friends to be the good guys, while the cops are corrupt and evil and the organized crime guys are flat out murderous. Fans of Barbara Hershey will not be let down either, she looks great and has nude scenes as the hippie girlfriend who gets mixed up in a deal gone bad.