Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m v2.01b - T5_CW#17 - WP:WCW project (Category duplication)
Line 50: Line 50:
* [[Roddy McDowall]] (''uncredited'') as George Stanton
* [[Roddy McDowall]] (''uncredited'') as George Stanton


==Production==
==Original Novel==
''Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry'' is based on the novel originally titled ''The Chase'' (later renamed ''Pursuit'') by Richard Unekis, and published in 1963. It was Unekis' debut novel. The ''New York Times'' called it " a brilliantly detailed and breathless tale of pursuit".<ref>Criminals At Large
===Original Novel===
By ANTHONY BOUCHER. New York Times 7 Apr 1963: BR50. </ref>
{{Refimprove|date=January 2016}}

''Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry'' is based on the novel originally titled ''The Chase'' (later renamed ''Pursuit'') by Richard Unekis, and published in 1963. The story incorporated a phenomenon that was relatively new in 1963: major auto manufacturers were putting powerful V-8 engines into mid-sized cars (the dawn of the "[[muscle car]]" era) and young thieves behind the wheel of these cars were now able to outrun the economy 6-cylinder sedans driven by police in many jurisdictions. The protagonists of ''The Chase'' used such a vehicle, a [[Chevrolet]], and made use of the checkerboard of roads in the farm country of [[Illinois]] to outrun the police.
The story incorporated a phenomenon that was relatively new in 1963: major auto manufacturers were putting powerful V-8 engines into mid-sized cars (the dawn of the "[[muscle car]]" era) and young thieves behind the wheel of these cars were now able to outrun the economy 6-cylinder sedans driven by police in many jurisdictions. The protagonists of ''The Chase'' used such a vehicle, a [[Chevrolet]], and made use of the checkerboard of roads in the farm country of [[Illinois]] to outrun the police.
===Development===
==Development==
===Howard Hawks===
According to Unekis' son, the rights to the book were originally bought for very little money by director [[Howard Hawks]], who had [[Steve McQueen]] in mind for the title role of a future film project.
According to Unekis' son, the rights to the book were originally bought for very little money by director [[Howard Hawks]], who had [[Steve McQueen]] in mind for the title role of a future film project.


Hawks commissioned three scripts, all of which followed the book very closely (and consequently were out of date with the automobile technology of the 1970s) but Hawks elected to opt out of the project when he was offered [[United States dollar|US$]]50,000 for the film rights by two wealthy English industrialist partners, Sir James Hanson and Sir Gordon White.
Hawks commissioned three scripts, all of which followed the book very closely (and consequently were out of date with the automobile technology of the 1970s).

⚫
[[Leigh Chapman]] had worked as an actor and writer, and was mentored by [[Howard Hawks]]. She took a year off then returned to Los Angeles to restart her writing career. A script of hers was seen by Norman Herman, who hired to rewrite a script called ''Pursuit'' done by [[Leigh Brackett]].<ref name="leigh">{{Cite web|url=https://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/lotsa-teeth-an-interview-with-leigh-chapman/|website=Classic TV History|date=17 Nov 2015|title=Lotsa Teeth: An Interview With Leigh Chapman}}</ref>
===Hanson and White===
Hawks elected to opt out of the project when he was offered [[United States dollar|US$]]50,000 for the film rights by two wealthy English industrialist partners, Sir James Hanson and Sir Gordon White.


White and Hanson (who, at the time, owned [[Eveready Batteries]] and [[Ball Park Franks]]) had purchased the book to read on their plane while flying to the U.S.. They both felt ''The Chase'' would make an entertaining film and presented the idea to personal friend Michael Pearson, who had produced an earlier successful car chase cult movie, ''[[Vanishing Point (1971 film)|Vanishing Point]]''.
White and Hanson (who, at the time, owned [[Eveready Batteries]] and [[Ball Park Franks]]) had purchased the book to read on their plane while flying to the U.S.. They both felt ''The Chase'' would make an entertaining film and presented the idea to personal friend Michael Pearson, who had produced an earlier successful car chase cult movie, ''[[Vanishing Point (1971 film)|Vanishing Point]]''.


After pitching their project to their movie mogul friends, who not only included Pearson but [[Albert R. Broccoli]], [[Harold Robbins]], and [[Sam Spiegel]], they soon discovered the movie business was not as easy as they had suspected. In addition, they were saddled with an out of date book - and no screenplay - for which they grossly overpaid. With no interest from anyone in picking up the project Sir James and Sir Gordon soon lost interest in making movies.
After pitching their project to their movie mogul friends, who not only included Pearson but [[Albert R. Broccoli]], [[Harold Robbins]], and [[Sam Spiegel]], they soon discovered the movie business was not as easy as they had suspected. In addition, they were saddled with an out of date book - and no screenplay - for which they grossly overpaid. With no interest from anyone in picking up the project Sir James and Sir Gordon soon lost interest in making movies.
===Leigh Chapman===
⚫
[[Leigh Chapman]] had worked as an actor and writer, and was mentored by [[Howard Hawks]]. She took a year off then returned to Los Angeles to restart her writing career. A script of hers was seen by Norman Herman, who hired to rewrite a script called ''Pursuit'' done by [[Leigh Brackett]].<ref name="leigh">{{Cite web|url=https://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/lotsa-teeth-an-interview-with-leigh-chapman/|website=Classic TV History|date=17 Nov 2015|title=Lotsa Teeth: An Interview With Leigh Chapman}}</ref>

===Jimmy Boyd===
===Jimmy Boyd===
Over dinner one evening at Hanson's estate in Palm Springs, California they told their plight to friend and neighbor [[Jimmy Boyd]]. Boyd read the book and agreed with Hanson and White that it would make a great car chase. Boyd, a race car enthusiast, had successfully built and raced cars along with his friend [[Lance Reventlow]], and had come very close to pursuing race car driving as a career. He guaranteed Hanson and White their fifty thousand dollars in return for the rights to the book.
Over dinner one evening at Hanson's estate in Palm Springs, California they told their plight to friend and neighbor [[Jimmy Boyd]]. Boyd read the book and agreed with Hanson and White that it would make a great car chase. Boyd, a race car enthusiast, had successfully built and raced cars along with his friend [[Lance Reventlow]], and had come very close to pursuing race car driving as a career. He guaranteed Hanson and White their fifty thousand dollars in return for the rights to the book.


Boyd wrote the screenplay himself along the lines of ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'', updating the dialogue and humor for an early 1970s audience. He also changed the two main characters from the escaped convicts in the book into a slightly larcenous - but likable - [[NASCAR]] dreamer and his Mechanic, nicknamed Fast Floyd and Dirty Deke. Boyd then incorporated the one-night stand female stowaway and the added dimension of a NASCAR-engined getaway car capable of {{convert|165|mph|km/h}}. Except for the tires and wheels, it was a stock-appearing Ford built by the famous race car builders Traco Engineering.
Boyd wrote the screenplay himself along the lines of ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'', updating the dialogue and humor for an early 1970s audience. He also changed the two main characters from the escaped convicts in the book into a slightly larcenous - but likable - [[NASCAR]] dreamer and his Mechanic, nicknamed Fast Floyd and Dirty Deke. Boyd then incorporated the one-night stand female stowaway and the added dimension of a NASCAR-engined getaway car capable of {{convert|165|mph|km/h}}. Except for the tires and wheels, it was a stock-appearing Ford built by the famous race car builders Traco Engineering.

===Jim Nicholson===
{{unref|section|date=June 2019}}
{{unref|section|date=June 2019}}
{{contradict|date=June 2019}}
{{contradict|date=June 2019}}
On the strength of his script Boyd had raised $2 million for the budget (large, at the time). Boyd had two young, then-unknown actors, [[David Soul]] and [[Sam Elliott]], in mind for the lead roles when he got a phone call from James Nicholson, president and partner of Sam Arkoff at [[American International Pictures]], a major producer of "[[B Movies]]". Nicholson was leaving AIP to form his own company, Academy Pictures, in partnership with [[20th Century Fox]]: Fox would finance and distribute his films and give him complete control. Nicholson told Boyd he had read his script for ''Pursuit'' and wanted it to be his first film for Academy Pictures. It was very risky making an "Indie" film in the 1970s without a distribution deal. Important film festivals like [[Sundance Film Festival]] did not exist. Boyd decided to enter into a partnership with Nicholson's Academy Pictures.
On the strength of his script Boyd had raised $2 million for the budget (large, at the time). Boyd had two young, then-unknown actors, [[David Soul]] and [[Sam Elliott]], in mind for the lead roles.
===James Nicholson===
Boyd got a phone call from James Nicholson, president and partner of Sam Arkoff at [[American International Pictures]], a major producer of "[[B Movies]]". Nicholson was leaving AIP to form his own company, Academy Pictures, in partnership with [[20th Century Fox]]: Fox would finance and distribute his films and give him complete control. Nicholson told Boyd he had read his script for ''Pursuit'' and wanted it for Academy Pictures. Boyd decided to enter into a partnership with Nicholson's Academy Pictures.{{cn|date=June 2019}}


In June 1972 Nicholson announced that Academy would make six films for Fox over two years.<ref>Former AIP Chief Forms Film Firm
⚫
Fox got [[Peter Fonda]] interested in the project and Nicholson hired English director [[John Hough (director)|John Hough]]. Hough had directed a horror film for Nicholson at AIP and could bring English actress [[Susan George (actress)|Susan George]] into the mix, providing one of the male leads would be rewritten for her.
Los Angeles Times 9 June 1972: i11. </ref> Nicholson said the films wouldn't be "exploitaiton quickies" but would be "good entertaiment."<ref>James H. Nicholson Starts Own Film Production Firm
Wall Street Journal 9 June 1972: 7. </ref> Their first movie was ''[[Legend of Hell House]]'', directed by John Hough.<ref>MOVIE CALL SHEET: 'Legend' to Be First Venture
Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 4 Aug 1972: f13. </ref>


Nicholson subsequently died of complications from a brain tumor in December 1972.<ref>Jaies Nicholson, Producer Of Movies New York Times 11 Dec 1972: 42. </ref> Following his death, the film transferred to Fox. Norman Herman produced.<ref>MOVIE CALL SHEET: Leslie Uggams Will Star in 'Eddie'
It became quickly apparent that Nicholson and Boyd had two completely different philosophies of how the film should be made. Boyd wanted to make a realistic, exciting, humorous, helicopter-''versus''-car chase. Nicholson wasn't so much interested in the content of the film as he was in attaching recognizable names and catchy titles to market it. After a long series of legal battles over control and Nicholson's rewrites of the film, Boyd accepted a settlement offer and left the project.
Los Angeles Times 20 Oct 1973: b8. </ref>


⚫
Fox got [[Peter Fonda]] interested in the project and Nicholson hired English director [[John Hough (director)|John Hough]]. Hough had directed a horror film for Nicholson at AIP and could bring English actress [[Susan George (actress)|Susan George]] into the mix, providing one of the male leads would be rewritten for her. {{cn|date=June 2019}}
⚫
In the commentary of the 2005 [[DVD]] and later [[Blu-ray]] releases, Hough says two blue 1966 [[Chevrolet Impala]]s, as well as two 1969 (and one 1968) "Limelight" (Chrysler paint code GY3{{cn|date=June 2019}}) color [[Dodge Charger]]s were used in the filming. As the film was a low-budget project,{{cn|date=June 2019}}<!--contradicts the first line, which calls $2mil "large"...--> and no more than three Chargers could be purchased,{{cn|date=June 2019}}<!--they'd be purchased at salvage prices, not retail, so how cheap were the producers?--> a team of mechanics would work on the cars overnight to repair damage, while the film crew would cycle through the available cars throughout the shooting day. Car haulers would follow the filming team with the additional cars as they were available.


⚫
==Filming==
⚫
In the same interview, Hough also revealed that the ending in which the Charger crashes into the train was not in the original script. The novel upon which the film was based ended with the robbers colliding with a tanker truck, but as the [[Linden, California]] filming location offered a maze of railroad crossings, the ending was changed to incorporate the collision with the locomotive.{{cn|date=June 2019}}
The film was shot in and around [[Stockton, California]] in late 1973, mostly in the walnut groves near the small town of Linden.<ref>Movies Divorce, Disillusion......hard times hit the easy rider
⚫
Shevey, Sandra. Chicago Tribune 17 Feb 1974: e14. </ref> The supermarket scenes were filmed in [[Sonora, California]], the drawbridge jump was filmed in [[Tracy, California]], the swap meet scene in [[Clements, California]] and the climactic train crash was filmed on the [[Stockton Terminal and Eastern]] Railroad in Linden, near the intersection of Ketcham Lane and Archerdale Road. The [[Bell JetRanger]] used in the climactic chase was flown by veteran film pilot James W. Gavin (who played the character of the pilot as well) and was actually flown between rows of trees and under powerlines as seen in the film.{{cn|date=June 2019}}


⚫
In the commentary of the 2005 [[DVD]] and later [[Blu-ray]] releases, Hough says two blue 1966 [[Chevrolet Impala]]s, as well as two 1969 (and one 1968) "Limelight" (Chrysler paint code GY3{{cn|date=June 2019}}) color [[Dodge Charger]]s were used in the filming. As the film was a low-budget project,{{cn|date=June 2019}}<!--contradicts the first line, which calls $2mil "large"...--> and no more than three Chargers could be purchased,{{cn|date=June 2019}}<!--they'd be purchased at salvage prices, not retail, so how cheap were the producers?--> a team of mechanics would work on the cars overnight to repair damage, while the film crew would cycle through the available cars throughout the shooting day. Car haulers would follow the filming team with the additional cars as they were available.
⚫
===Filming===
⚫
The film was shot in and around [[Stockton, California]] in late 1973, mostly in the walnut groves near the small town of Linden. The supermarket scenes were filmed in [[Sonora, California]], the drawbridge jump was filmed in [[Tracy, California]], the swap meet scene in [[Clements, California]] and the climactic train crash was filmed on the [[Stockton Terminal and Eastern]] Railroad in Linden, near the intersection of Ketcham Lane and Archerdale Road. The [[Bell JetRanger]] used in the climactic chase was flown by veteran film pilot James W. Gavin (who played the character of the pilot as well) and was actually flown between rows of trees and under powerlines as seen in the film.


⚫
In the same interview, Hough also revealed that the ending in which the Charger crashes into the train was not in the original script. The novel upon which the film was based ended with the robbers colliding with a tanker truck, but as the [[Linden, California]] filming location offered a maze of railroad crossings, the ending was changed to incorporate the collision with the locomotive.{{cn|date=June 2019}}
⚫
'''Post-Production'''


Hough said the lead characters did not die in the script. "I did that myself without asking or telling anybody. Consequently, we would not be able to make a sequel because the leading characters were all killed. But a statement I really wanted to make, was: speed kills. If you’re gonna drive a hundred miles an hour, you’ll get yourself killed, so you’d better not speed."<ref name="john">{{cite web|url=https://filmtalk.org/2017/08/30/john-hough-i-am-happy-to-say-that-dirty-mary-crazy-larry-is-one-of-quentin-tarantinos-favorite-films/|website=Film Talk|date=August 30, 2017|title=John Hough: “I am happy to say that ‘Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry’ is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite films”}}</ref>
⚫
===Post-Production===
There is the assumption film developers thought the Dodge Charger was actually bright yellow and so "corrected" the film negatives to eliminate the greenish tint on the car. In fact, the entire movie in theaters, on TV, and on VHS was originally very warm toned. The color was more correct in the 2005 DVD release (and later Blu-ray releases) and the Dodge Charger became the correct lime green color. (Sometimes falsely considered{{cn|date=June 2019}} the 1971 Chrysler color "GY3 Curious Yellow / Citron Yella" - a color that is actually a very bright yellow in natural sunlight, not greenish.{{cn|date=June 2019}}) A newer image of apparently one of the actual (unrestored) movie cars spotted in a backyard{{cn|date=June 2019}} confirms{{cn|date=June 2019}} the color to be green,{{cn|date=June 2019}} not yellow or "curious yellow".{{cn|date=June 2019}} Given the custom look of the car, with custom wheels and tires,{{cn|date=June 2019}} custom stripe,{{cn|date=June 2019}} vinyl roof moldings but no vinyl roof,{{cn|date=June 2019}} one can assume the lime color is custom as well{{cn|date=June 2019}} and may not be a factory Chrysler/Dodge color{{cn|date=June 2019}} - although, the car's color looks close to the Dodge color "Sublime" (code FJ5).{{cn|date=June 2019}}
There is the assumption film developers thought the Dodge Charger was actually bright yellow and so "corrected" the film negatives to eliminate the greenish tint on the car. In fact, the entire movie in theaters, on TV, and on VHS was originally very warm toned. The color was more correct in the 2005 DVD release (and later Blu-ray releases) and the Dodge Charger became the correct lime green color. (Sometimes falsely considered{{cn|date=June 2019}} the 1971 Chrysler color "GY3 Curious Yellow / Citron Yella" - a color that is actually a very bright yellow in natural sunlight, not greenish.{{cn|date=June 2019}}) A newer image of apparently one of the actual (unrestored) movie cars spotted in a backyard{{cn|date=June 2019}} confirms{{cn|date=June 2019}} the color to be green,{{cn|date=June 2019}} not yellow or "curious yellow".{{cn|date=June 2019}} Given the custom look of the car, with custom wheels and tires,{{cn|date=June 2019}} custom stripe,{{cn|date=June 2019}} vinyl roof moldings but no vinyl roof,{{cn|date=June 2019}} one can assume the lime color is custom as well{{cn|date=June 2019}} and may not be a factory Chrysler/Dodge color{{cn|date=June 2019}} - although, the car's color looks close to the Dodge color "Sublime" (code FJ5).{{cn|date=June 2019}}


Revision as of 07:13, 14 September 2019

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Hough
Screenplay by
Produced byNorman T. Herman
Starring
CinematographyMichael D. Margulies
Edited byChristopher Holmes
Music byJimmie Haskell (Main theme)
Production
company
Academy Pictures Corporation
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • May 17, 1974 (1974-05-17)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.14 million[2]
Box office$28.4 million[3]

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry is a 1974 American car chase film based on the 1963 Richard Unekis novel titled The Chase (later retitled Pursuit). Directed by John Hough, the film stars Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, and Vic Morrow. Although Jimmie Haskell is credited with writing the music score, the soundtrack contains no incidental music apart from the theme song "Time (Is Such A Funny Thing)", sung by Marjorie McCoy, over the opening and closing titles, and a small amount of music heard over the radio.

Plot

Two NASCAR hopefuls, driver Larry Rayder and his mechanic Deke Sommers, successfully execute a supermarket heist to finance their jump into big-time auto racing. They extort $150,000 in cash from a supermarket manager by holding his wife and daughter hostage.

In making their escape, they are confronted by Larry's one-night stand, Mary Coombs. She coerces them to take her along for the ride in their souped-up 1966 Chevrolet Impala. The unorthodox sheriff, Captain Everett Franklin, obsessively pursues the trio in a dragnet, only to find his outmoded patrol cars unable to catch Larry, Mary, and Deke after they ditch the Impala for a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 440 at a flea market.

As part of the escape plan, Larry's vehicle enters an expansive walnut grove, where the trees provide significant cover from aerial tracking, and the many intersecting roads ("with sixty distinct and separate exits") making road blocks ineffective. The trio evades several Dodge Polara patrol cars, a specially-prepared high-performance police interceptor, and even Captain Franklin himself in a Bell JetRanger helicopter. Believing they've finally beaten the police, Larry and company meet their doom when they randomly collide with a freight train pulled by an Alco S1 locomotive.

Cast

Original Novel

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry is based on the novel originally titled The Chase (later renamed Pursuit) by Richard Unekis, and published in 1963. It was Unekis' debut novel. The New York Times called it " a brilliantly detailed and breathless tale of pursuit".[4]

The story incorporated a phenomenon that was relatively new in 1963: major auto manufacturers were putting powerful V-8 engines into mid-sized cars (the dawn of the "muscle car" era) and young thieves behind the wheel of these cars were now able to outrun the economy 6-cylinder sedans driven by police in many jurisdictions. The protagonists of The Chase used such a vehicle, a Chevrolet, and made use of the checkerboard of roads in the farm country of Illinois to outrun the police.

Development

Howard Hawks

According to Unekis' son, the rights to the book were originally bought for very little money by director Howard Hawks, who had Steve McQueen in mind for the title role of a future film project.

Hawks commissioned three scripts, all of which followed the book very closely (and consequently were out of date with the automobile technology of the 1970s).

Leigh Chapman had worked as an actor and writer, and was mentored by Howard Hawks. She took a year off then returned to Los Angeles to restart her writing career. A script of hers was seen by Norman Herman, who hired to rewrite a script called Pursuit done by Leigh Brackett.[5]

Hanson and White

Hawks elected to opt out of the project when he was offered US$50,000 for the film rights by two wealthy English industrialist partners, Sir James Hanson and Sir Gordon White.

White and Hanson (who, at the time, owned Eveready Batteries and Ball Park Franks) had purchased the book to read on their plane while flying to the U.S.. They both felt The Chase would make an entertaining film and presented the idea to personal friend Michael Pearson, who had produced an earlier successful car chase cult movie, Vanishing Point.

After pitching their project to their movie mogul friends, who not only included Pearson but Albert R. Broccoli, Harold Robbins, and Sam Spiegel, they soon discovered the movie business was not as easy as they had suspected. In addition, they were saddled with an out of date book - and no screenplay - for which they grossly overpaid. With no interest from anyone in picking up the project Sir James and Sir Gordon soon lost interest in making movies.

Jimmy Boyd

Over dinner one evening at Hanson's estate in Palm Springs, California they told their plight to friend and neighbor Jimmy Boyd. Boyd read the book and agreed with Hanson and White that it would make a great car chase. Boyd, a race car enthusiast, had successfully built and raced cars along with his friend Lance Reventlow, and had come very close to pursuing race car driving as a career. He guaranteed Hanson and White their fifty thousand dollars in return for the rights to the book.

Boyd wrote the screenplay himself along the lines of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, updating the dialogue and humor for an early 1970s audience. He also changed the two main characters from the escaped convicts in the book into a slightly larcenous - but likable - NASCAR dreamer and his Mechanic, nicknamed Fast Floyd and Dirty Deke. Boyd then incorporated the one-night stand female stowaway and the added dimension of a NASCAR-engined getaway car capable of 165 miles per hour (266 km/h). Except for the tires and wheels, it was a stock-appearing Ford built by the famous race car builders Traco Engineering.

On the strength of his script Boyd had raised $2 million for the budget (large, at the time). Boyd had two young, then-unknown actors, David Soul and Sam Elliott, in mind for the lead roles.

James Nicholson

Boyd got a phone call from James Nicholson, president and partner of Sam Arkoff at American International Pictures, a major producer of "B Movies". Nicholson was leaving AIP to form his own company, Academy Pictures, in partnership with 20th Century Fox: Fox would finance and distribute his films and give him complete control. Nicholson told Boyd he had read his script for Pursuit and wanted it for Academy Pictures. Boyd decided to enter into a partnership with Nicholson's Academy Pictures.[citation needed]

In June 1972 Nicholson announced that Academy would make six films for Fox over two years.[6] Nicholson said the films wouldn't be "exploitaiton quickies" but would be "good entertaiment."[7] Their first movie was Legend of Hell House, directed by John Hough.[8]

Nicholson subsequently died of complications from a brain tumor in December 1972.[9] Following his death, the film transferred to Fox. Norman Herman produced.[10]

Fox got Peter Fonda interested in the project and Nicholson hired English director John Hough. Hough had directed a horror film for Nicholson at AIP and could bring English actress Susan George into the mix, providing one of the male leads would be rewritten for her. [citation needed]

Filming

The film was shot in and around Stockton, California in late 1973, mostly in the walnut groves near the small town of Linden.[11] The supermarket scenes were filmed in Sonora, California, the drawbridge jump was filmed in Tracy, California, the swap meet scene in Clements, California and the climactic train crash was filmed on the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad in Linden, near the intersection of Ketcham Lane and Archerdale Road. The Bell JetRanger used in the climactic chase was flown by veteran film pilot James W. Gavin (who played the character of the pilot as well) and was actually flown between rows of trees and under powerlines as seen in the film.[citation needed]

In the commentary of the 2005 DVD and later Blu-ray releases, Hough says two blue 1966 Chevrolet Impalas, as well as two 1969 (and one 1968) "Limelight" (Chrysler paint code GY3[citation needed]) color Dodge Chargers were used in the filming. As the film was a low-budget project,[citation needed] and no more than three Chargers could be purchased,[citation needed] a team of mechanics would work on the cars overnight to repair damage, while the film crew would cycle through the available cars throughout the shooting day. Car haulers would follow the filming team with the additional cars as they were available.

In the same interview, Hough also revealed that the ending in which the Charger crashes into the train was not in the original script. The novel upon which the film was based ended with the robbers colliding with a tanker truck, but as the Linden, California filming location offered a maze of railroad crossings, the ending was changed to incorporate the collision with the locomotive.[citation needed]

Hough said the lead characters did not die in the script. "I did that myself without asking or telling anybody. Consequently, we would not be able to make a sequel because the leading characters were all killed. But a statement I really wanted to make, was: speed kills. If you’re gonna drive a hundred miles an hour, you’ll get yourself killed, so you’d better not speed."[12]

Post-Production

There is the assumption film developers thought the Dodge Charger was actually bright yellow and so "corrected" the film negatives to eliminate the greenish tint on the car. In fact, the entire movie in theaters, on TV, and on VHS was originally very warm toned. The color was more correct in the 2005 DVD release (and later Blu-ray releases) and the Dodge Charger became the correct lime green color. (Sometimes falsely considered[citation needed] the 1971 Chrysler color "GY3 Curious Yellow / Citron Yella" - a color that is actually a very bright yellow in natural sunlight, not greenish.[citation needed]) A newer image of apparently one of the actual (unrestored) movie cars spotted in a backyard[citation needed] confirms[citation needed] the color to be green,[citation needed] not yellow or "curious yellow".[citation needed] Given the custom look of the car, with custom wheels and tires,[citation needed] custom stripe,[citation needed] vinyl roof moldings but no vinyl roof,[citation needed] one can assume the lime color is custom as well[citation needed] and may not be a factory Chrysler/Dodge color[citation needed] - although, the car's color looks close to the Dodge color "Sublime" (code FJ5).[citation needed]

Release

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry was released by Fox in the spring of 1974 and was a surprise sleeper hit[13] earning North American rentals of $12.1 million.[14] By 1977, it earned an estimated $14.7 million in theatrical rentals.[15]

On February 18, 1977, the film came to broadcast television (with several scenes cut prior to theatrical release reïnserted to extend the film's length to the minimum required to fill a standard 2-hour time slot). These added-for-TV scenes have never been released to home video.[16]

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 50% rating based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10.[17]

Home media

The film was released on VHS and Beta in October 1979 on Magnetic Video.[18]

On June 28, 2005, the film was released on DVD through Anchor Bay Entertainment as a "Supercharger Edition". It included a color-corrected and fully restored theatrical version of the film as well as many bonus features.

On April 12, 2011, the restored film was released again on DVD, this time through Shout! Factory, packaged as a double feature with another Peter Fonda film, Race with the Devil. This release contained fewer bonus features than the Anchor Bay release.

This same release debuted on Blu-ray for the first time on June 4, 2013.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY (X)". British Board of Film Classification. May 30, 1974. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  2. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p257
  3. ^ Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, Box Office Information. The Numbers. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  4. ^ Criminals At Large By ANTHONY BOUCHER. New York Times 7 Apr 1963: BR50.
  5. ^ "Lotsa Teeth: An Interview With Leigh Chapman". Classic TV History. November 17, 2015.
  6. ^ Former AIP Chief Forms Film Firm Los Angeles Times 9 June 1972: i11.
  7. ^ James H. Nicholson Starts Own Film Production Firm Wall Street Journal 9 June 1972: 7.
  8. ^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: 'Legend' to Be First Venture Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 4 Aug 1972: f13.
  9. ^ Jaies Nicholson, Producer Of Movies New York Times 11 Dec 1972: 42.
  10. ^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Leslie Uggams Will Star in 'Eddie' Los Angeles Times 20 Oct 1973: b8.
  11. ^ Movies Divorce, Disillusion......hard times hit the easy rider Shevey, Sandra. Chicago Tribune 17 Feb 1974: e14.
  12. ^ "John Hough: "I am happy to say that 'Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry' is one of Quentin Tarantino's favorite films"". Film Talk. August 30, 2017.
  13. ^ Frederick, Robert B. (January 8, 1975). "'Sting', 'Exorcist' In Special Class At B.O. in 1974". Variety. p. 24.
  14. ^ Solomon p 232
  15. ^ FILM VIEW: Why 'Smokey And the Bandit' Is Making A Killing FILM VIEW 'Smokey and the Bandit' Canby, Vincent. The New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 18 Dec 1977: 109.
  16. ^ "Original TV Guide ad". Flashbak. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  17. ^ "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  18. ^ "Magnetic Video (Creator)". TV Tropes.
  19. ^ "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry / Race With The Devil [Double Feature] - Blu-ray | Shout! Factory". www.shoutfactory.com.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dirty_Mary,_Crazy_Larry&oldid=915603214"