Monday, November 24, 2008

The Endangered List (Case File #4)



THE COMING OF SEYMOUR (1975)

Banned in the U.K. in 1976
Released by Constellation Films (Independent-International Pictures) in 1977 as THE FABULOUS FANNY with a self-imposed X rating
Re-released by Constellation with new scenes as THE BOOB TUBE STRIKES AGAIN! in 1978

LEE FROST says:
"It was called THE COMING OF SEYMOUR originally. I was writing RACE WITH THE DEVIL, and some producers had this picture that was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. I went over, met with them, read it, and said, 'OK, I'll tell you what you guys should do – go in your room there, read this script, and circle all the laughs. Every line and situation that gets a laugh or even a chuckle, circle it for me.' They said, 'OK, we'll do that.' They came out about a half an hour later – 'There are none.' I said, 'That's the problem with your picture.' So I rewrote the picture, added some jokes, and shot it. I have no idea what's happened to it."

SAMUEL SHERMAN says: "We had a picture called THE COMING OF SEYMOUR. It was a sexy, soft X picture, probably one of the best of those pictures. Very funny, very sexy, very cute. Connie Hoffman was in it – she was a friend of ours who had been in our stewardess pictures. I put that thing out as THE FABULOUS FANNY, because it was a take-off on [the comic strip character] Little Annie Fanny from Playboy. We couldn't give that thing away! There was nothing we could do to sell that picture."


THE FABULOUS FANNY -- radio spot

Who's America's most adorable X-rated sweetheart?

[Crowd answers: "WHO?"]

Why, it's Fanny of course!

[Sound effects: Applause, cheering]

The girl of your wacky comic strip dreams is now on the screen in the new adult comedy movie, THE FABULOUS FANNY!

It's a zany spoof all about a boy who finds out too late that his entire teenage years were just spent in a wasted fantasy – a crazy fantasy called Fanny! Cute, blonde, and oh so adorably sexy. But she's just a comic character – or is she?

THE FABULOUS FANNY!

The movie that answers the question, "Can you take a bath in peanut butter and enjoy it?"

[Sound effect: BOING!]

Tell your troubles to the fabulous Fanny! The sweetest gal in town!
It's all in fun, in the new wild comedy, THE FABULOUS FANNY!

In color, from Constellation Films, rated X for adults!


SAMUEL SHERMAN says: "We went ahead and re-shot some of it with the producers and made it into THE BOOB TUBE STRIKES AGAIN because THE BOOB TUBE had been a big hit for us. Well, lightning wouldn't strike a second time, and that died too. We ended up giving it back to the producers."

From the pressbook of THE BOOB TUBE STRIKES AGAIN!

CAST

Alan Spitz (Seymour)
Murphy Cross (Zelda)
Diane Sommerfield (H.T. Washington)
Connie Marie a.k.a. Connie Hoffman (Fanny)
Paula Mitchell (Louise)
Angela Field a.k.a. Angela Carnon (Dr. Clitstone)
Peter Dane (Lawyer)
Ken Scott (Rabbi)
Honey Saunders (Mother)
Patrice Rohmer (Sandy)
Cindy Arnold (Rabbi's Girl)
Lee O'Donell (Quasi)
and
Kelly Patten, Christine Burk, Joyce Mandel, Rene Bond
and Signe Johnson
as
The Party Girls


CREDITS

Directed by Lee Frost
Produced by Wes Bishop
Screenplay by Cass Martin and Norman Spelvin
Director of Photography: Mark Wade
Film Editor: John Hayes
Production Manager & Assistant Director: Carl Olsen
Sound Mixer: Art Names
Still Man: Ken Scott
Music Supervisor: Igo Kantor
Script Supervisor: Karen Arthur
Set Decorator: Schotzie Barron
Property Master: Richard Schuyler
Wardrobe: Donna Allen
Technical Advisor: Orla Rivers
Makeup: Ray Sebastian
Key Grip: Jack Oliver
Grip: Phillip Hoover
Boom Man: Lee O'Donnell
Production Assistant: Cass Martin
Casting: Don Chastain

Running Time: 87 minutes
A Constellation Films Inc. release


SYNOPSIS

A couple goes to an X-rated motel and becomes involved with the zany story they are watching on X-rated TV. It is about the voluptuous cartoon character of Fanny, who dominates the daydreams of young Seymour. It is this sexual obsession with a fictitious character that stands in the way of his siring a child that will enable him to inherit the family fortune.

Seymour thoroughly enjoys his attempts to impregnate as many beautiful women as possible, but each time he is unable to reach that million dollar climax. Potency does not let him down – it just keeps him from his riches.

Not until Terri, the girl next door, learns about his secret love is it possible for Seymour and the impossible dream to come together.


ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

"THE BOOB TUBE STRIKES AGAIN" is a high budget, quality sex-comedy, produced and directed by Wes Bishop and Lee Frost – the same creative team that brought you 20th Century Fox's "RACE WITH THE DEVIL" which starred Peter Fonda and Warren Oates and Dimension's "DIXIE DYNAMITE," also starring Warren Oates.

The star of "THE BOOB TUBE STRIKES AGAIN" is 23-year-old Alan Spitz, a talented new discovery whose previous film credits include "HESTER STREET" and "NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE." Alan, as the young man with a "big problem," had the unique opportunity to work with Hollywood's most attractive new starlets, several of whom have graced the pages of PLAYBOY magazine.


[Lee Frost quotes from an interview I did that appeared in Shock Cinema magazine]


4 comments:

Casey said...

Strangely enough, this film does have a valid copyright from 1981, but the trail ends there...

Anonymous said...

David Grant list Coming of Seymour as a film he distributed. He passed in 1991.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Grant_%28producer%29
His partner Malcolm Fancey left the bus after a porno bust of their company in 1984 and lives in South of England.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0266680/bio
Malcolm may know something.

Unknown said...

In David Grant's wiki it list him as a distributor. He passed in 1991.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Grant_%28producer%29
His partner Malcolm Fancey left the business in 1984 after a bust. It says he lives in South of London. he may know somehting.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0266680/bio

eye sore said...

I saw the Coming of Seymour at the Drive in movies in Sydney in the 70s.
I only saw that movie the once and found it a hilarious racy romp. Really funny.
The Coming of Seymour is a classic sex comedy .
It's up there with Case of the smiling stiffs and Chatterbox.
I tried to find it on video-DVD a few times, but sadly
I heard the movie has been lost.