Pippi Longstocking is the creation of Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren, who wrote four very popular books in the 1940s about this mischievous, obnoxious little girl with superhuman strength. A successful television series based on the books was produced in Sweden in 1969, written by Lindgren herself, and four feature films were later edited together from the original 13 episodes. These films were presented in the U.S. by Nick "N.W." Russo, producer of the syndicated '60s fishing series Gadabout Gaddis ("The Flying Fisherman") and president of Gadabout-Gaddis Productions (later G.G. Communications). Prior to going the kiddie matinee route, Russo/G.G.P. had released Bava's A HATCHET FOR A HONEYMOON, a couple of spaghetti westerns (FIND A PLACE TO DIE, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE) and sexy European thrillers like THE EXQUISITE CADAVER, MARTA, and Fulci's ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER.
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING arrived in American theaters in 1973 and was followed by PIPPI IN THE SOUTH SEAS (1974), PIPPI GOES ON BOARD (1975) and PIPPI ON THE RUN (1977). These horrendously dubbed G-rated films were matinee attractions well into the 1980s, even after Video Gems issued them on videocassette (Russo's final kiddie acquisition, THE PINCHCLIFFE GRAND PRIX, found its biggest success on cable). PIPPI LONGSTOCKING is our least favorite of the four Pippi movies, but it's the only one to have a View-Master tie-in. We still haven't figured out how to post any of the eye-popping 3-D images, but the booklet that was issued with the pack has been scanned for your enjoyment.
I was always a big fan of Pippi, the books. The movies, not so much.
ReplyDeleteThe first movie I remember seeing, at the Oxford in Troy, NY (now a bank), was I think a Pippi movie, way back in the early- or mid-'70s. I just remember a scene of a kid or kids running through a field with their backs to the camera.
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