Movie Ad of the Week: CALLIOPE (1971) a.k.a. LOVE IS CATCHING (1972)

World Premiere - Wednesday, November 17, 1971 - Los Angeles, CA

After its release in Los Angeles through Allied Artists, CALLIOPE -- Matt Cimber's goofy take-off of La Ronde -- emerged a year later with a new title and ad campaign...

...opening in Pittsburgh on December 13, 1972 as LOVE IS CATCHING. Case File #107 on our Endangered List, this was one of the four AGFA prints we ran as part of the Endangered Fest II in conjunction with the Austin Film Society at the Marchesa on February 20, 2015.

The Endangered List (Case File #107)

CALLIOPE (1971)

a.k.a. LOVE IS CATCHING

Starring

Sherry Miles

Mark Gottlieb

Sherry Bain

Marty Huston

Gwen Van Dam

Lou Epton

Diana Jones

Shelly Fisher

Choo Choo Collins

Borah Silver

Marjorie Bennett

Stan Rose

Directed by

Matt Cimber

Produced by

Harry Korshak

Screenplay by

Beth Keele

Music by

Tommy Oliver

An Allied Artists release

Running time: 81 minutes

MPAA rating: R

DVD Short Take: THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA (1976)

Moviegoers in 1976 who expected the scythe, snake and severed head depicted in the Frank Frazetta-inspired publicity art for THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA (Subversive) to actually turn up in the film itself were given at least three reasons to dislike this moody, unsettling psychosexual drama by screenwriter Robert Thom (BLOODY MAMA, DEATH RACE 2000) and director Matt Cimber (known for his Pia Zadora and Laurene Landon star vehicles): no scythe, no snake, no severed head -- in fact, no horror movie at all. On the other hand, some could say that DVD buyers in 2004 (when this disc was released by the now defunct Subversive) were given wayyy too much information about this film’s true storyline and the main character’s motivation in Tim Lucas’ fine liner notes, which should’ve been placed inside the disc case or on the DVD itself and not used as back cover copy. Not content with seeing only this movie spoiled before the "play" button is even pushed, Subversive allowed Cimber and star Millie Perkins to ruin the surprise ending of the pair’s previous collaboration, LADY COCOA, in the serviceable 36-minute documentary “A Maiden’s Voyage.” Luckily, the good news outweighs the bad: the 2.35:1 transfer from the negative is 16x9 enhanced and will be an eye-opener for anyone familiar with the shoddy full frame Unicorn tape, which never convinced me that ace cinematographer Dean Cundey had come within a mile of this movie let alone acted as its associate d.p. Dialogue is low, the rest of the sound okay otherwise. Cundey appears in the aforementioned documentary and contributes to a group audio commentary with Cimber and Perkins that is informative at times but in need of a moderator and better sound recording. Previews for other Subversive titles and bios for Cimber, Perkins and Cundey are also included on this now out-of-print title.

The Endangered List (Case File #81)

ALIAS BIG CHERRY (1975)

Starring
Leo Rossi
Joe Tornatore
Johnny Silver
Stanley Myron Handleman
Thelma Pelish
Sharon Kelly
George Pelster
David Knapp
Herb Eden
Joe E. Ross
Stan Ross
Robert Easton
Millie Perkins
Roberta Collins
Alex Drier
and
Dyanne Thorne

Screenplay by
Robert H. Adleman
and
Robert Thom

Based on the book
Alias Big Cherry:
The Confessions of a Master Criminal
by
Robert H. Adleman

Music by
Luchi DeJesus

MPAA rating: R

A
Moonstone release