Wicked, Wicked (1973)

Very well executed

Disapointment

Did you people see the same film I saw?

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Geeky misogynistic psycho electrician Jason Gant (nicely played with convincing awkwardness by Randolph Roberts) has a nasty habit of picking off lovely blonde lady guests who check in, but never check out of the swanky California seaside resort hotel he works at. Jason plans on killing spunky lounge singer Lisa James (ravishing drive-in movie goddess Tiffany Bolling in peak sultry and spirited form) next. It's up to shrewd and dashing house detective Rick Stewart (a smooth and suave performance by David Bailey) to stop the wacko before it's too late. Writer/director Richard L. Bare and cinematographer Frederick Gately make extremely inspired, inventive, and even downright ingenious use of split screen throughout almost the entire picture; they also further tart things up with a few freeze frames, a couple of superimpositions, and several sepia-tinted flashbacks which explain how Jason become a dangerously demented homicidal lunatic (yep, he was molested by some evil hag woman). Bare manages to milk a good deal of tension from the tongue-in-cheek premise, maintains a constant brisk pace, adds a generous sprinkling of cool touches (a weird old lady organist plays gloomy music cues from "The Phantom of the Opera" and Jason uses a dumbwaiter and the hotel's elaborate ventilation system to sneak around), and tosses in occasional witty moments of amusing sardonic humor (for example, a longtime hotel resident claims she was once a successful ballet dancer, but we're shown that she worked as a tawdry go-go gal at some sleazy dive instead!). The sound supporting cast helps a lot: Scott Brady as gruff, brutish Sergeant Ramsey, Edward Byrnes as swinging playboy lifeguard Hank Lassiter, Arthur O'Connell as grumpy handyman Mr. Fenley, Diane McBain as Jason's first victim Dolores Hamilton, Roger Bowen as stern, uptight manager Simmons, and ubiquitous exploitation feature regular Patrick Wright in a quick uncredited bit as an abusive jerk. Moreover, it's a total treat to see the gorgeous Bolling heartily belt out the insanely groovy theme song while slinking about on stage in a sparkly sequin dress. Philip Springer's spooky-moody score hits the atmospheric spot. The supremely macabre, gripping, and thrilling conclusion is executed with considerable style and gusto. An incredibly fun flick with a gnarly visual gimmick.

Spoilers are minor... I'd read about this film a few times over the years, so when I caught it on TCM a couple years ago, my expectations were low -- most everything I've ever read about the movie's been negative. What I didn't expect is that the movie would skyrocket to near the top of my list of all-time favorite films. It's not especially original, the identity of the killer is revealed about 10 minutes in, and some of the dialogue is completely inane, but this little-known flick still oozes charm. It's like a '60s sitcom in the guise of a '70s horror movie.What makes "Wicked, Wicked" so special isn't the story or the gimmicky split-screen that's employed throughout the entire film, it's the characters. Every character, large and small (and many annoyingly uncredited) is wonderfully quirky and likable. There's hotel resident Mrs. Karadyne, who's sweet and eccentric and has a penchant for stretching the truth. There's Genevieve, the sex-starved gift shop employee. There's health-obsessed Hank, the resident lifeguard/waiter who has a secret life as a gigolo (amongst other things). There's Rick, the horny house detective with the troubled past, who was once married to defensive lounge singer Lisa. There's socially awkward and misunderstood electrician Jason, who has a whole mess of skeletons in his closet. There's senile organist Adelle Moffett, who never says a word or interacts with any other characters but still manages to be a scene-stealer. There's Mr. Simmons, the hotel manager, who's more concerned with covering up than investigating recent murders and disappearances. There's inept Police Sgt. Ramsey, who belligerently believes he's always right. There's bellboy Jerry, who's a bit lazy and self-centered and is only out to make a buck (can someone please identify the actor who plays him?!). And then there's the Hotel del Coronado, which really is a character unto itself more than merely a location. There's something lovably askew and almost Rocky Horror-ishly unique and comical about every character.The split-screen is used to good effect, frequently furthering the characters as their pasts are delved into in flashbacks. When it's not being used for flashbacks, it reveals two simultaneous occurrences or two different points of view of the same scene. Many have called the "duo vision" distracting and unnecessary, but I think it was easy to follow and added a lot to the movie. Matter of fact, the editor should've won an award -- there's a couple times when a person moves just slightly out of sync on one side of the screen, but overall the editing's flawless.If anyone with half a brain at MGM had thought to run this on the midnight circuit in the '70s, perhaps it wouldn't still be languishing in near-total obscurity. While I am, indeed, grateful to TCM for unearthing and infrequently airing this delightfully demented variation of "Phantom of the Opera," I'm still praying for the day it gets a remastered, anamorphic DVD release (TCM's print is hardly flawless and it's been slightly cropped to an improper 2.35:1 aspect ratio). I never tire of watching "Wicked, Wicked" and I think there's a big cult audience that's still waiting to discover this quirky gem.

An entire movie filmed in split-screen? Well, almost...and it's almost difficult criticizing a low-budget effort which nevertheless clearly demonstrates a filmmaker's ambition and courage. Richard L. Bare, who directed the film from his own screenplay (and also served as co-producer!), is unfortunately too derivative in his approach--and too unskilled a film technician--to pull this gimmick off successfully, and "Wicked, Wicked" leaves itself open for ridicule (it seems like a put-on anyway). At a beach-front hotel in California, an ex-cop-turned-security guard suspects one of the staff to be a killer who preys on single blonde women; meanwhile, his former wife is appearing nightly as the singer in the lounge, and she's decided to start wearing a blonde wig! Tatty-looking farrago financed by M-G-M (!) has a few bits of over-the-top violence but absolutely no suspense. The split-screen is used most often to show what's going on in the foreground, but once in awhile Bare gets imaginative and employs it for subtext (while guest Madeleine Sherwood is telling the electrician about her years in the ballet, the other screen shows us she was really a hoochie-koochie dancer). Though not profound, this is an interesting alternative to the clichéd "flashback" cut, but Bare nearly ruins it with stop-motion effects and other trickery (he may have had a good eye, but he doesn't show enough confidence--either that or he was short on material). Tiffany Bolling's bewigged chanteuse sings the title tune (which must be heard to be believed) while Edd "Kookie" Byrnes plays a lifeguard wanted by the F.B.I. If anything needed punching up it was Bare's screenplay, which could kindly be described as "Wretched, Wretched." *1/2 from ****

"Wicked, Wicked" was a film that I waited with such anticipation to see at the age of 12 - after seeing the promo trailer on television and the poster in the theater my curiosity was aroused.I loved films as a child - any film. As long as it seemed like an event. I was not big on classics at the time so my catalog was being developed. I don't think that at the time it was supposed to be a great film.It was fun however. And later in 1976 - when my parents owned a theater I persuaded my father to get "Wicked, Wicked" as a second feature for "Demon Seed" - it is a fun film and only for the excitement as "Earthquake" has Sensurround as a gimmick - "DUO-VISION" was the gimmick.See it for the excitement - not for the logging into your classic diary. It does make you laugh and wonder about the time period. Not much different from today - I have walked out on several of todays movie, while sitting through all of "Wicked, Wicked" as a child.It is fun!!!