You don’t mess with the Cabbage Patch Elvis
June 17, 2013 8:57 AM Subscribe
When it comes to unappealing couples that have been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, Arch Hall Jr. and Marilyn Manning are near the top of the heap. Their appearance in Eegah provided rich fodder for Joel and the bots. And yet, only one year after the release of Eegah, Hall and Manning would find themselves together again in radically different roles.
Directed by James Landis on a $33,000 budget, The Sadist tells the story of three teachers stranded in the middle of nowhere who are being terrorized by a psychotic teenage couple (Hall and Manning) who are on the run from the law and killing random people as they go.
The Sadist is said to have been the first film to capitalize on the Charles Starkweather killings that had occurred only five years prior to its release. Not only is the film the first to tackle Starkweather, many movie buffs view it as a very early predecessor to such landmarks films as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. The fact that it was made in 1963 is all the more startling.
Oh, and this was the first feature film for cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who later went on to do Deliverance, The Deer Hunter and win an Oscar for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
You can celebrate the movie's 50th anniversary by watching it on YouTube or download your own copy on Archive.org.
Directed by James Landis on a $33,000 budget, The Sadist tells the story of three teachers stranded in the middle of nowhere who are being terrorized by a psychotic teenage couple (Hall and Manning) who are on the run from the law and killing random people as they go.
The Sadist is said to have been the first film to capitalize on the Charles Starkweather killings that had occurred only five years prior to its release. Not only is the film the first to tackle Starkweather, many movie buffs view it as a very early predecessor to such landmarks films as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. The fact that it was made in 1963 is all the more startling.
Oh, and this was the first feature film for cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who later went on to do Deliverance, The Deer Hunter and win an Oscar for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
You can celebrate the movie's 50th anniversary by watching it on YouTube or download your own copy on Archive.org.
Well, I have to say Jr works better as a crazed murderer than he does as a fresh-faced teen.
posted by DU at 9:10 AM on June 17, 2013
posted by DU at 9:10 AM on June 17, 2013
I stumbled across The Sadist a few months ago, and was surprised how compelling it was. Jr really exudes a sense of menace.
posted by nerdler at 9:27 AM on June 17, 2013
posted by nerdler at 9:27 AM on June 17, 2013
I clicked to the middle of the film (on YouTube) and it reminds me of A Good Man is Hard to Find, which would have been written around the same time (as was In Cold Blood).
So much menace at mid-century.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:46 AM on June 17, 2013
So much menace at mid-century.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:46 AM on June 17, 2013
Starkweather also kept his tires full of water.
You know -- for the traction.
posted by Herodios at 10:25 AM on June 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
You know -- for the traction.
posted by Herodios at 10:25 AM on June 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
Just watched the Sadist.
Really enjoyed it. Great ending.
posted by dougzilla at 10:29 AM on June 17, 2013
Really enjoyed it. Great ending.
posted by dougzilla at 10:29 AM on June 17, 2013
I'm glad to know that Arch Hall Jr. has a Facebook page.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 11:09 AM on June 17, 2013
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 11:09 AM on June 17, 2013
I still resent his dune buggy!
posted by octobersurprise at 12:23 PM on June 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by octobersurprise at 12:23 PM on June 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Watch out for snakes!
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:26 PM on June 17, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:26 PM on June 17, 2013 [6 favorites]
tequila
posted by JHarris at 1:27 PM on June 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 1:27 PM on June 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Stop saying "Wheee!"
posted by octobersurprise at 7:33 PM on June 17, 2013
posted by octobersurprise at 7:33 PM on June 17, 2013
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Basically, I'm against all Arch Halls of whatever vintage.
posted by DU at 9:06 AM on June 17, 2013 [2 favorites]