To Kill a Clown (1972)

"To Kill a Clown" is a really strange movie, one that could have only come out of the 1970s. For starters, it doesn't seem to know what kind of movie it wants to be. It starts off being really goofy (even the opening credits are comic), but the movie ends with a climatic sequence that seems to have been inspired by the previous year's "Straw Dogs". Throughout there are bizarre touches like the many freeze frames the movie uses when moving from one scene to another. And there is the atypical casting of Alan Alda as someone who is mentally disturbed. All this may make the movie sound like it's a gold mine for people who are into bizarre cinema, but it isn't that much entertaining. It starts off slow and soon gets to be pretty boring; you have to wait until an hour has passed before some juice starts to flow. And even when that happens, what follows is not really worth the wait. Ultimately, there seems to be no point to the movie; what writer/director George Bloomfield was trying to say or accomplish, I'm not sure. It's no wonder why this movie hasn't been given a DVD release. By the way, while the movie was slapped with an "R" rating, what's displayed barely gets to "PG" status by the standards of today (or even back in 1972.)

Partial spoilers. It's very "arty" (largely in the self-conscious sense, I guess), it's in some ways a stereotypical early ' 70s film, it has maybe a third as much suspense most people demand in a suspense film, and in spite of the first and third things, I'm hugely attached to it. (I don't apologize for the second thing.) Alan Alda is completely believable as "Evelyn" (a strange name for a character from the kind of background you presume he has), and he's just the opposite of the Hawkeye character, who came along only about a year later (or the character in "Jenny", for that matter). Even his trademark laugh is replaced by a deep-sounding one, just what you'd expect from such a character. I don't know why it isn't even mentioned casually (as far as I know) in interviews with him, or even in an entire book about him that I looked through. Blythe Danner is just as good as "Lily", especially in the scene where she tries to seduce him, and he starts reliving the accidental prank with the "Kick Me" sign, which had one of the best lines - "You put a sign on yourself!" Followed by the "Buttons" scene, which is almost funny in a sad way. And Heath Lamberts (whom I know from very few things) is very good as "Timothy", whom you almost think of as no match for Evelyn (in spite of his handicaps), but who almost manages to be. The theme song seems to have nothing to do with the story (except maybe the line "I hurt my friend instead" connecting with the accidental prank ; I don't know), but that's another thing that never seems to bother me. Even though it uses two big clichés of early (and later) ' 70s suspense films - Vietnam vets and Dobermans - and in spite of the downbeat ending, I think it's very original, and that it mainly works.

Okay. I have very little to say about this "movie" since I understand very little of what went on. But I will say, if you see this piece of crap on the shelf at your local video retailer, put it back and rent Strawdogs. This movie had a nonsense plot, a horrible script, bad acting, and the worst tanline this side of the pacific. Blythe Danner can act, but she must have been dealing with some personal issues during this movie (probably working on her clone, the one we now call Gwenyth). Alan Alda as a sadistic, cripple Vietnam Vet. Sorry, I just don't buy it. And you won't either. Please, do me one favor, don't subject yourself to this "psychological thriller". You'll just end up playing Scrabble anyway.

This movie contains some of the worse dialogue and direction I've seen in years. No one seems to know what the hell is going on. What's the point? The dialogue and acting is uncertain and the little photographic tricks like freezing the frame at the end of every scene is ridiculous. Who is Alan Alda's character suppose to represent and why is he torturing these people? Although his character has presence and conviction, his inane dialogue betrays him every step of the way. What are his motives? Anyone?? The movie starts out like a 1960's hippie comedy(check out the opening credits and music) but then goes straight downhill. It looks like it might have been an interesting story(great location- a nearly deserted beach) but someone forgot to write a coherent story. Too bad. What a terrible waste of a young, cute Blythe Danner(in a bikini for the most part) and a young Alan Alda just before MASH. The movie feels like it's trying to make a point. Wish I knew what it was.