American cinema in the 1970s was so full, rich and varied that you could fill several volumes of books with overlooked and underrated gems. We all know and love the recognised masterpieces, the Oscar winners and quotable classics, but every film buff has their own list of movies that they wish more people had seen.
This is true of all decades of course, but one could argue that the seventies are more full of obscure bits of gold worth discovering than any other time. Join me, then, as I uncover ten more great American films from the 1970s, some more forgotten than others.
1. The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975)
Though the world knows and loves Gene Wilder for the legendary likes of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, his films with Richard Pryor (including Silver Streak and Stir Crazy), as well as his various collaborations with Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Young Frankenstein), one true gem of his that has sadly become lost in time is the 1975 comedy, The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother.
Written and directed by Wilder, he also takes the lead role as Sigerson Holmes, brother of the more famous Sherlock. As the movie begins, the legendary sleuth decides to lay low for a while and hands over a “difficult” case to his younger, less secure and considerably less brilliant sibling. The case leads him to Jenny Hill, a music hall singer played by Madeline Kahn, a shady crook named Eduardo Gambetti (Dom DeLuise) and Holmes’ great nemesis Moriarty (Leo McKern), all the while being assisted by the mild mannered Sgt. Sacker (Marty Feldman), a chap whose photographic memory proves incredibly helpful.
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother is a total treat from start to finish, the jokes coming thick and fast, and the highly quotable dialogue almost constant. Wilder’s script is both hilarious and genuinely well structured, encompassing song and dance routines, musical numbers, slapstick mayhem and clever wordplay. The performances are faultless, from Wilder’s lead effort to Kahn’s spectacular turn as Hill. One must also mention how funny DeLuise is here, while the ever reliable Roy Kinnear is also brilliant as Moriarty’s simple minded accomplice, Finney. (It’s also worth listening out for Mel Brooks’ voice cameo.)
The film was a massive hit at the time of release and was greeted warmly by critics. Sadly it isn’t as well known and loved today as it should be, at least in my opinion, and definitely deserves firm comedy classic status.
2. The Visitors (1972)
Elia Kazaan’s The Visitors concerns a young Vietnam vet named Bill (played by James Woods) who lives with his wife and son on her father’s farm. One day, two of his supposed buddies arrive, unannounced and out of nowhere. It turns out they are old army friends from ‘Nam, but the men harbour dark secrets from the past, which they are about to bring into Bill’s supposedly idyllic family life.
Low budget, raw and gritty, The Visitors has a tension running through it which is at times suffocating; even from the opening scene with the baby crying and the young couple’s early interactions, the unease bubbles and it’s clear something unpleasant will occur down the line. When the two soldiers arrive, it’s revealed that Bill is going to inform on his old allies, who raped and killed a girl in Vietnam, and the unease one feels at the very start is justified.
The Visitors was scripted by Elia’s son Chris and was shot around the Kazan country house. Creaky in parts, its rough and readiness actually works in the film’s favour. The film was inspired by true events, and written as a kind of sequel to Daniel Lang’s article on the infamous Incident on Hill 192. Lang himself later expanded it into a book, Casualties of War, which was brought to the screen by Brian De Palma in 1988.
Naturally, given its source material, The Visitors is engaging, but for me the main reason to watch it today is for Woods, for the first time the star of a film. As far as starring debuts go, it’s remarkably assured and he shows early promise, completely at one with his character. It may be the most obscure Kazaan movie there is, but it proved that the old master still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
3. The Crazies (1973)
Just as Night of the Living Dead defined the modern zombie movie and started off decades of imitations and reimaginings of the slow moving undead scenario, The Crazies arguably single-handedly invented the highly popular panicky apocalyptic pandemic movie. Without The Crazies, there’d be none of those high paced fright fests consisting of fast moving, foamy mouthed infected fiends out to feast upon you and tear you limb from limb.
In a world without The Crazies, there’s no Rabid, no Shivers, no 28 Days Later, no Cabin Fever; the list goes on. But while Night of the Living Dead’s mighty influence is voiced time and again in both horror and mainstream circles, widely recognised by even the most casual of horror fans as the singular daddy of the zombie flick, The Crazies’ appeal is more cult, underground, and as Romero himself would say, trollish. It might have made only a small dint of impact at the time of its release, but The Crazies is another one of Romero’s terrifying, traumatic gems which has lasted through time and remains a classic after all these decades.
The plot starts with a plane crashing in Pennsylvania, which releases a mysterious virus which gets into the water supply (Cabin Fever anyone?) and begins to turn the town’s folk utterly mad and homicidal in their urges. Back in the early 70s, what with the Cold War and Vietnam still very much clogging up the air, The Crazies must have been a distressing film to watch. But now, a time where we are constantly on our toes waiting for the next horrifying news items of bloody terrorism and mass hysteria, it’s hardly a pleasant watch. It’s bleak, claustrophobic, and totally plausible too.
In The Crazies, Romero tells us we are helpless against the establishment and their decisions, no matter how hurriedly they are acted out. It’s chilling to think that if they wanted us sealed off, shot, disposed of, or out of the picture all together, they’d be able to achieve that in very little time and have a reasonable explanation for doing so. Despite its obvious technical imperfections then, this is a very important film, the first in a sub-genre that gradually grew out of its low key arrival.
4. Time After Time (1979)
Despite being a star since the start of the decade, Malcolm McDowell’s first above the title Hollywood blockbuster was 1979’s Time After Time, an exciting sci-fi adventure with a potentially daft plot premise which, largely because of the appealing performances, manages to stay grounded. Once you get over the initial ludicrous plot, which involves HG Wells perusing Jack the Ripper through 1970s USA after they transport from the 1890s in a time machine, you will enjoy this film. Wells feels he has to stop this killer and save the future from his menace, a future which he believes will be some Heavenly Utopia. What follows is a light suspense thriller with surprisingly gory murder scenes and a quick pace.
Nicholas Meyer’s direction is suffocatingly tense and his script is very clever at times. One of the most chilling and poignant moments in the film is when the positive, almost naive Wells’ dark realisation that the future is a scary place, and nothing at all like his hopeful vision. Worse still, within this sobering reality, Jack the Ripper is an amateur in comparison to what horror 1970s America has to offer. Light relief is had in the romantic sub plot which involves McDowell and Mary Steenburgen as a bank clerk. The duo are incredibly charming together, and there was obviously more than acting going on. Indeed, the two actors fell in love on set and later married.
McDowell, for once not playing the villain, is marvellous, showing a side to his talent that is criminally underused. He perfects his role as the overwhelmed gentleman; soft spoken, well mannered, kind and sensitive, qualities that none of his previous roles had so strongly. David Warner, who is quite simply one of the most reliable actors of all time, is great as the frighteningly unpredictable villain; tense, strange and sinister. Although it may have aged a bit, Time After Time is still a classic piece of Hollywood fun, with plenty of thrills and some simply wonderful moments. It also deserves as lot more attention in retrospective views on 1970s cinema.
5. Murder by Decree (1979)
The cinematic world of Sherlock Holmes is a varied and endlessly entertaining place, full of both straight forward adaptations of Doyle’s classic stories and more experimental, imaginative fare. Definitely among the latter is 1979’s Murder by Decree, an all star romp which has a genuinely clever premise and runs with it without becoming tiresome.
Directed by Bob Clark, and with a screenplay by John Hopkins (based on the book The Ripper File by John Lloyd and Elwyn Jones), it stars Christopher Plummer as Holmes and James Mason as Watson, who are on the trail of Jack the Ripper in late 1880s Whitechapel. There’s a wonderful supporting cast which includes David Hemmings as Inspector Foxborough, alongside Donald Sutherland, Frank Finlay and John Geilgud.
The plot premise has been used again, but the idea of Holmes setting his sights on the Ripper was an inspired one at the time. Clark directs beautifully, transporting the viewer back to the shadowy atmosphere of late 19th century London, and the script stays subtle and grounded while still delivering the goods and keeping you guessing until the final reel.
Murder by Decree was a modest success upon release and the critics loved it too. As the years have gone by, however, it has slowly faded away, though it does pop up on TV now and then. It’s one of those enjoyable experiences where you find yourself spoilt rotten by the general fun and the dazzling cast, which is full tot he brim with the kind of solid actors we took for granted in days gone by.