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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: July 29th, 2015.
Director: John Hayes
Cast: Duncan McLeod, William Connors, Mary McGee/Sebastian Gregory, Sharon Matt, Genene Cooper
Year: 1970
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The Movies:
We haven't had a Drive-In Collection from Vinegar Syndrome in a while but this latest and greatest entry in the line more than makes up for that with a pair of fairly awesome quickies from the late, great John Hayes (the same guy who gave us The Cut-Throats and Grave Of The Vampire to name only a few).
SWEET TRASH:
In our first feature, Mike Donovan (Duncan McLeod credited as Patrick Shea) is a down on his look longshoreman who happens to have a pretty serious debt that's about to come due. Who does he owe the money to? Dan Carlisle (William Connors), a nasty loan shark who not only beats up on his poor lady friend but who will do whatever he needs to do to collect. Carlisle sets up a card game and Donovan goes all in, figuring he can do well enough to cover what he owes, but the guy drinks too much and he screws it all up.
When Donovan can't pay up, Carlisle has his thugs do what loan sharks have thugs do - threaten to beat the shit out of him and break various bones in his body. He's not really keen on this idea so he heads out into the streets in hopes that things will cool down, but mostly this is an excuse to hang out in nudie bars and get with seedy women. When Mike gets into a brawl with two toughs and then jumps on the subway to book it on out to the beach - a pretty solid escape plan when you think about it and a great excuse to show off some awesome period footage of Coney Island at the same time. His plan is to take solace in the arms of Helen (Mary McGee), a foxy thing that's had the hots for him for years now - but he'll have to make it to her in one piece and avoid the bad guys if that's going to work, and that won't be easy… particularly when there's a giant super computer pulling all the strings?!?!?
What starts off as a mix of character study and sleazy sites tour takes some decidedly bizarre turns in its last act and why exactly it does this is anyone's guess but as screwy as it all gets Sweet Trash is pretty entertaining stuff. There's a lot of awesome New York City location footage that takes us not just through parts of Manhattan but way out into Brooklyn too - the Coney Island footage is reason enough to give this disc a spin. It offers the movie some great atmosphere and gives it that New York time capsule thing too.
In the middle of all of this is McLeod who plays his part really well. He's a scuzzy washed up drunk but something about his is endearing enough that we want him to make his escape. The supporting cast are all interesting and there are plenty of pretty (often semi-nude) ladies on display but McLeod is the one who does the most acting here and it's very much his show. He pulls it off too. This one is definitely out there, at least once it takes those strange turns that it takes, but so too is it a genuinely engrossing little sleaze epic.
THE HANG UP:
The Hang Up follows the exploits of Robert Walsh (Sebastian Gregory), a vice cop who works a beat in Los Angeles by dressing up in drag and heading out into the sleazy underworld of the City Of Angeles in hopes of catching crooks in the act. When we catch up with him he's trying to bust up a ring of dishonest cops who have a nice little racket going wherein they blackmail gay guys - pay up or we'll out you!
Walsh hates his job. He's constantly surrounded by the lowest of the low and it's taking a toll on him. The fact that he's not getting any younger doesn't help matters much and the only joy he gets when not at work is slipping it to his landlady and getting drunk by himself. All of this changes when he meets a sweet young lady of the evening who goes by Angel (Sharon Matt). He takes an instant liking to her and when he learns that the place is going to get busted he's kind enough to get her out of there before it happens so she doesn't have to do hard time. Soon enough, he takes her in and they're living together, much to the dismay of the guy who ran the brothel (Peter Balachoff) and beauty begins to tame the beast. We see a softer, gentler Walsh emerge and all of a sudden life doesn't seem to be so bad anymore - that is, until Angel's secret comes out…
Gregory plays his part with plenty of macho enthusiasm and it's actually kind of interesting to see how his character changes over the course of the movie. Balachoff, who also has a small role in the first movie, is creepy as the guy who runs the brothel while Sharon Matt is sexy, cute and charming in her own weird way. It's not such a stretch to think that Robert would fall for her - she's new to the business, or so she claims, so he sees in her a bit of innocence that he can rescue before it's too late.
We won't spoil this one but hot damn does it have a great ending. Before we get to that ending though we get loads of politically correct back and forth, some lovely tours of sleazy Los Angeles dives, some topless horseback riding and weird music aplenty. The whole thing just feels dirty in the best way possible and it wears its low budget on its sleeve like a badge of honor. The fact that it's insanely quick in the pacing department and that it's got some genuinely cool camera work to show off in spots helps here too.
Both films are definitely worth seeing if you dig cheap old trash movies like this - thrills, chills and spills aplenty abide in both pictures.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both films are presented in anamorphic widescreen framed at 1.85.1 and looking very good indeed. Restored in 2k from their respective 35mm negatives each film shows excellent color reproduction and aside from some minor damage, they both look quite clean as well. Black levels are good as are skin tones and there are no major issues here at all. You'll likely be quite impressed with how good these transfers look.
Both films get English language options in Dolby Digital Mono format, no subtitles or alternate language options are provided. There are a few spots that sound a bit flat but that's to be expected to an extent. Clarity and balance are fine here and if a bit of hiss creeps into the mix it shouldn't bother anyone as it's never really problematic. The movies sound fine.
The only extras on the disc are trailers for each feature. Static menus and chapter selection are available.
The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome's double feature release of Sweet Trash and The Hang Up is a good one, offering up both movies in fantastic shape and while this one is light on extras, there's more than enough entertainment value crammed into these puppies to make it all okay. This is a fun double dose of prime seventies trash, don't let it pass you by.
