Tag Archives: Pat Hingle

When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder

Red Ryder poster

This week I’d like to welcome someone to the site who knows more about seventies popular culture that many people have forgotten, Melbourne’s own maestro of pulp sleaze, John Harrison.

I recently managed to catch the very rare 1979 Milton Katselas film, When You Comin’ Back Red Ryder. I was keen to review it for Pulp Curry, but doing a bit of research I stumbled across this piece by John that really says everything there is to say about this lost classic and more. John was nice enough to allow me to reprint it in full on my site.

Like John, I first caught the film on late night television in the eighties and it’s fascinated me ever since. I’m thrilled to be able to post such a comprehensive piece about it on Pulp Curry.

The review originally appeared on Harrison’s own excellent site, Sin Street Sleaze. It’s a great resource on horror and grindhouse movies, as well as John’s own unique brand of pop culture observation.

Welcome John.

Based on a stage play by Mark Medoff (who also penned the screenplay for this cinematic adaptation), When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder is a hard film to categorise. Social commentary, psychological thriller, dark character study, seedy grindhouse exploitation film – all of these are applicable, yet none of them seem wholly suitable.… Read more

WUSA

Has anyone ever done dissolute as well as Paul Newman?

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Hud, The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, and the little known WUSA.

WUSA numbers among that great batch of films made in the early seventies, when the Hollywood studio system was in crisis and desperate to give anything a try. The counter-culture had worked its way into the mainstream (but was dying on the streets), the country was struggling to come to terms with its increasing violent engagement in Vietnam.

Released in 1970 and set in New Orleans, WUSA is a character study of three people, all in the wrong place at the wrong time, even if they don’t know it yet.

Joanne Woodward is Geraldine, a dishwater blond with a razor cut across one check courtesy of the abusive husband she left behind in Texas.

Anthony Perkins is Rainey, an idealistic Christian who thinks he’s been employed to do a survey to help the city’s black population, but has actually been set up by the city’s right-wing politicians to help them throw people off welfare.

Newman is Rheinhardt, a cynical alcoholic drifter. His first point of call after arriving in New Orleans is a church service on skid row being run by a fafe priest, Farley, who owes Rheinhardt a hundred dollars from a previous scam in New York. … Read more