''Sweet Savior'' is a 1971 film directed by Robert L. Roberts (credited as "Bob Roberts"), written by

Willie Gilbert Willie Gilbert (24 February 1916 – 2 December 1980) was an American author and playwright. Born William Gomberg in Cleveland, Ohio, Gilbert's proclivity for creating gags emerged as the humor writer for the Glenville High School ''Torch' ...

(under the pseudonym "Matt Cavanaugh"), and starring

Troy Donahue Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor and singer. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Born in New York City, Donahue was ...

as a

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

-type cult leader. It was also known as ''The Idiotic Couple'' and ''Frenetic Party'', and ultimately released on video by

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

as ''The Love-Thrill Murders''.

Production

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...

was the production manager. Troy Donahue said while promoting the film:

I play Moon, a religious creep who murders a lot of people, a real heavy trip. But I don't want anyone to think I'm playing it in some phony exploitation flick that takes advantage of the Manson case to make a fast buck. I don't like many things, man, but I dig this picture... We're trying to show both sides of the problem. The Hollywood glamor society is as guilty as the depraved hippy cults. They pick up people on the Sunset Boulevard and tease them. When they made fun of Manson they picked on the wrong guy. I was up at the Tate house. It was a freaky scene. Sure I met Manson at the beach playing volleyball.

Director Bob Roberts said:

I had the idea not to make the Mason story per se but to inform people the
Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...
thing was not just an isolated incident. Many other cults are murdering people. They're just not as publicised. There are a lot of so-called families like Mason's with one dictatorial leader who controls his group through drugs, pills, sex, LSD and many other ways. These people are a threat to the fabric of society because they commit murder without conscience.

"This is going to be a very big picture," said Donahue. "I have a feeling it's going to be bigger than ''Love Story''."

References

External links

*
Review
at TrashFilm Guru 1971 films American thriller films 1970s thriller films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{1970s-thriller-film-stub

Production

See also

References

External links