''The Grasshopper'' is a 1970 drama film directed by

Jerry Paris William Gerald Paris (July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', and for directing the majo ...

. It stars

Jacqueline Bisset Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in '' The Detective'', ''Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet Ride'', for which she rec ...

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sab ...

and Christopher Stone.

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

appears in a small role.

Plot

Christine Adams, a cheerful 19-year-old from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, travels to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

to be with her fiance, who works there in a bank. When the relationship doesn't work out, she moves to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

. She finds work as a

showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...

and meets Tommy Marcott, an African-American former pro football player who holds an executive position at the casino, though in truth he is only used as a "celebrity greeter." They fall in love and get married, but when Tommy gives a severe beating to a wealthy casino patron who had beaten and raped Christine, they flee Vegas, discussing the possibility that the casino patron will seek revenge. In Los Angeles, Tommy is unable to get a good job and his and Christine's relationship suffers, and then Tommy is shot dead on a basketball court, likely the anticipated act of revenge. After the funeral, Christine has a bad reaction to illicit drugs she consumes in her grief. She returns to Las Vegas and finds work as a V.I.P. "party girl". In that capacity she meets and is persuaded by wealthy client Richard Morgan to return to Los Angeles and be his mistress. Christine is fond of Richard but she gets bored in her new life, so she becomes romantically involved with Jay Rigney, who she had previously known platonically. She convinces Jay that she can get enough money that they can buy a ranch together. However that plan is doomed when Richard asks Christine to marry him, wanting her to spend all her time with him. Jay persuades Christine that the only way they can keep the dream of getting a ranch alive is if she becomes a prostitute and he works as her pimp. She ends her relationship with Richard and for a while things go as they planned. However one night she returns to the apartment she shares with Jay to discover he has left her and taken all of their money. Christine goes to the airport where Richard’s private plane is kept and, by promising “some fun” and sharing a

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

joint, induces airfield employee Elroy, who she had previously flirted with, to take her up in a skywriting plane. Still sharing the joint, Christine has Elroy write "FUCK IT" across the sky, to the amusement or consternation of those below. The police take away Christine and Elroy when they land. While being arrested Christine is asked her age, to which she replies, “twenty-two”.

Cast

as Christine Adams *

as Tommy Marcott *

as Richard Morgan *

Corbett Monica Matthew Corbett Monica (June 1, 1930 – July 22, 1998) was an American comedian who appeared 18 times on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. He also was a frequent guest host of ''The Tonight Show'' with Johnny Carson, and was one of 'The Comics' at the C ...

as Danny Raymond * Christopher Stone as Jay Rigney *

Ramon Bieri Ramon Arens Bieri (June 16, 1929 – May 27, 2001) was an American actor who starred in many films and TV shows. Television work Bieri starred as the title character in the NBC sitcom ''Joe's World'', from December 1979 to July 1980, playing ...

as Roosevelt Dekker *

Ed Flanders Edward Paul Flanders (December 29, 1934 – February 22, 1995) was an American actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Donald Westphall in the medical drama series ''St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988). Flanders was nominated for eight Primetime Emm ...

as Jack Benton *

William Callaway William Ronald Callaway (born March 11, 1940) is an American retired voice actor. He is also known as Bill Callaway and Bill Calloway. He is known for playing Aquaman in ''Super Friends''. Filmography Animated roles * ''Aladdin'' - Zarasto * '' ...

as Elroy * Roger Garrett as Buck Brown * William Bassett as Aaron * Marc Hannibal as Marion Walters

Production

Parts of the film were shot in Heber, Utah. Bisset later said there "were good bits" in the film. "It could have been interesting. The girl in that film was a female '' Alfie''."Movies: The decisive, decorative, diplomatic Miss Bisset Kramer, Carol. Chicago Tribune 11 Mar 1973: e6.

Release

The film opened in Chicago and San Francisco in the week ended May 27, 1970.

Home media

''The Grasshopper'' was released March 23, 2009 on DVD by Warner Bros. via the Warner Archive DVD-on-demand service.

Reception

The film grossed $46,000 in its opening week.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grasshopper, The 1970 films Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films directed by Jerry Paris Films scored by Billy Goldenberg Films with screenplays by Jerry Belson Films shot in Utah 1970s English-language films American drama films 1970s American films