''The Love-Ins'' is a 1967 American counterculture-era

exploitation movie An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

about

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

that was directed by

Arthur Dreifuss Arthur Dreifuss (sometimes credited as Dreyfuss; March 25, 1908 – December 31, 1993)Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

and represents the 1960s San Francisco scene, particularly the

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture ...

district. The plot centers on a Leary-type figure becoming the head of a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

-like following of

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

who all enjoy the effects of LSD. The production seems to be a typical representation of the producer

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. E ...

's work. It featured a number of different musical acts popular at the time. The themes dealt with include drug use and

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

. The film was generally poorly received with a few exceptions.

Plot

Patricia Cross and her boyfriend Larry Osborne, two students in a San Francisco school, become expelled for the publication of an off-campus underground paper. As a result, a philosophy professor, Dr. Jonathon Barnett, resigns his teaching position and decides to become an advocate for the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. H ...

youth movement and specifically the use of LSD. The hippies of the Haight-Ashbury district (including Larry and Patricia) first see him as a hero and then as something more. Dr. Barnett makes an appearance on the

Joe Pyne Joe Pyne (December 22, 1924 – March 23, 1970) was an American radio and television talk show host, who pioneered the confrontational style in which the host advocates a viewpoint and argues with guests and audience members. He was an influence ...

TV show to exppress his support of the hippie community and the use of LSD. One scheming young man sees the opportunity to build Dr. Barnett as the head of a cult centered on the use of LSD. He hopes to earn profit from the users, Dr. Barnett's speeches known as "happenings", and their lifestyles. At a massive LSD-fueled dance, Patricia begins to have a

bad trip A bad trip (also known as challenging experiences, acute intoxication from hallucinogens, psychedelic crisis, or emergence phenomenon) is an acute adverse psychological reaction to classic hallucinogens. With proper screening, preparation, and su ...

which leads to an argument between her and Larry, ultimately splitting up the couple. After Patricia realizes that she is pregnant, Dr. Barnett advises her to have an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, ultimately leading to her attempting suicide. However, Larry saves her and makes the destruction of Dr. Barnett's cult his primary objective. Larry shoots Dr. Barnett from the crowd at one of his massive speeches. As another hippie in attendance calms the audience and Elliot sees his new leader for their cult-like organization, Larry realizes that his assassination of Dr. Barnett simply made him a martyr for the hippie movement.

Cast

The cast incorporated a number of current musical acts, real-life news figure Joe Pyne, actors, as well as extras who were from the Haight-Ashbury district at the time. * Richard Todd as Dr. Jonathan Barnett * James MacArthur as Larry Osborne * Susan Oliver as Patricia Cross * Mark Goddard as Elliott * Carol Booth as Harriet Henning * Marc Cavell as Mario *

Janee Michelle Janee Michelle (born Geneva Leona Mercadel; 1946), also known as Gee Tucker, is an American actress, former model, dancer, and businessperson, best known for her role in the 1974 horror film '' The House on Skull Mountain''. Her acting and model ...

as Lamelle * Ronnie Eckstine as Bobby * Michael Evans as Rev. Spencer * Hortense Petra as Mrs. Sacaccio * Jimmy Lloyd as Mr. Henning *

Mario Roccuzzo Mario Roccuzzo (November 9, 1940 – October 9, 2021) was an American actor, most commonly known for his episodic roles on television police dramas, although he played various parts on significant sitcoms and in films. His appearances include ''H ...

as Hippie on LSD * Joe Pyne as Himself *

Donnie Brooks Donnie Brooks (born John Dee Abohosh; February 6, 1936 – February 23, 2007) was an American pop music singer. Brooks is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Early life Born in Dallas, Texas, Abohosh moved to Ventura, California in his te ...

as Specialty Act * The U.F.O.'s as Themselves * The New Age as Themselves * Bill Baldwin as Reporter (uncredited) *

Frank Coghlan Jr. Frank Coghlan Jr. (March 15, 1916 – September 7, 2009) also known as Junior Coghlan, was an American actor who later became a career officer in the United States Navy and a naval aviator. He appeared in approximately 129 films and televis ...

as Reporter in Park (uncredited) * Richard Hoyt as Reporter (uncredited) Actress Susan Oliver, who portrays the main character Patricia Cross, was disillusioned by the film due to its serious subject manner and the exploitation style in which it would be produced. She said, "I'd turned it down flat at first, since the script was a trivialization of the whole Timothy Leary, flower-child, hippie scene then going on." However, producers and friends involved in the picture promised her that the topic would be done tastefully. Later, she realized it was just an exploitation and cried at the wrap party.

Production

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

released the film in 1967. Sam Katzman produced the film. According to Jeff Stafford, Katzman had made a name of making cheap exploitations films in either popular genres or in relation to popular fads of the time.

The term "love-ins"

"Love-in" is a name given to a gathering in the promotion of love for the enjoyment of participants either personally or in relation to social activism. In the context of the title, it refers to the psychedelic and social activism conducted by Timothy Leary, who in the film is represented by the character Dr. Barnett whose philosophy is "Be more. Sense More. Love more."

Music

The film featured a number of

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...

bands at the time. The garage band The Chocolate Watchband made an appearance in the film as well as contributing music. The film also featured 1960s bands, such as The UFO's,

and the New Age Group. Hollywood music director and composer Fred Karger also contributed original music for the film. Although not a musical, the film does feature a large musical sequence in which a main character, Patricia Cross, has a bad LSD trip and goes into an ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''-themed sequence. Cross imagines that she is Alice and meets men dressed in White Rabbit costumes as well as other representations of characters from

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

's story over the course of a lengthy, free-form, disco musical sequence.

Themes

The film deals with many themes in tune with 1960s counterculture. One theme throughout the film deals with the aspect of the Haight-Ashbury district and its drug counterculture, with Dr. Barnett as the film's representation of Timothy Leary. Like Leary, Barnett endorses an LSD lifestyle. As Barnett says in the film, "LSD opens up new vistas and experiences to those that take it. I believe that every healthy person should try it. This is a way of life: Be more. Sense more. Love more." The film also showed the downfall of certain individuals as the result of such a lifestyle, in particular with the film's treatment of its protagonists Larry and Patricia. Another theme is the creation of martyrs, reflected in the film's final act, in which Larry thinks he has destroyed the head of the cult-like following only to find a ready replacement in another hippie from the organization.

Reception

Many critics dismissed the film as "a typical exploitation film." However, a few notable exceptions exist. ''Variety'' magazine called it a "good exploitation film of San Francisco's hippie movement…a solid, if standard story, fringed in fine style with love-ins and hippie happenings…art direction is slick and colorful."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Love-Ins 1967 films 1960s teen films 1960s exploitation films Films set in the 1960s Films set in San Francisco Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco Hippie films Films about hallucinogens Lysergic acid diethylamide Psychedelic films American teen films Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Arthur Dreifuss 1960s American films