drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
exploitation film
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 ...
elements. It stars
Tony Franciosa
Anthony George Franciosa (né Papaleo; October 25, 1928 – January 19, 2006) was an American actor most often billed as Tony Franciosa at the height of his career. He began his career on stage and made a breakthrough portraying the brother of t ...
,
Michael Sarrazin
Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011)
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 ...
in an early starring role. The film also features
Bob Denver
Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television series ''Gilligan's Island'', and beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series ''The Ma ...
draft dodger
Draft evasion is any successful attempt to elude a government-imposed obligation to serve in the military forces of one's nation. Sometimes draft evasion involves refusing to comply with the military draft laws of one's nation. Illegal draft ev ...
. Sarrazin and Bisset were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer, Male and Female respectively.
''The Sweet Ride'' was directed by
Harvey Hart
Harvey Hart (August 30, 1928 – November 21, 1989) was a Canadian television and film director and a television producer.
Hart studied at the University of Toronto before being hired by the CBC in 1952.Rist, Peter Harry (2001). "Harvey Ha ...
and written by
Tom Mankiewicz
Thomas Frank Mankiewicz (June 1, 1942 – July 31, 2010) was an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television whose credits included ''James Bond'' films and his contributions to '' Superman: The Movie'' (1978) a ...
, based on a 1967 novel of the same name by William Murray, a native of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, who had moved to southern
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
in 1966.
Plot
The story, told in flashbacks, concerns a middle-aged tennis bum (Franciosa) who shares a beach house with Sarrazin and Denver. Their carefree life becomes complicated, and later turns tragic, after they become involved with a mysterious young woman (Bisset) and a biker gang.
The
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
band
Moby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...
contributed to the soundtrack, and appeared, credited, in the film, performing the song "Never Again" in a Sunset Strip nightclub called the Tarantula. Other famous Sunset Strip locations include
Gazzarri's
Gazzarri's was a nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. The Doors and Van Halen were featured house bands there before being signed to major record labels. It was the backdrop for Huey Lewis and the News' shor ...
and
Scandia
Scandza was described as a "great island" by Gothic-Byzantine historian Jordanes in his work ''Getica''. The island was located in the Arctic regions of the sea that surrounded the world. The location is usually identified with Scandinavia.
Jor ...
, as well as location filming in Malibu, according to reviews of the film.
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...
sings "Sweet Ride" over the film's opening credits.
Cast
*
Tony Franciosa
Anthony George Franciosa (né Papaleo; October 25, 1928 – January 19, 2006) was an American actor most often billed as Tony Franciosa at the height of his career. He began his career on stage and made a breakthrough portraying the brother of t ...
as Collie Ransom
*
Michael Sarrazin
Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011)
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 ...
as Vickie Cartwright
*
Bob Denver
Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television series ''Gilligan's Island'', and beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series ''The Ma ...
as Choo-Choo Burns
*
Michael Wilding
Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, '' Under Capric ...
as Mr. Cartwright
*
Michele Carey
Michele Carey (born Michele Lee Henson; February 26, 1942 – November 21, 2018) was an American actress who was best known for her role as Josephine "Joey" MacDonald in the 1966 Western film '' El Dorado''. She appeared in movies and guest-star ...
as Thumper Stevens
* Lara Lindsay as Martha
*
Norma Crane
Norma Crane (born Norma Anna Bella Zuckerman; November 10, 1928 — September 28, 1973) was an American actress of stage, film, and television best known for her role as Golde in the 1971 film adaptation of '' Fiddler on the Roof''. She also sta ...
as Mrs. Cartwright
*
Percy Rodriguez
Percy Rodriguez (born Percy Rodrigues; June 13, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was a Canadian actor who appeared in many television shows and films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was of Afro-Portuguese heritage and was born in the Saint-Henri neig ...
as Lieutenant Harvey Atkins
*
Warren Stevens
Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor.
Early life and career
Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...
as Brady Caswell
*
Pat Buttram
Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram (June 19, 1915 – January 8, 1994) was an American character actor. Buttram was known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the television series ''Green Acres''. He had ...
Lloyd Gough
Lloyd Gough (born Michael Gough; September 21, 1907 – July 23, 1984) was an American theater, film, and television actor.
Life and career
Born Michael Gough in New York City, he was a noted character actor.
Married to actress-turned-activi ...
as Parker
*
Stacy King
Stacy King is an American former character actress of the 1960s. Red-haired and tall, King had guest-starring roles in ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''The show (and CBS) renders the title as ''Go ...
as Big Jane
*
Corinna Tsopei
Kyriaki "Corinna" Tsopei ( el, Κυριακή (Κορίννα) Τσοπέη; born 21 June 1944) is a Greek actress, model and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 1964.
Career
On 20 June 1964, Tsopei was crowned Miss Star Hellas by Miss Star Hellas ...
as Tennis Girl
*
Charles Dierkop
Charles Richard Dierkop (born September 11, 1936) is an American character actor. He is most recognized for his supporting roles in the films '' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973) and the television series ''Po ...
as Mr. Clean
* Arthur Franz as Psychiatrist
* Paul Condylis as Sergeant Soloman (uncredited)
* Lou Procopio as Diablo (uncredited)
* Ralph Lee as Scratch (uncredited)
Bullitt
''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...
'' starring Steve McQueen.
Tom Mankiewicz, who wrote the screenplay, later said the problem with the film was "it tried to touch all the bases at once: drama, comedy, porn, dropouts, surfing, true love, a touch of perversion, and the general malaise of 1960s young people.
Frankie
Frankie may refer to:
People
*Frankie (musician), indie pop musician from Los Angeles, California
* Frankie Abernathy (1981–2007), American MTV Real World cast member
*Frankie Adams (born 1994), Samoan New Zealand actress
*Frankie Avalon (born ...
and
Annette Annette may refer to:
Film and television
* '' Walt Disney Presents: Annette'', 1950s television series
* ''Annette'' (film), a 2021 musical film
Other
* Annette (given name), list of people with the name
* Annette Island, Alaska
* Tropical Stor ...
it definitely wasn't."Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Crane, ''My Life as a Mankiewicz'', University Press of Kentucky 2012 p 94
Mankiewicz also says producer Joe Pasternak had suffered a stroke shortly before filming which impacted his effectiveness.
Box Office
According to Fox records the film required $3,950,000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $2,600,000 so made a loss.
Musical score and soundtrack
The score was composed, arranged and conducted by
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) was an American jazz composer, arranger and record producer.
Life and career
Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settle ...
except the main title written by
Lee Hazlewood
Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960 ...
and performed by
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...
with the soundtrack album released on the
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
review by Tony Wilds noted: "Rugolo hits many of the same areas that made several Lalo Schifrin soundtracks great, but unlike Schifrin, Rugolo lacks the killer pop instinct. It all sounds like soundtrack music (the average cut is only about two minutes long), and there's nothing here that hadn't been done better elsewhere, earlier.".
Track listing
All compositions by Pete Rugolo except where noted.
# "Sweet Ride (Main Title)" (
Lee Hazlewood
Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960 ...
) - - 2:02
# "Vicky Meets Danny"- 2:30
# "Collier's Riff" - 1:35
# "Come Bossa With Me" - 1:53
# "Thumper" - 1:20
# "My Name Is Mr. Clean" - 2:09
# "Lost Wages Brash" - 1:50
# "Turn Me On" - 3:08
# "Sock Me Choo Choo (Sweet Ride Theme)" (Lee Hazlewood) - 1:50
# "Bedroom Time" - 3:08
# "Where's The Melody" - 1:00
# "Swing Me Lightly" - 2:31
Personnel
*
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) was an American jazz composer, arranger and record producer.
Life and career
Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settle ...
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...
-
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...