Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn & Larry Hagman in Harry and Tonto (1974)

Paul Mazursky has had an interesting career. His work was so relevant to cultural trends in the 60's and 70's. That period of his filmmaking is a remarkable time capsule of the era. This film is part of that, but like his best work, also has something to say about people and relationships. Harry (Art Carney) feels out of place as a septuagenerian in a society increasingly focused on the young. Aside from a few old friends, the only real companion he has left is Tonto, his cat. The brutality of the city has dented and tarnished his life, and when his apartment building is slated for demolition, he has a crisis that is temporarily placated by moving in with his son and his family. The discomfort of the living arrangements  drive Harry to a cross country odyssey where he visits friends and family, meets strangers who have gifts for him and learns to shed the identity of a victim and own his power.

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This film, for which Carney won a best actor Oscar, made quite an impression on the American public at the time, though it has since fallen into relative obscurity. The "road picture" nature of the film allows for a great series of memorable small parts and cameos. Look for Ellen Burstyn as Harry's daughter, Larry Hagman as his younger son, Geraldine Fitzgerald as an old flame, Chief Dan George as a Native American medicine man, Barbara Rhodes as a hooker and a delightful turn by Melanie Mayron as a runaway.

Harry and Tonto is available on DVD. Above is the trailer for the film, uploaded to YouTube by Mazurskyfilm.

Obscurity factor: 7 (somewhat known for it's Oscar winning performance by Carney, otherwise largely forgotten, on DVD)

Joan Collins & Larry Hagman in Up In the Cellar (1970)

70's era sexual politics and student unrest are the subjects of this trivial farce. Colin Slade loses his scholarship due to a computer error. When the powers that be, namely the University president Maurice Camber (Hagman) refuse to address the matter, Slade decides to sleep with his wife, daughter and mistress. This complicates Camber's run for the senate and hilarity ensues.

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Though very much of its time, this film has some charming elements to it. Joan Collins has fun with her American accent, Larry Hagman seems to relish playing the villain long before his successful run on Dallas (1978) and though marginally successful, the film led to an appearance for Wes Stern on The Mary Tyler Moor Show, playing a similarly lecherous character in an episode titled "He's All Yours" the same year.

The film is difficult to find. it's not on DVD, but can be found on Modcinema.com. They uploaded the clip above to YouTube.

Obscurity factor: 10 (hard to find, not on DVD, almost completely forgotten)

Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman & Vera Miles in A Howling in the Woods (1971)

Liza Crocker (Eden) heads home to a small town in Nevada to escape a bad marriage. When she gets there she finds her step mother (Miles) and step brother (John Rubinstein) and a whole lot of unexpected hostility from the town folk. What she doesn't find is her father, who she is told, has left on an extended trip to Mexico for an archeological dig. As she attempts to sort things out she learns that a child was recently murdered and begins to feel like she's in some danger herself. Complicating matters, her husband (Hagman) arrives and she must deal with his reaction to her unexpected departure. Will she be able to sort everything out before she falls victim to the murderer herself?

Thanks to Leighton for this find. It's a fine kick-off to October - atmospheric and mysterious. It's interesting to see Eden and Hagman in something so different from their hit sitcom. Look for Lisa Gerritson (Bess from Mary Tyler Moore) and Tyne Daily in small roles.

This film isn't available on DVD, though it's been uploaded to YouTube in full. Part one is above, uploaded by TVTERRORLAND.

Obscurity factor: 9 (almost completely forgotten, not on DVD, available on YouTube)

Lauren Bacall & Larry Hagman in Applause (1973)

Obscurity factor: 9

Lauren Bacall made a big splash on Broadway in 1970 with Applause. It's the musical version of the Bette Davis classic All About Eve and it was a big enough hit to inspire this 1973 CBS Television special event. Also starring Larry Hagman (fresh off his success in I Dream of Jeannie) as Bill Sampson and Penny Fuller as Eve, the production lacks the luster of the Broadway success, but has some numbers that are great fun to watch and is noteworthy as the only taped record of Bacall's performance in the show.

Above: the Broadway cast album artwork

The story is a familiar one, established Broadway star Margot Channing (Bacall) takes little Eve Harrington (Fuller) under he wing. Eve charms all Margot's friends, but Margot begins to suspect that Eve is out to take her place. The musical numbers are full of great energy. My personal favorite is "But Alive" which is performed primarily in a gay bar - big news for 1973.

Bootleg copies of this have been passed around among friends and sold on iOffer.com for years now, but if you haven't been in the know it hasn't been available to you. Consider yourself in the know now. You can also find it uploaded in full to YouTube. Installment one is above.

Obscurity factor: 9 (only available on iOffer.com and YouTube)

Stockard Channing & Joseph Bologna in The Big Bus 1976

Before the Airplane franchise that revitalized Leslie Nielsen's career there was this 1976 disaster movie parody. The Big Bus had it all - action, suspense, danger... On the cutting edge of technology, the nuclear powered Cyclops is the first luxury bus. For its maiden run - a non stop trip from New York to Denver - after a bomb wipes out the driver and co-driver the team turns to Dan Torrence (Joseph Bologna), a promising bus driver with a dark incident in his past that kiboshed his brilliant career. The film follows the progress of the enormous Cyclops as it navigates the route to Denver and a minefield of attempts to sideline it by a group of oil sheiks and Iron Man, a diabolical villain in an iron lung. Also featured in the cast are a veritable who's who of 70's Hollywood actors - Ned Beatty, Lynn Redgrave, Sally Kellerman, Larry Hagman, Richard Mulligan Jose Ferrer and the irrepressible Ruth Gordon.

The centerpiece of the action is the bus itself - an articulated double decker affair with 32 wheels, wrap around windows and a graphic, orange and yellow paint scheme. It was fitted out with an amazing assortment of features, including automatic, enroute tire changer and flags of the world that sprang from the roof at the touch of a button. Inside were found a cocktail lounge, captains dining room, swimming pool and bowling alley. Here, in a clip uploaded to YouTube by clipfilmix we see the bus making its first appearance:





If you enjoy disaster movies, or parodies of them, then The Big Bus is a must see.

Obscurity factor: 4 (available on DVD, rarely shown on television, footage available on YouTube, recent enough to still be remembered by many)