Red Buttons, Sylvia Miles & Sam Waterston in Who Killed Mary What's'er Name? (1971)

Obscurity factor: 10

This forgotten little film has some great talent in it. On his release from the hospital after going into insulin shock, Mickey (Red Buttons) goes straight to the scene of a crime no one else cares about - the murder of a hooker in lower Manhattan. As he tries to find out what happened he enlists the aid of an out of work insurance investigator (Conrad Bain), an avant gard film maker (Waterston) and his daughter, played with great aplomb by Alice Playton. He's not exactly welcome in the ghetto but the former boxing champ isn't discouraged easily. Along the way he meets Christina (Miles), another hooker, Boulting (David Doyle) a stock broker and Larry (Ron Carey) a bartender. But who is the culprit?

MoviePosterShop.com

Though this film drags a little around the middle, it's great to see these performers early on in their careers. It's moody, dark and cornerish and shows a seedy side of the city that's virtually non-existant now.

It's not available on YouTube, it doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry. Above is the radio spot for it, along with some stills, uploaded by DIODT2008. It can be watched in its entirety on YouTube but the uploader has disabled embedding. Click the link for part 1: http://youtu.be/7j3N6DXQvck

Obscurity factor: 10 (virtually unknown today, not on DVD, can be watched on YouTube)

Judy Garland & Robert Goulet in Gay Purr-ee (1963)

This will be the third in Brini's Obscurity Factory screening series for Monday, March 28th. It's really an obscure classic. Judy Garland plays Mewsette, a simple French country cat who happens to be very beautiful. She yearns for the sophistication of Paris and decides to make her way there, much to the chagrin to her virile boyfriend Jaune Tom (Goulet). When he finds out she's left, he and his sidekick Robsepierre (Red Buttons) set out to find her. They aren't in time to save her from the clutches of Meowrice and his evil band of alley cats who want to sell Mewsette off to the highest bidder as a mail order bride.

Featured in the film is a charming original score by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen. The animation was spearheaded by the Chuck Jones team. Look for a beautiful sequence of paintings done in the style of famous artists featuring Mewsette. Also look... or listen rather for Hermione Gingold, Morey Amsterdam and Mel Blanc in the cast.

This film is rarely screened anymore, though it is available on DVD. It can also be watched (albeit with commentary by a Disney fan) on YouTube, but you're better off coming to the screening on Monday if you're in New York. The trailer can be seen above, uploaded to YouTube by TheManThatGetAway. The poster above can be bought at MoviePosterShop.com

Obscurity factor: 5 (fondly remembered by many from their childhood, available on DVD, rarely screened)