Sue Bernard Movies

This genuinely perverse horror film stars John Savage as a young man forced to participate in the beachfront gang rape of Sue Bernard by his nasty friends. After two years in jail, he returns to the boardinghouse run by his mother (Ann Sothern), who does things like kissing him on the mouth and photographing him in the shower. Before long, he freaks out and strangles a cat while peeping at a new tenant (Cindy Williams), then almost drowns the poor girl in the pool before slashing her panties with a razor and choking her in the bathtub. He forces Bernard's car off a cliff, then makes his lawyer (Ruth Roman) drink herself stupid at knifepoint before setting her on fire. Savage and Sothern are fabulous and Luana Anders is creepy as the librarian next door who keeps trying to seduce the disturbed man. Quite a twisted little chiller, with several priceless bizarre moments like a dream sequence featuring a diapered Savage in a crib on the beach surrounded by laughing neighbors. The ubiquitous Gary Graver did 2nd unit photography. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

The long-running The Beverly Hillbillies entered the home stretch with the inauguration of yet another attenuated story arc on January 5, 1971. Having been informed that the beaches of Malibu have been "invaded" by those cute little fish known as grunion, the Clampetts are convinced that the U.S. is under attack from a foreign enemy. Thus, the hillbillies hightail it to Malibu to fend off the armies of the "Land of Grun." "The Grunion Invasion" was the series' 263rd episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Have you ever longed for the day when James Brown, Martha Raye, and Col. Harland Sanders would appear in a movie together? Well, that's barely the tip of the improbable casting iceberg in this bizarre cold-war spoof. The leaders of the American intelligence organization the S.S.A. ("Super Secret Agency") are becoming increasingly alarmed by the disappearance of a number of B-list celebrities, who are being spirited off to Communist Albania. Eager to bring the fading stars back to the Land of the Free, the S.S.A. come up with a simple plan: They'll find four typical guys in their mid-twenties, have them form a rock group, make them into international stars, and wait until they get invited to play a gig in Albania, which will allow them to find out what's become of Rudy Vallee, Butterfly McQueen, and Huntz Hall, among others. Unemployed philosopher Michael A. Miller, Native-American honor student Ray Chippeway, phys-ed major Dennis Larden, and male model Lonny Stevens are drafted by the S.S.A., and after some intensive training by experts (Trini Lopez shows them a few guitar chords, and Richard Pryor gives them a crash course in soul), they become an overnight sensation as The Phynx (yes, it's pronounced "Finks"). Their album sells 17 million copies on the strength of songs like "What Is Your Sign?," and their groupies have to be cleared away by forklift. But fun and games have to go to the back burner when Albanian ruler Markevitch (George Tobias) and his wife, Ruby (Joan Blondell), invite the Phynx to perform at the behest of their son. Pat O'Brien, Xavier Cugat, Patty Andrews, and Dick Clark are just a few of the other notables who make cameo appearances in The Phynx, which had a very brief theatrical release before being sold to television in the early '70s. Legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller penned the songs performed by The Phynx (and Stoller composed the background score), though for some reason they're not covered nearly as often as "Jailhouse Rock," "Hound Dog," or "Yakkety Yak." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Following a near rape, a deeply traumatized orphan girl has a sexual liaison with an aging lesbian. The relationship goes well until the confused girl meets a kind young man who proves that not all of his ilk are contemptible. She is convinced and she marries him, but she does not discuss her earlier relationship with him. Trouble brews when the two former lovers meet at a party. Lonely, the older woman tries to rekindle their affair, but the young wife spurns her. This leads to tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

LA lass Sue Bernard becomes a millionaire when she strikes oil. No, she doesn't head to Disneyland to celebrate her windfall. Instead, she visits Hollywood, hoping to find fame as well as fortune. Nothing much happens, so she returns to fiance Scott Every. We're at a loss to explain the reason for this film's existence, beyond the fact that it seems to be a vanity production for the Slipyj family: Anne Slipyj produced and played a small role, while Rodion Slipyj wrote and directed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide