Hey, you know what movie isn't available on DVD and oughta be? Skidoo.
You heard me. Skidoo. The 1968 movie directed by Otto Preminger in a misguided attempt to connect with the youth/hippie movement.
Have you ever seen it? No? Well, it ought to be out on DVD so you can experience it at least once…and I won't even claim that it's good or bad. It's too weird to be good or bad. Depending on your mood, you might view it with the "Springtime for Hitler" look or just delight in the fact that Mr. Preminger was so totally out of control. I have this mental image of him giving orders on the set and sounding like that dictator in Woody Allen's Bananas who wants all underwear worn on the outside. You know…the one George W. Bush is starting to emulate.
Reportedly, in mid-shooting, Preminger realized things weren't going well so he called in several writers — including our old pal Stanley Ralph Ross, who worked on that Wonder Woman pilot I linked to here — to try and fix things. It was hopeless. In fact, Stanley later said that the attempt to course-correct in the middle of production probably made things less coherent. He also told me that he attended one screening where the projectionist got the reels in the wrong order and it really didn't make much of a difference.
There's an amazing cast that includes Peter Lawford, Mickey Rooney, Frank Gorshin, Frankie Avalon and Burgess Meredith. Jackie Gleason takes LSD and does a freak-out scene that would have been considered hokey on Dragnet. Groucho Marx was cast in the role of God and I guess he figured he could never top that so he never made another movie. I mean, there's something to be said for a film in which the most restrained, believable performance is given by Carol Channing.
Bootleg DVDs abound but there hasn't been an official release. So how's about it, Paramount Home Video? Your studio made Skidoo even if nobody there will admit it. You probably have the rights to put it out. If not, you can get them. It's not like anyone else will bid against you.
How can you resist a movie that brought in Sammy Davis Jr. and Dr. Timothy Leary just to appear in its trailer? And if you think I'm making any of this up or exaggerating, just click on the video link below.
Skidoo. It's time.