THE SADIST (1963)

Between December 1958 and January 1959 a disturbed nineteen-year-old kid named Charles "Charlie" Starkweather murdered eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming. He was accompanied on this cross country killing spree by his fourteen-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. After the two were apprehended, Charlie was sentenced to death and executed seventeen months after the events. Fugate was sent to prison and was released on parole in 1976.

This sad chapter in American history rivals the exploits of such notorious criminals as Charles Manson and the legendary team of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. It is also the basis for several film adaptations. The best known of these are Terrence Malick's BADLANDS (1973) and Oliver Stone's NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994). Other film adaptations were KALIFORNIA (1993) and STARKWEATHER (2004). The first film adaptation, however, was released just four years after the killing spree occurred. THE SADIST is a low budget exploitational feature made for the drive-in and grindhouse trade and isn't as well known as the highly regarded art house film BADLANDS and the popular bloodbath known as NATURAL BORN KILLERS. It was made by Fairway International Pictures, the company operated by former actor and stuntman Arch Hall, Sr. The enterprising Hall had formed the company in 1961 and had produced a few low budget films starring his teenage son, Arch, Jr., titles such as THE CHOPPERS (1961), WILD GUITAR (1962) and his biggest money maker EEGAH (1963).

Among most knowledgeable cinephiles, especially those interested in low budget films, THE SADIST is considered to be a true gem, a classic. I can't remember when I first heard of it. If it played in any of the local (Danville, Illinois) theaters in 1963, my twelve-year-old self was completely unaware of it. I must have read about the film in genre magazines and books sometime during the late 1970's and early 1980's, as well as in the Sinister Cinema catalog, one of my first sources for obscure movies available on VHS. Like many other films designated as "cult films" by people who at least claimed to know what they were talking about, I knew about THE SADIST years before I actually saw it. I love the film and encourage people to check it out. I find it amazing what the producers were able to accomplish with such a low budget and a troupe of mostly untrained actors. 

The screenplay was written by James Landis, who also directed the film. The story takes place in California rather than Nebraska and Wyoming. Three school teachers, Ed Stiles (Richard Alden), Doris Page (Helen Hovey) and Carl Oliver (Don Russell) are driving from Lancaster to Los Angeles to attend a Dodgers game. When they experience car trouble out in the middle of nowhere, they pull into a garage/salvage yard that appears to be deserted. The house on the property is unlocked and there is a half eaten Sunday dinner on the dining room table. Unable to locate anyone, Ed determines that his car needs a new fuel pump and finds one in another car in the salvage yard. He begins to remove it while the other two teachers look around for the people who live in the house and operate the garage. Suddenly, they are confronted by Charlie Tibbs (Arch Hall, Jr.) a twenty-year-old man holding a gun, and his eighteen-year-old girlfriend, Judy Bradshaw (Marilyn Manning). The two are responsible for a string of random killings along the highway. Charlie orders Ed to complete the repairs on the car so that he and Judy can get back on the road and run from the police who are on their trail. Charlie threatens to kill all three of the teachers if Ed doesn't comply. While Ed tries to finish the work, Charlie taunts and brutalizes Doris and Carl. He says both he and Judy hate teachers because of how they were treated in school. Charlie hits Carl twice with his gun, causing a serious injury. He knocks Doris to the ground and grinds her face in the dirt, also tearing her dress and touching her inappropriately. Soon after, he shoots Carl at close range and kills him. Ed and Doris are terrified and try to figure out how to get away before they too are killed. Judy doesn't say a word to the teachers. She giggles and acts childlike and only communicates with Charlie by whispering to him. When two policemen on motorcycles pull in to the property, Charlie kills them both in cold blood. When Ed finally is ready to try starting the car, he primes the fuel pump with gas. He suddenly sprays Charlie's face with gasoline, temporarily blinding him. While Charlie flails about shooting the gun and screaming, Ed and Doris run. Charlie accidentally shoots and kills Judy. Ed and Doris split up and hide. Doris finds the dead bodies of the man and woman who lived in the house. Charlie corners Ed and kills him and Doris runs away into the desert, trying to find her way back to the highway. Charlie gets into Ed's car and drives after her. She manages to get away from him and hides in an abandoned house. Charlie finds her and she runs from him. When he chases after her he falls into a covered up snake pit. The pit is filled with rattlesnakes which start attacking him. Charlie tries to climb out of the pit, but is unable to. Doris hears him screaming in pain and terror as he is repeatedly bitten by the snakes. As she walks back to the car, she hears the radio playing the Dodgers game. The announcer is inviting everyone to come to the game and enjoy a wonderful day at the ballpark. Doris wanders away slowly into the desert.

The film is 95 minutes long and the story happens in real time. Fast moving and loaded with tension, there isn't a single wasted moment. The excellent cinematography was done by Vilmos Zsigmond, credited here as William Zsigmond. He began his feature film career with THE SADIST and worked on other low budget films, including some for Fairway International Pictures (WHAT'S UP FRONT!  and THE NASTY RABBIT, both in 1964, and DEADWOOD 76 in 1965, the latter two also starring Arch Hall, Jr.), before achieving fame with films like DELIVERANCE (1972), CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) and THE DEER HUNTER (1978). James Landis has eight credits as a director listed on IMDB and fifteen credits as a writer. He directed the aforementioned THE NASTY RABBIT and DEADWOOD 76 as well as another excellent low budget cult movie entitled RAT FINK in 1965, which was also photographed by Zsigmond. I haven't been able to find out very much about Landis, but it's a shame he didn't have a more extensive career, as the man obviously had talent.

Arch Hall, Jr., as Charlie, is the centerpiece of the movie, and he does a terrific job.  He is totally convincing as a deranged, violent young man with no regard for human life. Physically, Hall is perfect for the part, an embodiment of toxic masculinity, totally unlike the nice guys he played in his other films. There was always an edgy kind of glint in Hall's eyes, and that comes in handy for his portrayal of Charlie Tibbs. Hall's six-film career ended in 1965. He went on to a long career as a commercial pilot and also published a novel. Now retired, he sometimes attends film conventions and interacts with his fans. He is modest about his brief career as an actor and is proud of his work in THE SADIST, saying it was his best opportunity to do some serious acting.

Richard Alden has the most acting experience with 25 credits listed on IMDB between 1961 and 1989, most of them on television. He gives a convincing performance as someone trying to contend with a bloodthirsty madman. Don Russell, who plays the gentle Carl Oliver, also worked as the production manager for the film, credited as D.B. Russell. He also worked in this capacity on THE NASTY RABBIT and WILD GUITAR. His only other acting credit was in Ray Dennis Steckler's sublimely insane THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES (1964) as Ortega, the weird looking Gypsy. He was also the second unit director on that film, as well as two other Steckler creations: THE LEMON GROVE KIDS MEET THE MONSTERS (1965) and THE THRILL KILLERS (1964). He also directed a movie called TALES OF A SALESMAN in 1965.

Marilyn Manning is the weakest link in the cast. As Judy Bradshaw, she is supposed to be eighteen, when in reality she looks around thirty. In trying to act younger than she is, her mannerisms come off at times as  pretentious. She giggles a lot, acts coquettish and literally skips instead of walks much of the time. Not the best casting choice. But even Manning is able to deliver when it counts, no doubt because of Landis' directing.

The most impressive member of the cast is Helen Hovey as Doris Page. Hovey was Arch Jr.'s cousin and this was her one and only acting performance. Hovey is a true natural beauty. At the beginning of the film, she is very repressed and shy. As the drama quickly heats up, she gives an increasingly intense, emotional performance that is completely believable and at times difficult to watch, considering the physical stress she has to endure.In the film's final moments when she is trying to escape from Charlie, she has to run barefoot through the desert. Landis and Zsigmond must have been aware of what a treasure she was, because they gave her the most exquisite close-ups you could possibly imagine. She looks like an actress from a Swedish art film or a neo-realist Italian film.  Maybe if Ingmar Bergman had seen that lovely, sensual face he might have talked her into continuing as an actress. But at least we have this one performance to savor.

I've never been a big fan of screen violence, but I recognize that it's often necessary and crucial for the advancement of a story and the development of a character. The violence in THE SADIST is actually minimal when you consider the subject matter. But what violence the film has is effective and visceral without being overdone. For example, the brutality Charlie commits against Carl is just enough to be convincing and heartbreaking, but it isn't glorified or celebrated. It simply happens in a realistic, natural way. As for the twist at the end, when Charlie falls into the snake pit, what can be said? It comes straight out of nowhere, the last thing you could possibly expect to happen. A total shock. And a fitting end for the character!

THE SADIST has a terrific opening. Before the credits, there is a close-up of Arch Hall, Jr.'s angry eyes. We hear his voice saying:

"I have been hurt by others. And I will hurt them. I will make them suffer like I have suffered."

Then we hear the voice of Arch Hall, Sr., acting as narrator. He says:

"The words of a sadist, one of the most disruptive elements in human society. To have complete mastery over another, to make him a helpless object, to humiliate him, to enslave him, to inflict moral insanity on the innocent, that is his objective, his twisted pleasure."

For a twisted pleasure of your own, consider watching THE SADIST!