Ghetto Freaks, directed by Robert J. Emery, has an improvisational feeling during many of its exterior shots when hippies are congregating in parks, getting busted by cops, or panhandling the crowded streets of the big city (in this case, Cleveland), and these contrast sharply with interior scenes where the zoom lens is routinely abused along with hopped-up party sequences and at least one very psychedelic ode to LSD. The protagonist is a lothario whose main interests are demonstrations, parties, and swinging with as many different girls as he can. The "action" follows him from the parks, to jails, to night-clubs, the streets, and then back to the commune where he hangs out with other hedonistic hippies. A drug dealer with a deadly temper and a fresh convert to the commune get tossed in to the fray to allow for some kind of conclusion in what would normally be called the third act but here can only be charitably referred to as "the end." Information on the backflap of the dvd reveals that the film was "Originally released as both Sign of Aquarius and Love Commune" but "was re-released as Ghetto Freaks courtesy of a bogus blaxploitation ad campaign and the addition of two minutes of new footage featuring the black leader of a kinky love cult." Aside for a few scenes that seem to dabble with cinéma vérité, music, and even post-modernism, this is no Medium Cool (1969) or even Hair (1979), but rather an impressive compendium of hippie clichés and kitsch that are belabored into a fine pulp of unfocused tedium.
Way Out, on the other hand, is very focused, and very serious, and not to be confused with Way Way Out, released that same year and starring Jerry Lewis in a science-fiction sex comedy that is set on the moon. The moon would not have been a long shot for director Irvin S. Yeaworth (1926-2004) since he is primarily known for a trilogy of science-fiction films; The Blob (1958), 4D Man (1959), and Dinosaurus! (1960), but after this brief foray he returned to "his first love: making religious movies (including some with Billy Graham)" - (Tom Weaver, IMDB). Yeaworth's religious influences (he was also an ordained Methodist minister) is apparent at the very end of Way Out when the real junkies who acted in the film each address the camera directly, utter devotionals to the Lord, grab their Bibles, and start singing together in unison. "It isn't just what the drug does, it's how important it becomes to you. The addicts in this picture are real people who know." Way Out, based on the play "The Addicts" by John Gimenez, sings with authenticity and grit as it tells various stories of different people living in the Bronx who turn to crime to buy their fix. Fifteen cents could buy a National Enquirer (headline: Rock Hudson Groans: "Playing Bedroom Scenes Gives Me Insomnia. So Much of My Working Day is Spent in Bed I'm Awake All Night"), but not much else. So they steal car batteries, vacuum cleaners, baby carriages (they leave the babies behind on the sidewalk), anything. The scenarios get increasingly brutal, with junkies going through withdrawals, puking, bleeding, overdosing, general misery, and one 16-year-old turning to prostitution. But all is not lost, for Jesus saves and "These ex-addicts are now back in society, living useful lives persuading young people not to experiment with drugs and showing addicts of all kinds that there is a way out."
Both features are presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and show wear-and-tear from their source materials, but colors are vibrant. Special features include "drug-fueled trailers for: The Hard Road, The Hippie Revolt, Monkey on My Back, and The Pusher" along with a short educational film titled "Narcotics - the Inside Story."
For more information about Ghetto Freaks & Way Out, visit Image Entertainment. To order the Hippie Double Feature, go to TCM Shopping.
by Pablo Kjolseth
