This Month

Samuel Z. Arkoff was a man with a plan, or more specifically, a formula. Making an acronym from his last name, the Arkoff formula was simple: Action, Revolutionary, Killing, Oratory, Fantasy, and Fornication. After all these years, many are still not sure where "Oratory" fits in with Arkoff's movies but the "O" had to stand for something. When his business partner, James Nicholson, formed American International Pictures and made Arkoff the vice president, he knew what he was doing. Arkoff wasn't interested in Oscars or lavish acclaim. He was interested in box office and by repeatedly playing to a youth market, he got it.

When Robert Thom, who'd spent years working on movies aimed at the youth market, wrote Wild in the Streets, a short story about the Baby Boom generation turned revolutionary overlords of their elders, Arkoff and company knew a movie had to be made. A screenplay was quickly churned out by Thom and an offer made to Phil Ochs to star in the lead role of Max Frost, a pop singer idol of the youth of America who takes the country by storm. Ochs promptly turned it down, deciding the whole story was so counter to what the actual counter-culture believed in he couldn't possibly endorse it by going along for the ride. This did not stop anyone else from participating.

Shelley Winters, Richard Pryor, Ed Begley, Hal Holbrook, and in the role of Max Frost, Christopher Jones, all signed on to film the outlandish story with as straight a face as they possibly could. Also included was Millie Perkins, Thom's wife at the time. Wild in the Streets was released to semi-serious reviews by bewildered critics who weren't sure if what they were watching was a parody, an endorsement of youthful revolution, or a cautionary tale against giving teenagers too much power. The movie itself seems to take itself seriously enough, to the point where the audience isn't sure whether to be offended or entertained.

The movie starts off with a young Max Flatow making acid in his parents' basement while his mom (Shelley Winters) wonders why he hates them so much, particularly his dad. The next day he destroys their home and blows up dad's car before heading off to, well, something. The movie doesn't bother to say, it just skips ahead ten years and tells us that now he's a multi-millionaire pop idol adored the world over.

A young senator, Johnny Fergus (Hal Holbrook), comes to the now renamed Max Frost asking for his endorsement. Senator Fergus wants to lower the voting age to 18 (something that actually happened just three years later) and figures he can use Max's popularity to get the amendment passed. Max takes to the stage and advocates for 14 instead, prompting protests and sit-ins until Fergus gets him to agree to 15 if he calls the teenagers off. It's not long after that that Max and his entourage, which includes a young Richard Pryor as his drummer, Stanley X, get an insider in congress, dose the DC water supply with LSD, and get the age requirements for senator, representative, and president all lowered to 14. And, of course, Max gets elected president.

If the plot sounds utterly ridiculous, that's because it is. It's the kind of satirical movie that makes Network look like a subtle, under the radar, gentle critique of television. Wild in the Streets is many things but realistic and measured it is not. But then, if it were, it wouldn't be an American International Pictures movie. And Sam Arkoff wouldn't have made a fortune.

Among the many surprising things in Wild in the Streets is a genuinely good performance by Shelley Winters. Not surprising that she could, of course, she was a great actress. Surprising that she would. Shelley Winters never phoned in a performance in her life and she wasn't about to start with this one. Ed Begley and Hal Holbrook also turn in sound performances in a decidedly unsound movie. Even Christopher Jones, with the very little he's given, does a good job. Perhaps the most surprising thing is Richard Pryor. Already famous for his comedy, he is wasted in a straight role that requires nothing more from him than a few standard line readings to move the plot along. And famed voice talent Paul Frees is on hand to narrate the tale, which must have confused Rocky and Bullwinkle fans to no end.

Wild in the Streets quickly became a cult classic once its day at the theaters was done. Already looking and feeling dated the day it was released, it became a time capsule curiosity for viewers born around or after the time of the movie. A hippy, trippy look at rocking teenagers turned fascist overlords where it's hard to tell if it's an endorsement or an indictment. It probably never mattered to Samuel Z. Arkoff, one way or the other. As long as people paid to see the movie, they could take it any way they wanted.

By Greg Ferrara