We took my 12 year old sister to see THE EXORCIST in 1974, which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. (Hey, she wanted to see it.) She didn't run out of the theater but she did hide her eyes at the scariest parts. Had I had the misfortune of paying money for BLAIR WITCH, I might have gone to demand my money back, but as I watched it on cable I just fast-forwarded through most of it.
A lot of the "walk-out-of-able" movies, I wouldn't walk into in the first place. Gore-festy things like Saw, Hostel, etc. I have a clear memory of walking out of "Vive le Mort" in the late seventies (college film club presentation) and my husband and I debated walking out of "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, Her Lover" but ended up staying. People were leaving "Salo" en masse; I stayed until the end, but I thought it was a vile movie.
Speaking of walking out of theaters...we have actually walked out of legitimate (so to speak) theater more often than out of movie theaters. A number of times - in London, for the most part - we've both disliked a show so much that we've left at the interval (as they call it there). A couple of those times it was hard to make it that far. There was one show that for some reason just got under my skin so much that if I didn't leave I would have started yelling at the actors (who, as I recall, were Hayley Mills and Jenny Seagrove). [The play was called DEAD GUILTY, by the way.] Jackie didn't feel the same, so I waited for her outside.
The first time we did it was on Broadway, the infamous 1974 bomb FAME by Anthony Ingrassia (not to be confused with the later movie and television series). It was something to do with Marilyn Monroe's death and it closed immediately after opening night. (I believe we saw one of the 8 previews.) By the end of Act I we were both holding our hands over our mouths to keep from laughing out loud and no, it was not meant to be a comedy. Bibi Besch was the most recognizable name, and Ellen Barber (who Jackie also knew from a soap opera) played the Marilyn role.
I've only walked out of two movies (and I forget what one of them was)--"Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte," with Bette Davis, Olivia deHaviland, and Joseph Cotton (1964). (Described, at IMDB, as "An aging, reclusive southern belle, plagued by a horrifying family secret, descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.") This was shortly after "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane," (1962) so it wasn't a stellar period in Davis's career. And at that it might not be the worst movie I've ever seen; I did watch "The Terror of Tiny Town" (on late-night TV) all the way through.
Jeff--If the definition of a classic book is "One everyone talks about and no one reads," I hope that the definition of a "classic movie" (in this case) is "A movie everyone talks about and nobody sees."
7 comments:
Indeed.
We took my 12 year old sister to see THE EXORCIST in 1974, which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. (Hey, she wanted to see it.) She didn't run out of the theater but she did hide her eyes at the scariest parts. Had I had the misfortune of paying money for BLAIR WITCH, I might have gone to demand my money back, but as I watched it on cable I just fast-forwarded through most of it.
Jeff
A lot of the "walk-out-of-able" movies, I wouldn't walk into in the first place. Gore-festy things like Saw, Hostel, etc. I have a clear memory of walking out of "Vive le Mort" in the late seventies (college film club presentation) and my husband and I debated walking out of "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, Her Lover" but ended up staying. People were leaving "Salo" en masse; I stayed until the end, but I thought it was a vile movie.
Speaking of walking out of theaters...we have actually walked out of legitimate (so to speak) theater more often than out of movie theaters. A number of times - in London, for the most part - we've both disliked a show so much that we've left at the interval (as they call it there). A couple of those times it was hard to make it that far. There was one show that for some reason just got under my skin so much that if I didn't leave I would have started yelling at the actors (who, as I recall, were Hayley Mills and Jenny Seagrove). [The play was called DEAD GUILTY, by the way.] Jackie didn't feel the same, so I waited for her outside.
The first time we did it was on Broadway, the infamous 1974 bomb FAME by Anthony Ingrassia (not to be confused with the later movie and television series). It was something to do with Marilyn Monroe's death and it closed immediately after opening night. (I believe we saw one of the 8 previews.) By the end of Act I we were both holding our hands over our mouths to keep from laughing out loud and no, it was not meant to be a comedy. Bibi Besch was the most recognizable name, and Ellen Barber (who Jackie also knew from a soap opera) played the Marilyn role.
It's amazing what stays with you after 40 years.
Jeff
I've only walked out of two movies (and I forget what one of them was)--"Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte," with Bette Davis, Olivia deHaviland, and Joseph Cotton (1964). (Described, at IMDB, as "An aging, reclusive southern belle, plagued by a horrifying family secret, descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.") This was shortly after "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane," (1962) so it wasn't a stellar period in Davis's career. And at that it might not be the worst movie I've ever seen; I did watch "The Terror of Tiny Town" (on late-night TV) all the way through.
Ah yes, Don, but that was a classic. ..of sorts.
Jeff
Well, actually, I rather liked Hudson Hawk.
Jeff--If the definition of a classic book is "One everyone talks about and no one reads," I hope that the definition of a "classic movie" (in this case) is "A movie everyone talks about and nobody sees."
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