Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Patience Watson One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Jimmy_the_Gent4 A study of drug addicts in an real life treatment center.This is a good film with an interesting cast. Third billed Alex Cord is actually the main character, the weirdly named Zankie Albo, a slick braggart with an addiction to heroin. Stella Stevens (one of her best performances) is Joaney, a divorcee with a young son who resorted to prostitution to pay for her habit. She gets involved with the charming but dangerous Albo. Top billed Chuck Connors (fresh from The Rifleman) is Ben the ex con who kicked his "H" addiction but has to contend with trouble maker Albo, who was his cell mate in prison and has a beef against him. Oscar winner Edmond O'Brien is Chuck the head of Synanon, he uses tough talk and punishments like having heads shaved and wearing humiliating signs for breaking the rules. Other "dope fiends" are played by Richard Conte, Eartha Kitt and Bernie Hamiliton.Anyone who is interested in 1960s black and white films about lurid subjects or is a fan of any member of the cast should seek this one out.

mark.waltz Junkies helped by those who know what it's all about a recovering junkies-is the modus operandi for the titled organization located right on beautiful Venice beach. Expensive property to even stay at overnight now, it was quite wild during the days prior to the dawning of Aquarius. What could be preachy or a 60's version of a 1940's exploitation film ends up bring an engrossing drama with the usual variety if characters who come in every age, every gender, every nationality.A cast of veterans and newcomers mingle together in this raw expose of the counter culture that is still working overtime today to sober people up. Among the veterans are Edmund O'Brien and Richard Conte with Eartha Kitt at the height of her popularity, right before her real life controversy with President Johnson. Her character makes a speech in her very first scene that reeks of clichés and would be irritating and trite if it had been anybody else.The main story surrounds heroine junkie Alex Cord, coming down and desperate. By chance overhearing a public relations meeting going on, he is immediately drawn in, but angered to discover that one of the patient leaders is his former prison cellmate chuck Connors who planted heroine in Cord's locker. Falling in love with single mother patient Stella Stevens, Cord still won't open up, especially after he sees a Synanon meeting where Conte lays into Stevens, attacking her on every level that could insert a psychological knife with a squeeze of lemon following.While the elements of exploitation are overwhelming, there are subtle nuances that explore the vast insecurities and self hatred's of these pathetic characters. With film noir veterans O'Brien and Conte breathing down their charges necks, treating them like naughty children who need to be humiliated to do their chores. It's a mixed bag of serious human suffering and deliberate shock where the only way to cure them is to break them.

JasparLamarCrabb Using the famed drug rehab center of SYNANON as a backdrop seems like a sure fire hit, but this film misses more than it scores. Alex Cord is a junkie who seeks help at the center and finds himself at odds with former prison crony Chuck Connors. He also finds himself smitten with sexy fellow addict Stella Stevens. A film of such noble bearing is difficult to criticize but it is a shame that director Richard Quine infuses the story with such cliché-ridden melodrama. The acting is mightily uneven with Stevens and Connors coming off best. Cord is far too dull a screen presence to be truly compelling and, as the founder of the program, Edmond O'Brien recites each and every line as if he's addressing an assembly. He's so didactic it's impossible not to snicker at his verbose delivery. There's some great B&W cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr. and some very odd pseudo-jazz music by Neal Hefti. The supporting cast includes Barbara Luna, Alejandro Rey, Eartha Kitt and Richard Evans as "Hopper," Cord's demented junkie pal.

moonspinner55 Dramatization of real-life Synanon House, a Santa Monica-based rehabilitation center for hardcore drug addicts (many of them recent parolees). Heroin-user Alex Cord butts heads with former prison adversary Chuck Conners, while Stella Stevens sorts out relations with her ex-husband and struggles to stay off the streets. A bit glamorous in its depiction of life in the gutter, perhaps due to the kicky fashions and the ocean-front locale, though director Richard Quine is quick to underline the narrative with bitterness and regret. Not as moving as it should have been, but still quite potent. Harry Stradling Jr.'s black-and-white cinematography is excellent, as is Neal Hefti's jazzy score. **1/2 from ****