To start- a reminiscence:
When I was about 13, being a voracious reader, I got a copy of Dave Wilkerson's The Cross and the Switchblade from the library. The story was about a preacher who started a ministry in the ghetto of New York City to reach out to drug addicts and gang members. As I was reading I came across an unfamiliar word. My mother was cooking supper and so I just asked her :
"Mama, what's a whore?"
My mother's response was probably the same as it would have been if you were to ask your mother the same question at age 13.
"What are you READING??!!"
(I'm pretty sure she didn't answer my question... even after I told her what I was reading...)
So, back in the 70's, Hollywood's opinion of Christian themed movies was that it was basically kryptonite at the box office. "You can't make a Christian themed movie! No one will come see it!". And to be honest, that was a good call, since the movie didn't even break even.
Pat Boone, the star, called The Cross and the Switchblade his favorite movie he was in, but that he was paid so little that it was almost charity work. But he believed in the message. Boone, a devout Christian, is quoted as saying the film received positive reviews from both reviewers and the movie going public. (That "movie going public" was probably mostly comprised of Christians who were already receptive to the message, be that as it may).
Along with Boone, the film is also noted as the first feature role for Erik Estrada, who went on to do, among other things, the role of Ponch in the TV series CHiPs. The rest of the cast was not as prolific in film as Estrada, however. For a few of them, IMDb only lists this one in their bios. Considering the caliber of acting throughout, that's not too surprising.
But, to be honest I don't think The Cross and the Switchblade was ever meant to be anything but an evangelical film. "Evangelical films" by nature, are more about the message than the actual acting. Even with name stars in the lead roles of these kinds of films, sometimes the acting comes off a bit cringy. (Sorry, Kirk Cameron fans, but most of his Christian movies put me to sleep.)
With the exception of the aforementioned Estrada, none of these people ever had any real impact in film. A read of the cast credits will cause most people to say "Who???". Most of them only had about 10 credits at the most when I checked IMDb. And many times it's pretty obvious why they didn't have resounding careers. The majority of them would probably have been lucky to have a walk-on role in one of the lowest budget blaxploitation or cheapie drive-in flicks.
With 43 credits, Pat Boone pretty much topped them all. But Boone was probably the worst of the bunch. I never really felt he exhibited enough emotion to be a credible street preacher.
On the other hand, the stand out role was done by Erik Estrada as Nicky Cruz. His transformation from the street tough to a guy who embraces the message the preacher is giving may have been just a tad too predictable, but as the pre-Christian gang member he exhibited a good range of emotion, and it was easy to see how he became a Hollywood star.
One little side tidbit that, of course, I HAVE to bring to the plate (of course I do, dear regular readers, if you've been reading this blog long) is the fact that one name appears on IMDb as being an "uncredited" cast member: Harry Reems. To those unacquainted with the seamier side of the industry, Harry Reems made a career out of being a porn star. (And, no, I've never actually seen any of his movies.. but I know his name. He had roles in Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones, both of which you may have heard of, even if you avoided watching them).
The Cross and the Switchblade (1970):
In the opening scene we have one solitary guy, who must've taken a wrong turn at the Brooklyn Bridge, surrounded by a bunch of enemies, and he runs from them. But he is not successful, and the gang catches up to him and beats the crap out of (maybe even kills him?)
Cut from there to a court scene where those gang members are on trial. And here is where one of the unintentionally (I hope) funny scenes occurs. There is chaos in the courtroom that no judge I know would have ever allowed. During the proceedings an argument takes place between the prosecuting lawyer and the defense lawyer, and the defense lawyer. I can't possibly put down in writing it out how ridiculous this scene is. Suffice to say the prosecuting lawyer claims that the defense lawyer is an idiot and the defense lawyer demands police protection.
Fortunately the whole movie isn't quite as ridiculous as this scene. Although the ridiculousness isn't quite over. At this point Wilkerson (Pat Boone) walks into the courtroom, but is ejected because the judge thinks he may have a gun (hidden inside that Bible...? Really....?) The police let him go, however, on the promise that he won't try to enter the judge's courtroom ever again.
The next scene shows Wilkerson sleeping in his car (a rickety looking old 50's model that somehow looks out of place even though in reality it is probably only about 15 years old. A gang of pre-teens proceed to strip his car of it's hubcaps (OK) and also his front hood (and I don't get that part, but then I wasn't a gang member in the 60's..)
When Wilkerson wakes up, one kid pulls a knife on him, but exhibiting some moves he probably learned watching a Bruce Lee movie, Wilkerson gets him in an arm lock. Enter big sister, who manages to convince Wilkerson she wasn't in on the whole thing.
When she realizes that Wilkerson is the same guy who created a hubbub in the courtroom, she introduces herself as Little Bo Peep and the kid is her brother, Bottle Cap. (Sometimes this movie made me laugh out loud at what they expected you to believe. I mean, really! Little Bo Peep? Bottle Cap?).
Wilkerson goes immediately into preacher mode and Bo listens with a bemused look. Wilkerson tells her about how his church sent him from rural Pennsylvania to the Big Apple to reach out to the gang members and junkies in the ghetto. He also proves his true Christian nature by giving Bottle Cap his shoes, leaving him to walk around for the rest of the first quarter of the movie in his socks. (Personally, I wouldn't want to walk around that neighborhood even if I had shoes.)
Wilkerson, of course, is confident in his mission because, after all, he is on "a mission from God" (albeit without a dark suit, hat and sunglasses). He arranges with Bo to take him where one of the really tough gangs congregate, the Mau Maus. They are currently in conference with members of a rival gang, the Bishops. But to get there they have to go through a neighborhood that is under the control of the AAAGP: "The American Association for the Advancement of Gangsters and Pot" (I swear I'm not making any of this up...)
Wilkerson tries to proselytize to both, but neither are really all that receptive. After all, they have bigger fish to fry, like who is going to be the King bee gang in the neighborhood. The Mau Maus are mostly white and the Bishops are pretty much all black, so it is a racial battle as well as a territorial battle.
Inside the room, we also meet Rosa (Jackie Giroux), who will figure into the story much later. She is obviously strung out on drugs (later we find she is hooked on heroin). So the meeting occurs with Big Cat(!) and Abdullah representing the Bishops and Israel and Nicky representing the Mau Maus. And we get our first introduction to the second star of the film, Erik Estrada as Nicky. They agree on a time and place to rumble and the allowable weapons (which in 50's and 60's apparently never involved guns). At this point Wilkerson chooses to step up and preach to the gang members.
In an effort to make himself acceptable, he does the cultural thing and high-fives the Bishops, but when he tries the same with the Mau Maus, Nicky slaps his face. Dejected at his lack of success, Wilkerson leaves. But when he gets back to where he parked the car, like a sign from God (whoops, forgot about this film's message...) there is a church. He goes in and finds he has some friends in the neighborhood after all because the pastor insists that Wilkerson stay at his house during his tour of duty in the ghetto.
The film cuts back and forth between gang action for the next bit, and I couldn't help but think it was choreographed by the same person who choreographed West Side Story. Every scene involving chase scenes seems like it was planned for a stage production point of view. Not sure if that was the intention, but it certainly didn't seem spontaneous. The riot scene at the beginning of The Warriors felt more real, and that scene actually WAS choreographed.
Anyway, among other scenes, Wilkerson manages to rescue Rosa who is dying for another fix. At first Rosa's plan is to slice and dice him because Nicky has an extreme animosity for the preacher. He promises Rosa all the heroin she ants if she'll take Wilkerson out of the picture.
He doesn't help her out with money, instead he takes her back to the pastor's place and all of them work around the clock to get her straight. So you think score one for the street preacher. But he still has hundreds more, and his big trouble is with the gangs who are more concerned about their territory on earth than their mansion in the kingdom of Heaven.
But Wilkerson has an idea. A big rally in which hopefully the gang members will attend. The gangs do attend, but they have other things in mind, like a rumble in a place where the cops won't be so likely to interrupt the party. But Wilkerson sees through their ruse, and gets two members of each gang to come up and take milk cartons around to pass the congregation for a collection.
(Note: When I saw this the only other time I remember, it was as a kid, probably just before or not long after the reminiscence at the beginning of this blog entry. I vividly remembered even today only one scene, and it was this one. Especially where both gang members give meaningful looks to the donators when they think they didn't put enough in the collection box.)
Initially the gang debate whether to split up the collection first or make it a bonus prize for the winning gang in the upcoming rumble. But then they come to the idea that's exactly what Wilkerson was expecting, and it would trip him up if they just gave him the collection. Wilkerson apparently was thinking the same thing, given the expression of surprise on his face when the gang comes back and gives him ALL the collection.
Then Wilkerson launches into his sermon, and surprise (not!) several members are profoundly affected by his preaching. (I sincerely hope the real Dave Wilkerson was better at preaching than Pat Boone is at playing Wilkerson preaching. I sure wouldn't have been profoundly affected by that piece.) But he does get Nicky among others on board with God. And that my friends was the point. Nicky Cruz (the real guy, not Estrada) went on to found his own ministry.
I only recommend this movie to those among my congregation (followers) who can appreciate the underlying message. (I THINK a few of you are Christian, anyway). But don't go into expecting a real entertaining movie if you are not. I think Estrada is the only actor in this movie that actually pulls off a decent portrayal. Most of the rest seem to be clueless how to play their roles convincingly. Even Giroux as the junkie sometimes bleeds over into the realm of over-acting. Although, she is better than Boone. But give Boone a break, his real forte was doing cheesy white bread covers of Black R & B songs for a white audience in the 50's, and not acting.
Well, folks, the Plymouth may not be a Ferrari, but I bet it runs better than Wilkerson's old junker.
Drive safely, folks.
Quiggy
