''Lolly-Madonna XXX'' (a.k.a. ''The Lolly-Madonna War'') is a 1973 film directed by
Richard C. Sarafian
Richard Caspar Sarafian (April 28, 1930 – September 18, 2013) was an Armenian-American film director and actor. He compiled a versatile career that spanned over five decades as a director, actor, and writer. Sarafian is best known as the direct ...
. The film was co-written by Rodney Carr-Smith and
Sue Grafton, based on the 1969 novel ''
The Lolly-Madonna War
''The Lolly-Madonna War'' is a 1969 novel by American writer Sue Grafton. This is the fifth novel Grafton wrote but the second one published. A work of mainstream fiction, this novel was published by Peter Owen Publishers when Grafton was 29 y ...
'' by Grafton.
The movie was filmed in rural
Union County, Tennessee
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,109. Its county seat is Maynardville. Union County is included in the Knoxville metropolitan statistical area.
History
Union Coun ...
.
[Chris Wohlwend,]
Revisiting the Nearly Forgotten 'Lolly Madonna War,' Shot in Union County, Tenn.
" ''Knoxville Mercury'', 3 August 2016.
Plot
Two families in rural Tennessee, headed by patriarchs Laban Feather and Pap Gutshall are at odds with each other. The sons of the two families play harmless tricks on each other but soon the Feather boys decide to kidnap a girl, escalating the rivalry. She turns out to be innocent bystander Roonie Gill, not the made-up Gutshall girlfriend "Lolly Madonna" that the Gutshall clan had invented to get the Feathers away from their still. As events escalate, Zack Feather and Roonie fall in love and try to bring the others to their senses, but to no avail. One family busts up another's still; and in retaliation, the sons of that family assault the daughter of the other. After the feud results in a fiery confrontation in a meadow, where one of the Feather boys is fatally wounded and the mother of the Gutshall kin is shot to death, the two families regroup in order to gear up for a final deadly confrontation. With the exception of Sister E Gutshall, who packs a suitcase and leaves home, the participants engage in battle at the Feather homestead. In the end, all combatants die.
Cast
*
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...
as Laban Feather
*
Robert Ryan
Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...
as Pap Gutshall
*
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...
as Zack Feather
*
Gary Busey
Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...
as Zeb Gutshall
*
Katherine Squire
Katherine Squire (March 9, 1903 – March 29, 1995) was an American actress who appeared on Broadway and in regional theater, movies and television, from the 1920s through the 1980s.
Early life
Squire was born in Defiance, Ohio. She attende ...
as Chickie Feather
*
Season Hubley
Season Hubley (born Susan Hubley; March 14, 1951) is an American retired actress and singer. Best known for Nikki in '' Hardcore'' (1979), Priscilla Presley in '' Elvis'' (1979), and Angelique in ''All My Children'' (1992–1994).
Early life
H ...
as Roonie Gill/Lolly Madonna
*
Ed Lauter as Hawk Feather
*
Paul Koslo
Paul Koslo (born Manfred Koslowski; June 27, 1944 – January 9, 2019) was a German-born Canadian actor.
Career
Koslo started his career in such 1970s films as '' Nam's Angels'' a.k.a. ''The Losers'', '' Vanishing Point'' and ''The Stone Ki ...
as Villum Gutshall
*
Scott Wilson as Thrush Feather
*
Kiel Martin as Ludie Gutshall
*
Randy Quaid
Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy.
He was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in ''The Last Detail'' i ...
as Finch Feather
*
Joan Goodfellow
Joan Goodfellow (born February 2, 1950) is an American actress and singer who appeared on stage, screen, and television throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Best known for her lead role in ''Buster and Billie'' (1974) as well as her performance in '' L ...
as Sister E Gutshall
*
Timothy Scott as Skylar Feather
*
Tresa Hughes
Tresa Hughes (September 17, 1929 – July 24, 2011) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was nominated for Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 1961 for her role in '' The Devil's Advocate''. Her film and televisio ...
as Elspeth Gutshall
*
Kathy Watts as Lyda Jo Gutshall Feather
*
Joan Goodfellow
Joan Goodfellow (born February 2, 1950) is an American actress and singer who appeared on stage, screen, and television throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Best known for her lead role in ''Buster and Billie'' (1974) as well as her performance in '' L ...
as Sister E Gutshall
Critical reception
The film had a mixed reception from the critics.
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' starts his review as follows:
On the other hand, ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' had this to say:
See also
*
List of American films of 1973
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
External links
*
*
*
Original ''New York Times'' review''Knoxville News Sentinel'' Photo Gallery of East Tennessee Movie Making: Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)
{{Sue Grafton
1973 drama films
1973 films
Films about child abduction in the United States
Films based on American novels
Films about feuds
Films set in Tennessee
Films shot in Tennessee
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
American drama films
Films directed by Richard C. Sarafian
1970s English-language films
1970s American films