''The Movie Orgy'' is a 1968 film directed by

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

and produced by

Jon Davison Jon Davison (born January 16, 1971) is an American singer, musician and songwriter who has been the lead vocalist of progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes since 2012. He is also known as the former lead singer of progressive rock band Glass Ha ...

.Erickson, Glenn
"The Movie Orgy: Savant Screening Revival Notes"
''DVD Savant''. April 26, 2008. It was an evolving compilation of film clips, commercials, and film trailers, initially assembled by Dante when he was an undergraduate at the Philadelphia College of Art. At its longest, it ran for seven and a half hours and could be considered the analog prelude to the mash-up videos and

supercut A supercut is a genre of video editing consisting of a montage of short clips with the same theme. The theme may be an action, a scene, a word or phrase, an object, a gesture, or a cliché or trope. The technique has its roots in film and televis ...

edits now prevalent on digital platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.

Summary

The film stands as a simultaneous celebration and campy tweaking of mid-20th century Americana, culling liberally from the B-movie cinema of Dante and Davison's youth (including brief clips from '' The Phantom Planet'' and ''

Teenagers from Outer Space Teenagers from Outer Space may refer to: * Teenagers from Outer Space (film), ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' (film), a 1959 science fiction film * Teenagers from Outer Space (role-playing game), ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' (role-playing game), a ...

''), early TV commercials, newsreel footage of early A-bomb tests, cartoons, westerns, sci-fi, bloopers and war movies as well as clips from children's TV shows its college-age audiences had forgotten they had seen. Perhaps most memorable among these is the excerpted moment from ''

Andy's Gang ''Andy's Gang'' was a children's television program broadcast on NBC from August 20, 1955, to December 31, 1960, hosted by the actor Andy Devine. It was the successor to the radio and television program ''Smilin' Ed McConnell and His Buster Brown G ...

'' of a puppeteer-controlled cat and mouse performing “Jesus Loves Me". Elements of several features are revisited throughout the movie as recurrent, serialized comic motifs. Among these serialized movies in the longer-form version were '' College Confidential'', ''

Speed Crazy Speed Crazy is a psychobilly band from New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south b ...

'', ''

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers ''Earth vs. the Flying Saucers'' (a.k.a. ''Invasion of the Flying Saucers'' and ''Flying Saucers from Outer Space'') is a 1956 American science fiction film from Columbia Pictures. It was produced by Charles H. Schneer, directed by Fred F. Sears, ...

'', '' I Was a Teenage Werewolf'', '' Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'', '' Beginning of the End'', ''

The Giant Gila Monster ''The Giant Gila Monster'' is a 1959 science fiction horror film directed by Ray Kellogg and produced by Ken Curtis. This low-budget B-movie starred Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low budget monster and zombie films, and Lisa Simone, the ...

'' and ''

The Amazing Colossal Man ''The Amazing Colossal Man'' (also known as ''The Colossal Man'') is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film from American International Pictures. Produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon, it stars Glenn Langan, Cathy Downs, William ...

'' that were rotated in and out. Bizarre non-sequitur elements are featured in between the recurrent narrative vignettes, including strange advertisements (including one for

Carter's Little Liver Pills Carter's Little Liver Pills (Carter's Little Pills after 1959) were formulated as a patent medicine by Samuel J. Carter of Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1868. Ingredients The active ingredient was changed when the product was renamed in 1959, to be th ...

) and educational films. The film was designed to be a free-flowing, communal audience experience. Interactivity (e.g. sing-alongs to showcased television show theme songs) was encouraged. Among the numerous celebrities featured were

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ' ...

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, The Beatles, Ann-Margret, Ngo Dinh Diem,

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

, The Animals,

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

, and comedians

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

. ''The Movie Orgy'' comprises clips of copyrighted materials, and thus the film can only be shown for free when it plays museums and cinemas around the world. Joe Dante retains a copy.

Production

The film, assembled without permission of the clips' owners, toured colleges and repertory cinemas with support from Schlitz beer."Joe Dante Interview".
''Kinematrix''.

References

External links

Internet Archive
* * *
Excerpt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Movie Orgy, The 1968 films Documentary films about the film industry Films directed by Joe Dante American student films Compilation films Collage film Fan films American anthology films 1960s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films Collage television 1960s English-language films

Summary

Production

See also

References

External links