Skidoo (1968)

In an effort to become more relevant to younger audiences Otto Preminger produced and directed Skidoo, a kind of drug comedy that features both mobsters and hippies. Written by Doran William Cannon (later to achieve success for his script of Brewster McCloud); Skidoo stars Jackie Gleason as a retired mob hit man who has taken up a suburban life as the owner of a car wash so as to raise his daughter Darlene (Alexandra Hay, whose very pretty but never really made it as an actress) in safety. One day 'The Tree' the originzed crime outfit Gleason had worked for comes calling to request his services in murdering a former associate turned government informant (Mickey Ronney). Gleason tries to say no but after they murder his best friend he agrees and is sent to prison in order to kill Ronney; he is to be assisted in this by one Freddy the Professor (Austin Pendelton) a brilliant draft dodging druggie who has also been sent to prison for this sole purpose. Ronney safe in a private prison apartment (from which he operates a successful enterprise as a stock trader) proves difficult to get at and in the end Gleason decides he doesn't want to kill him and so escapes with the Professor and another inmate in an improvised hot air balloon.

Gleasons disappearance from home is of course noticed by his daughter and wife Carole Channing (also a former associate of The Tree) who along with a band of hippies and a sort of junior mob bureaucrat in charge of Oregon and Idaho (Frankie Avalon), set out to locate the head of The Tree, a mysterious figure known as "God" (Grocho Marx if you can believe it). "God" is in exile on a yacht in international waters from which he runs The Tree, all the major characters will converge there for the odd musical finally, a lyrically poor but catchy toon called 'Skidoo' sung in a Hello Dolly style by Channing.

The movie is odd and has a reputation as a total disaster, but when approached in the right spirit its quite entertaining and deserving of the 'cult statues' it has achieved. The movie boasts a number of groovy songs (my favorite being the musical number featuring the dancing trashcans) composed by the artist Nilsson who also appears as a 'tower guard'. A strange film that's surprisingly memorable and seems to work by virtue of not quite working. Even the closing credits in this film are enjoyable. Grade: B-