Okay...You see this description on the on-screen guide, "An elderly woman (Bette Davis) and a plumbing scavenger (Ernest Borgnine) pose as motorcycle hippies to rob the bank that evicted her"...How could you NOT set the DVR to 'record'?!
Did Bette Davis need the money or was she just having fun with this? Bank-robber is an unusual role for an older actress. It would actually be cool if there were more roles like this for women-of-a-certain-age today.
Borgnine is on-site when Davis's house is razed and offers her a ride somewhere. He tries to ditch her a couple of times but she learns of his past as a bank-robber and uses it to blackmail him into letting her stay in his camper, schooling her in Bank-robbery 101, and driving the get-away bike. He steps in to help with the first robbery when her nerves fail her. As the robberies continue, he becomes her accomplice and friend. There's the slightest hint of the potential for romance between them but it isn't really explored.
Jack Cassidy, dimples dimpling, plays the anti-hippie detective in pursuit of the duo. He seems to be enjoying himself, tossing off lines like, "...all they want to do is sit around and smoke pot, play ukuleles and let the rest of the world take care of them...I tell you, they're a threat to the very moral fiber of this country!" Joan Delaney (aka the girlfriend of the President's Analyst) is Cassidy's very young, ex-hippie assistant. John Astin plays Davis's son and is also credited as "creative consultant." What did he consult on, bank robberies? Loan sharks? The latest styles in bathrobes? Reva Rose is Davis's daughter (with a NY accent) and Herb Marlis is her near-catatonic son-in-law. There's even a "special guest appearance by Governor David Cargo", in case you're a fan of cameos by local politicians.
It's an amusing and sometimes poignant film. No, it's not Oscar-worthy but come on! Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think you'd see Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine riding tandem on a motorcycle?! Dressed as hippies?!! Oh, no, you didn't!
Did Bette Davis need the money or was she just having fun with this? Bank-robber is an unusual role for an older actress. It would actually be cool if there were more roles like this for women-of-a-certain-age today.
Borgnine is on-site when Davis's house is razed and offers her a ride somewhere. He tries to ditch her a couple of times but she learns of his past as a bank-robber and uses it to blackmail him into letting her stay in his camper, schooling her in Bank-robbery 101, and driving the get-away bike. He steps in to help with the first robbery when her nerves fail her. As the robberies continue, he becomes her accomplice and friend. There's the slightest hint of the potential for romance between them but it isn't really explored.
Jack Cassidy, dimples dimpling, plays the anti-hippie detective in pursuit of the duo. He seems to be enjoying himself, tossing off lines like, "...all they want to do is sit around and smoke pot, play ukuleles and let the rest of the world take care of them...I tell you, they're a threat to the very moral fiber of this country!" Joan Delaney (aka the girlfriend of the President's Analyst) is Cassidy's very young, ex-hippie assistant. John Astin plays Davis's son and is also credited as "creative consultant." What did he consult on, bank robberies? Loan sharks? The latest styles in bathrobes? Reva Rose is Davis's daughter (with a NY accent) and Herb Marlis is her near-catatonic son-in-law. There's even a "special guest appearance by Governor David Cargo", in case you're a fan of cameos by local politicians.
It's an amusing and sometimes poignant film. No, it's not Oscar-worthy but come on! Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think you'd see Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine riding tandem on a motorcycle?! Dressed as hippies?!! Oh, no, you didn't!