User Reviews

One of a number of drug/counterculture/sub-hippie titles Hollywood made in the late 1960's,SKIDOO maybe the most infamous of this short-lived genre.That this style of movie soon departed was mainly because it involved mostly various middle-aged filmmakers and actors who simply didn't know how to handle such matters.I LOVE YOU,ALICE B.TOKLAS,made in the same year as SKIDOO (1968),and which starred Peter Sellers,was possibly the most watchable of these efforts,but even this film was by no means perfect and rather faded away after a promising opening few reels.SKIDOO,however, starts off as a rather mundane gangster melodrama,but gradually mutates into increasingly outlandish and bizarre expansions,which exude a certain spell,but mostly for completely opposite motives intended.

Retired gangster Tony Banks (Jackie Gleason),seemingly now living in settled suburbia with his family (Carol Channing,Alexandra Hay) is coerced by his former superior,"God" (Groucho Marx), into bumping off an informer (Mickey Rooney).Sneaked into prison,Banks accidentally takes LSD and after experiencing a trip,refuses to go ahead with the killing.Along with his cellmate (Austin Pendleton),he manages an escape by improvised balloon after lacing soup with the drug which affects everybody within,including the guards.With the help of his daughter's hippie boyfriend (John Phillip Law) and his similarly inclined associates,God is overpowered on his luxury yacht and love and peace conquer all.

Intended as a comedy with satirical asides ,SKIDOO fails totally in this purpose because of dreary and ponderous direction by Otto Preminger and a script lacking in the most modest of humour.I am of the opinion that Preminger was a somewhat better director than various detractors have made him out to be,but there is no doubt he could partake in some crashing aberrations,of which this is possibly the nadir.To be fair,some of the material abound could have been funny had the writing been much sharper and astute,and the direction slicker and better paced,but Preminger's handling is so heavy-handed and leaden as to resemble an elephant wading through glue.Comic timing then,is definitely not in the Preminger forte (he often handled drama with far more assurance).It is however,more the forte of such performers as Groucho Marx,Jackie Gleason,Mickey Rooney,Frank Gorshin and Fred Clark.However,the prison setting seems a very apposite metaphor as all the above and other members of the cast (which also include other eclectic names as Burgess Meredith,Peter Lawford,Slim Pickens and unbelievably, even George Raft!) are incarcerated by the unfunny,witless script.Gleason's familiar bombastic,blustering comic style could be funny when channelled correctly,but he comes across here as decidedly charmless and unappealing,and it's so very sad to see a legend such as an elderly,floundering Groucho Marx (in his last,and certainly worst film),with his dyed hair and moustache,trying desperately to bring his customary quicksilver wit to a role that simply doesn't provide him with such an opportunity.Groucho seems to be reading his lines via cue cards,and this reaches it's lowest point when he attempts to seduce Gleason's teenage daughter (Miss Hay),though even this is surpassed in sheer creepiness when the obviously middle-aged Miss Channing semi-strips in front of an unimpressed Frankie Avalon,and her skimpy costume worn in the final scene.

Preminger seems to be reversing the principle of his earlier drug-related THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955).That certainly condemned the use of narcotics(namely heroin);SKIDOO more or less endorses the ingestion of LSD (seemingly the equivalent of being pleasantly drunk,according to Preminger) as all characters here metamorphize into amiable,happy-go-lucky types,including the criminals;one convict,played by Michael Constantine,says taking more acid will probably stop his urge to "rape" anymore,perhaps the most foolishly misguided line uttered (among many).

There are a few scenes though,which carry a certain amount of camp,way-out value.They don't amuse,but Gleason's experiences during his trip,with a miniaturised Pendleton,bulging eye-sockets,and Groucho's face imposed on a screw top are fascinatingly idiotic,as is the unforgettable trash can dance accompanied by a Harry Nilsson soundtrack.Nilsson's musical interjections are just about the only aspects of the slightest merit present during this film,but he composed better works before and after.Nilsson,along with Fred Clark,feature as stoned-out tower guards in this sequence,and this is the nearest we get to actual laughs in the film.It dosen't quite happen,though,and Nilsson's singing of the entire end credits is quirky but not at all subtle;even less subtle is Preminger's use of his war film IN HARM'S WAY (1965) in the opening scene,indicating his dislike of the editing of films on TV for the purpose of commercial breaks;this sadly sets the tone for the film to come.

SKIDOO has never been released on VHS or DVD,and is rarely even shown on TV (though TCM recently broadcasted it,though only early in the morning and not peak time).The Preminger estate have apparently refused proper availability because of it's perceived poor quality.This is understandable;SKIDOO misfires spectacularly in what was intended,with only brief moments that suggest what could have been.

RATING:2 and a half out of 10.

I have to give this film some points for its attempted outrageousness. I can add little to the previous posters, but can suggest some observations: * Jackie Gleason actually acquits himself pretty well. His acting stays low-key, even through his "Trip" sequence. Stack this performance against his work in, say, "Smokey and the Bandit." * I don't care that Carol Channing was younger than I now am when she made this movie. I never want to see her in bra and panties. I'd rather she sing more Nilsson lyrics than watch those scenes again.

* When two or more "Batman" villains are in a movie, that should be a sign of trouble. This one had three, plus Mr. Freeze as director! To people who bash "Hollywood," I used to say "Corporate Hollywood makes only one kind of movie: the ones they think will make a profit." Hard to imagine anyone at Paramount thought this would make a profit. But then, in those days, a movie didn't have to open on 3,500 screens its first weekend. Most likely it died a quick death in the big downtown theatres before the rest of the country could even hear about it.

Otto Preminger's drug culture meets mobsters movie goes beyond just being merely bad. It's a must-see for fans of "far out" films of the '60s. It's "plot" centers around a former gangster (Jackie Gleason) forced to return to the Mob by his old boss "GOD" (Groucho Marx) and break into jail to silence a potential government witness (Mickey Rooney). Much to the horror of his wife (Carol Channing...yes, you read correctly), Gleason vanishes back into the "underworld," takes LSD and escapes from jail via a trash can rigged as a balloon. You can imagine how ridiculous that scene is. However, it's nothing compared to the grotesque strip tease done by Channing for the pleasure of mafia under-boss Frankie Avalon. The great Harry Nilsson contributes a bunch of faux-psychedelic tunes and Channing croaks out the film's title song during the final freak out aboard Groucho's yacht (actually John Wayne's...borrowed for the filming). Marx, who appears to be reading cue cards, smokes some pot. In addition to the bizarre ensemble mentioned above, the cast includes: Cesar Romero, Arnold Stang, Peter Lawford, George Raft, John Phillip Law, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, Fred Clark, and Austin Pendleton.

This is a really strange movie that no one remembers. Try naming five people you know who have seen this movie. After reading about it on IMDb, I became curious. I mean, if it wasn't for Groucho, I don't know if I would have even considered this movie. Unfortunately, it was unavailable on VHS or DVD. But I knew I would see it one day. And that day finally came when I typed "Skidoo, Groucho" into the search engine on YouTube. I was shocked. There it was. I watched it. It was a really interesting movie. I mean what other movies have Jackie Gleason and Groucho Marx on acid, or Carol Channing doing a striptease. However, it is not top 250 material. But I saw this movie, because I love movies with an all-star cast. And what an all-star cast indeed: Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Frankie Avalon, Cesar Romero, George Raft, Burgess Meredith, Peter Lawford, Arnold Stang, Frank Gorshin, Slim Pickens, and of course, Groucho Marx. If you ever get the chance to see this movie, watch it. It's a strange movie, and you will finish it thinking "Huh?" But it is an interesting movie, and it is fairly enjoyable.