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He always said he would die
at 30. It made sense. His grandfather had
died at 50 and his father passed away at
40. The grim prediction made perfect
sense. Maybe thats why he was so
feverishly determined to accomplish so
much so quickly. William Girdler made
quite a name for himself in the six years
(and 9 films!) he was active in the film
industry. He was born October 22nd
1947 in Louisville Kentucky to a
well-to-do family. Throughout his youth
William was obsessed with movies. After a
stint in the Air Force he returned home
and started the production company Studio
One with his brother in law, J. Patrick
Kelly III.
Their first film
effort was Asylum of Satan
in 1972. The $50,000 Louisville film
starred soap opera actress Carla Borelli
as a kidnapped concert pianist who is
slated to be sacrificed by the
cross-dressing devil worshipping Dr.
Specter/Martine (Charles Kissinger) so he
can gain attain immortality. Girdler
claimed to have learned a lot from this
film as well as from his next effort. In
1973 Girdler made Three on
a Meathook (also in
Louisville) for under $30,000. This one
was the story of Billy (James Pickett) a
crazed woman-butcherer who decides to
help out (uh huh) 4 stranded
young women. It also starred Charles
Kissinger (once again). It hit a few
drive-ins across the country and quickly
disappeared. Gridler followed that film
by moving into the more lucrative
blaxploitation market. In 1975 he made
the black cop/white cop thriller The
Zebra Killer (aka Panic
City/Combat
Cops filmed in you
guessed it Louisville) Austin
Stoker, James Pickett (again), Charles
Kissinger (ditto), and DUrville
Martin. He learned even more from this
misfire. As a filmmaker (even an
exploitative one) he was starting to hit
his stride.
In 1974 Girdler would break
into the big time combining both the
blaxploitation as well as the horror
markets for The Exorcist
rip-off Abby.
He was even sued by Warner Brothers! This
rare flick is a must-see classic for so
many reasons. Louisville minister and
world traveler William Blacula
Marshall releases an ancient African sex
god, which takes possession of his
daughter in law Abby (the wonderful Carol
Speed) who turns VERY nasty indeed
making lewd penis/sex comments, raping
her husband, puking, swearing, and
generally misbehaving - lotsa fun stuff.
The cast includes Juanita Moore, Terry
Carter, and Austin Stoker. The modest
$100,000 budgeted American International
film made 4 million in its first month of
release! In movie-land money talks and
Girdler had just entered the big time.
Like any good exploitation
director/producer Girdler wasted no time
in cashing in on his success. In 1975 he
made Sheba Baby.
He bragged that along with David Sheldon
he co-wrote the script in one day, and if
you have seen this movie you might well
believe him. Sheba Baby
starred the gorgeous and always
watch-able superstar blacktress Pam Grier
as a hot detective who comes from Chicago
to help her fathers floundering
loan company in (you guessed it)
Louisville that is being threatened by
the mob. Despite its tame doings
(especially following Griers work
in Coffy and
Foxy Brown)
the film was another resounding success
and starred Girdler favorites Austin
Stoker and Charles Kissinger. It was the
last movie Girdler chose to make in his
native Louisville.
The following year he went
way out of Louisville all the way
to the Philippines to make the drug
trafficking action opus Project
Kill (1976) starring
Leslie Nielsen, Nancy Kwan, and Gary
Lockwood. The film was not the box-office
bonanza he had hoped due in part to the
untimely murder of the films
distributor! However, William had little
time to stew over that misfortune. The
same year also brought him his biggest
financial success.
He dipped back into
borrowing from current
successes and came up with Grizzly
(1976) an extremely thinly veiled Jaws
rip-off starring Christopher George,
Richard Jaeckle, Joe Dorsey, Andrew
Prine. The first victim is even played by
Susan Backlinie, the same actress who
played the first victim in Jaws
--- though this time shes mauled
while showering instead of gobbled up
while skinny-dipping. This is the sordid
tale of a 20 ft. grizzly bear killing
campers in Georgia. It was lambasted by
critics, but not by movie audiences. It
made over $30 million and was the #1
independent film of the year.
Never one to meddle with
success Girdler followed this movie with
another nature run amok opus
-- the eco-themed The Day
of the Animals (1977).
This one was about a whole slew of
animals (bears, snakes, rats, hawks,
cougars, dogs) which go insane due to
ozone layer depletion and begin attacking
a group of campers in Northern
California. The cast includes Christopher
George, Lynda Day George, Leslie Nielsen
(as a racist who wrestles a bear
a
truly bad film moment), Michael Ansara,
Richard Jaeckle, and Ruth Roman. There
are jumping dogs, flying rats, and a
whole lot more in this cheesy little
played-with-a-straight-face treat.
The story goes that while at
the airport to do some final work for
The Day of the Animals
Girdler picked up a copy of the horror
paperback The Manitou
and the seed of Girdlers last
feature film was born. He promptly bought
the rights to the novel. The
Manitou (1978) pulls out all the
stops -- possession, medicine men, over
the top special FX, and demonic birth.
Clearly, its a must-see for all
horror fans. It stars Tony Curtis as
phony psychic Harry Erskine whose old
girlfriend Karen (Susan Strasberg) has a
rapidly growing thing on the
back of her neck (YUCK!) which eventually
gives birth to --- well, the spirit of an
ancient and evil shaman (that sort of
looks like Cousin It from The
Addams Family and is even
played by the same actor, Felix Silla!).
Talk about horrid STDs! The campy
supporting cast includes Burgess
Meredith, Stella Stevens, Michael Ansara
(as John Singing Rock), and Ann Southern!
Dont miss it. This is one amazing
flick for so many reasons.
Sadly,
Girdler never saw the finished version of
The Manitou.
He died in a helicopter crash on January
21st 1978 while in The
Philippines scouting locations for his
next film which was to be The
Overlords inspired
by the success of the recently released
Star Wars.
Hauntingly, Girdler was right in his
prediction. He was 30 years old at the
time of his death.
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