T. Frank (David Weber), Paulette (Doris Hargrave), and Frank (Sonny Davis) at the drive-in, in Eagle Pennell and Lin Sutherland's The Whole Shootin' Match, 1978
If you've never seen, let alone heard of, The Whole Shootin' Match, a Texas-made independent film from 1978, I'd say you're in for a treat. And if you have seen The Whole Shootin' Match already, it's probably likely you're eager to see it again, looking as it should; I'd say you're in for a treat as well. Mark Rance's recently founded concern Watchmaker Films, which is partnering on this and other projects with the good fellows at Benten Films, is releasing a terrific multi-disc DVD package of Shootin' Match next Tuesday. The film is really a gem and a delight, and I cover it in some detail today over at The Auteurs' Notebook. Check it out, and, as they say, get your mind right.
The Houston Press did a great – and inevitably heartbreaking – piece on Pennell a year or two ago. It’s by a former collaborator, Steve McVicker.
http://www.houstonpress.com/1999-10-14/news/fade-to-black
I keep hearing about this film, so I’m glad I’ll finally get to see it. Into the queue it goes.
I’ve noticed alcohol and weed are by far the biggest problems for small-time filmmakers. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve seen a lot of talented guys do a slow fade thanks to that.