Lolly-Madonna XXX (a.k.a. The Lolly-Madonna War) is a 1973 film directed by Richard C. Sarafian. The film was co-written by Rodney Carr-Smith and Sue Grafton, based on the 1969 novel The Lolly-Madonna War by Grafton.[1]
| Lolly-Madonna XXX | |
|---|---|
 Alternative movie poster | |
| Directed by | Richard C. Sarafian |
| Screenplay by | Rodney Carr-Smith Sue Grafton |
| Based on | The Lolly-Madonna War 1969 novel by Sue Grafton |
| Produced by | Rodney Carr-Smith |
| Starring | Rod Steiger Robert Ryan Jeff Bridges Scott Wilson Season Hubley |
| Cinematography | Philip H. Lathrop |
| Edited by | Tom Rolf |
| Music by | Fred Myrow |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The movie was filmed in rural Union County, Tennessee.[2]
Plot
editTwo families in rural Tennessee, headed by patriarchs Laban Feather and Pap Gutshall are at odds with each other. The sons of the two families play harmless tricks on each other but soon the Feather boys decide to kidnap a girl, escalating the rivalry. She turns out to be innocent bystander Roonie Gill, not the made-up Gutshall girlfriend "Lolly Madonna" that the Gutshall clan had invented to get the Feathers away from their still. As events escalate, Zack Feather and Roonie fall in love and try to bring the others to their senses, but to no avail. One family busts up another's still; and in retaliation, the sons of that family rape the daughter of the other. After the feud results in a fiery confrontation in a meadow, where one of the Feather boys is fatally wounded and the mother of the Gutshall kin is shot to death, the two families regroup in order to gear up for a final deadly confrontation. With the exception of Sister E Gutshall, who packs a suitcase and leaves home, the participants engage in battle at the Feather homestead. In the end, all combatants die.
Cast
edit- Rod Steiger as Laban Feather
- Robert Ryan as Pap Gutshall
- Jeff Bridges as Zack Feather
- Gary Busey as Zeb Gutshall
- Katherine Squire as Chickie Feather
- Season Hubley as Roonie Gill/Lolly Madonna
- Ed Lauter as Hawk Feather
- Paul Koslo as Villum Gutshall
- Scott Wilson as Thrush Feather
- Kiel Martin as Ludie Gutshall
- Randy Quaid as Finch Feather
- Joan Goodfellow as Sister E Gutshall
- Timothy Scott as Skylar Feather
- Tresa Hughes as Elspeth Gutshall
- Kathy Watts as Lyda Jo Gutshall Feather
Critical reception
editThe film had a mixed reception from the critics. Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote:
Lolly-Madonna XXX is a disaster, but I can't tell whether it's because hillbillies make rotten metaphors or because Richard C. Sarafian has made a rotten movie.[3]
Variety stated:
Sue Grafton's novel The Lolly-Madonna War, has been handsomely and sensitively filmed. Excellent performances abound by older and younger players in a mountain-country clan feud story which mixes extraordinary human compassion with raw but discreet violence.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "'Lolly-Madonna' changed lives". Anchorage Daily News. July 8, 1973. p. 14. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ Chris Wohlwend, "Revisiting the Nearly Forgotten 'Lolly Madonna War,' Shot in Union County, Tenn.," Knoxville Mercury, 3 August 2016.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (February 22, 1973). "'Lolly-Madonna' Appears on Screen". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ "Lolly-Madonna XXX - The Lolly-Madonna War (U.K.)". Variety. January 1973. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
External links
edit- Lolly-Madonna XXX at IMDb
- Lolly-Madonna XXX at AllMovie
- Lolly-Madonna XXX at the TCM Movie Database
- Lolly-Madonna XXX at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Lolly-Madonna XXX at Rotten Tomatoes
- Original New York Times review
- Knoxville News Sentinel Photo Gallery of East Tennessee Movie Making: Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)