The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow
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| The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow | |
|---|---|
 title screen from the theatrical trailer; the film itself has no title screen, and apparently no poster was ever made |
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| Directed by | Lee Jones |
| Produced by | Lee Jones, Phineas T. Pinkham |
| Written by | Phineas T. Pinkham, Carla Rueckert |
| Starring | Elizabeth Rush Ele Grigsby David Roster Paul Lenzi Charles Rubin Hugh Smith Ellen Tripp |
| Music by | James DeWitt |
| Cinematography | Lee Jones |
| Editing by | Bub Asman |
| Distributed by | Atlantis Films, Ltd. |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow is a 1973 independent film. It was directed and photographed by Lee Jones from a screenplay by Don Elkins and Carla Rueckert, the latter of whom was the major creative force, perhaps even auteur, on the picture, doing a great deal of uncredited and pseudonymous work. It is a comedy modeled on Southern crime films (particularly of the American new wave such as Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands, Easy Rider, and Dillinger) and science fiction, inflected with the spirituality of Elkins and Rueckert.
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[edit] Story
Kaspar (Ele Grigsby) is apprentice to Detective Sam Trowel (Hugh Smith), and finds the compound hideout of a kidnapping and drug ring (Lee Boylan, James DeWitt, Paul Urbahns, James Rueckert, Harold Thom, Dodd Harris III), that Trowel is looking for, but is too focused on procedure to listen to. Trowel has hired known safecracker Frederick Fenzer (David Roster) and his bodyguard, Noname (Harlo Cayse), as ringer suppliers to set up Ruthie (Rueckert, billed as "Ellen Tripp") with the kidnapping ring with a tracer hidden in a brassiere, but she is abducted before she can put it on, though Kaspar knows where the compound is.
At the compound, known as the Hidan of Maukbeiangjow, Ruthie is killed via asphyxiation and replaced with a confused alien from another world, supervised by a sorcerer named Aph (Charles Rubin), working as a slave for an evil alien named Utaya (McCain Jeeves) that he has accidentally brought into this world. Another alien in human form, played by Pepper Thurston, helps the former Ruthie to function inside her human body and kidnaps Trowel to be used as a new body for Utaya. Freddie's brother, also the namesake of their father and thus known as "Junior" (Paul Lenzi) arrives just to bring his brother's stash of marijuana, and quickly causes trouble for Prudence (Elizabeth Rush), Aph's apprentice, who made the mistake of coming for a visit. Prudence and Kaspar end up bound and guarded by "Ruthie", and Prudence informs him that the aliens are a race like ours, some good, some evil, which she informs him is not the normal way of a world.
The new Utaya wants the help of Fenzer in stealing a billion dollars for an unspecified purpose, and he wants Kaspar's body for another vessel, since many of the dead become vapid and confused like Rosebush (Ruth Horn) or become zombies (James Rueckert). Junior attempts to rape Prudence, but she ends up shooting him after a lengthy chase with her arms still tied behind her back. Freddie complains that Utaya is simply Trowel high on junk, and puffing his joint complains, "I don't work with nobody (puff puff) who ain't straight!" After a battle, Trowel/Utaya is killed, as are most of the kidnapping ring. Romance has blossomed between Prudence and Kaspar, and Aph gets into his convertible and gives the couple a ride.
[edit] Production
Lee Jones told WilliamGirdler.com that he was unhappy with the script and thought that it would be better if he had written it, though he never expressed such feelings to Elkins and Rueckert[1].
Don Elkins was known by the nickname "Phineas T. Pinkham", and this is the name he used on the credits of the film. His use of the nickname significantly pre-dates the use in the film.
The film was shot in Arkansas in Autumn of 1973. Even the filmmakers are not sure the exact date the film was released.
Carla Rueckert painted the interiors with her brother. The designs on Aph's walls all have positive connotations, but some viewed them as satanic markings. Indeed, after the film's shooting was finished, the house was burned to the ground by people who thought the filmmakers were satanists.
David Roster and Charles Rubin were Shakespeare in the Park actors. Rubin thought of his dialogue as "mumbo jumbo" and only his level of professionalism kept him from saying his lines with a straight face, although he does get numerous cynical close-ups that work in context. Rubin currently runs a camera store in Louisville.
Although there is little doubt that the film speaks with a unique artistic voice, particularly among exploitation films, Elkins and Rueckert decided that filmmaking was not what they were good at, and gave it up, although they subsequently appeared in documentaries. Except for Hugh Smith, most of the actors have not appeared on film since.
[edit] Cult following
The film was barely released in the United States or anywhere else (an estimate of six prints were made, mostly screened in Louisiana[2]) until 1985, when VCI, under the United Home Video imprint, released it titled Invasion of the Girl Snatchers as part of their "Le Bad Cinema" line in two different versions (in indistinctual packaging): one the print as-is (with no onscreen title and full end credits), and one with new opening and closing (deleting the end credits) cards proclaiming the film to have been presented by Jeffrey C. Hogue's Majestic International Pictures (all boxes acknowledge Hogue). VCI no longer owns the rights to the film, and Hogue has ignored Ruckert's attempts to buy it from him. The film has become something of a collector's item, interest in it having spread through word of mouth at the film's originality, unique acting, and beauitful sets and locations, not to mention its soundtrack, featuring original folk "hard rock country ballads" by DeWitt, who had divorced Rueckert in 1967, all surprisingly audacious for a film rather crudely directed.
Hugh Smith told WilliamGirdler.com that he found the film pretty stupid and confusing at the time, but upon seeing it more recently, thought it was similar in tone to work by the Coen Brothers and David Lynch.
Several websites have embraced the film, and have created more demand to see a film now difficult to find. The trailer has been included as a supplement on some DVDs from Something Weird Video, but Hogue has not licensed them use of the film, which Rueckert would like to see color-corrected and made to look as best as it can, even though she speaks of the film with a little embarrassment.
