The Drowning Pool (1975)

This is the follow-up to Harper (a movie I really liked), with Paul Newman reprising the titular P.I. Though there are flashes of wit early on, the movie settles into a series of scenes featuring Harper chasing down (or being dragged to) yet another lowlife with another bit of information that may or may not be useful.

Meandering, confusing, and ugly. Also, Melanie Griffith as a nymphet ups the "yuck" factor.

C-

Lies My Father Told Me (1975)

David is growing up in a small household with his longsuffering mother, his serial-inventor father, and his beloved Grandfather "Zaida." David's favorite activity is spending the day with Zaida on his junk wagon, calling for rags, clothes and bottles (but they'll really take anything that can be sold or recycled).Their home is within a small community where everyone knows each other and is all up in one another's business.

It's a loud, messy movie that should've been charming, but it's sunk by the child playing David. He's SO BAD at acting and the entire film is on his shoulders.

C

The Day of the Locust (1975)

I think this is some kind of Hollywood-in-the-‘30s fever dream. Aspiring actress leads a young art director on but shacks up with a lonely recluse. It’s confusing and freaky. There’s an annoying androgynous child, cockfighting, a stag movie night at a brothel, a collapse of a movie set that hurts dozens, a father and daughter who torture each other with manic laughter and song respectively, and a deadly riot at a movie premiere. And that’s not even all of the weird things.

If there'd been some payoff for sitting through all of the wtf moments, I may not have hated this so much.

D-

Once Is Not Enough (1975)

Clumsy melodrama involving a has-been movie producer marrying for money so his recently recuperated (learned how to walk and talk again after a motorcycle accident) daughter can remain in the lap of luxury. It’s convoluted and pretty yucky, especially when the daughter falls for an impotent older writer because, we’re led to believe, what she really wants is to be in a relationship with her father. It’s ugly and empty.

D-

The Eiger Sanction (1975)

Hilariously inane movie that has Eastwood as a retired assassin turned professor being pulled back in.

His employer is an albino, the job’s going to take place during a treacherous climbing expedition, he’s being menaced by a gay man and his little dog “Faggot,” and he’s training with a Native American goddess who doesn’t mind flashing her breasts and never speaks (dreamgirl much?).

Oh, it’s awful...in the most awesome of awful ways.

D

Bite the Bullet (1975)

Grab-bag of character types enter a 700-mile horse race for a grand prize of $2000 in the early 20th century.

I think there's an interesting story buried in here, but too much of it just feels like monotonous padding. I was bored at the halfway point and exhausted at its end. It's neither fun nor exciting enough.

C

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

So completely silly, it's impossible not to giggle through most of it. Some bits don't work at all, but they are few and easily forgiven in the light of all the bits that are excellent.

B+

The Man in the Glass Booth (1975)

The first 45 minutes are loathsome. The rest is slightly better, but still pretty yucky. Schell has too many screaming monologues that acted like a sledgehammer to both patience and eardrums. Sure, he does a great job -- but his character is someone I'd happily kick in the balls if I ever actually met him.

D-

Shampoo (1975)

One of the top 100 funniest movies? Nominated for screenplay? Huh? Wha? Beatty looks to be in a drug haze but, according to the screenplay, could apparently compete with Fonzie in a chick-magnet contest. One girl wants him so bad she gets under the table at a dinner party to, uh, prove it.

I think it was supposed to be madcap at times, but it was too somnambulant and Beatty was too bored-looking for me to buy it. His character seemed to view sex as a chore that he's extraordinarily good at, but not particularly into (despite the speech he delivers to Goldie Hawn professing his addiction or...who cares). I didn't care a fig for anyone on screen and was doing the "only 42 minutes left" -- "ooh - only 39 minutes left" countdown.

D-

Love and Death (1975)

So many great one-liners and short enough that it didn't get tedious. One of the great Allen comedies with the sole agenda of cracking up the audience.

B+

Rollerball (1975)

Uh…yeah. We have this extreme sport to show that no one's better than anyone and because we don't have wars, books, or true pleasure any more. I'm pretty sure that the premise makes no sense and that what we're supposed to learn is that no matter how much the world changes, rich old white men will still have the power and young strapping white men will have the adoration. Or am I missing the point here?

D

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

Bookworm for the CIA suddenly finds himself the target of assassins at every turn. Desperately in need of someone to trust and hide him, he "drafts" a woman at random (a terrific Faye Dunaway) and uses her apartment as headquarters to figure out what the heck is happening. Simply flawless script that refuses to dumb it down for the audience. This is one of those stories to which you must give your attention or you're gonna miss something. Though it lacks the flash of a churned-out modern thriller, I promise you won't miss it.

A-