BUSTER AND BILLIE (1974)

Title: BUSTER AND BILLIE

Year of Release: 1974

Director: Daniel Petrie

Genre: Drama, Romance, Revenge

Synopsis: Buster Lane, Greenwood High School, Georgia's handsomest and most popular student, leaves fiancée Margie Hooks when he falls in love with town pariah Billie-Jo Truluck, but their love affair ends in tragedy.

Within a film history context: The early 1970s brought forth a filmic revival of nostalgia for past eras in American history. The trend began with Peter Bogdanovich's splendid THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971), and most notably continued with George Lucas' AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973). BUSTER AND BILLIE can be seen as a continuation of this focus on nostalgia, taking place in 1948 Georgia, with THE LAST PICTURE SHOW set in 1951 Anarene, Texas, with 1962 California showcased in AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

Overview: Over the course of his career Daniel Petrie directed a variety of films, dealing with issues such as racism in A RAISIN IN THE SUN (1961), the character studies of a lifeguard in LIFEGUARD (1976), and that of a police officer in FORT APACHE THE BRONX (1981). He treated his characters with understanding and sympathy, and invited audiences to do likewise. In BUSTER AND BILLIE, Ron Turbeville's screenplay deftly explores themes such as coming of age, discrimination, immorality, family ties, and sexual repression in 1948 Georgia, based upon a real-life incident from his home town. Mr Petrie presents his characters as flawed, realistic people which in this particular film plays out with great conviction. No one changes character in the film to fit a circumstance which is refreshing to witness. BUSTER AND BILLIE is a film that runs the gamut from drama, comic moments, romance, and tragedy, but is not light viewing. Be prepared for something that touches the mind and heart, with some ferocity, but without undue sentimentality.

Acting: The acting is uniformly excellent, and there is not a false note anywhere in this film. There is a large supporting cast, but they ably support the leads. Years before her role as feisty Fallon on night-time serial Dynasty, Pamela Sue Martin as Margie suggests that there is more beneath the surface to her supposed wallflower character which makes her an interesting match to Jan-Michael Vincent's Buster in the first part of the film. Robert Englund, later famous as Freddy Krueger in the A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET film franchise, is lively and intuitive as Buster's friend Whitey. My favourite acting performances, though, were by Jan-Michael Vincent and Joan Goodfellow.

Jan-Michael Vincent portrays Buster as a strong, sensitive young man who has a bit of a devilish streak, as witnessed by his tenuous relationship with the school bus driver. Buster is immediately positioned in comparison to his school friends as the 'good' young man with some shades of grey. He is curious how his school friends see Billie as just 'a means to an end' but does nothing to find out more about her. Buster steers away from Billie in the beginning as he is seemingly happy with fiancée Margie, but Margie's reluctance in a certain area is the impetus for him to meet Billie. At first he sees Billie as just a sexual quick fix, but something unexpected, and deeper develops between them which also brings a change in Billie's character. Jan-Michael Vincent's charming, solid performance, and chemistry with Joan Goodfellow is the centrepiece of the film, containing its best moments.

Joan Goodfellow's Billie is perfectly matched with Jan-Michael Vincent's Buster in this film, making his engagement to Margie seem like a sideline after the film is finished. When we first meet Billie she is being used by Buster's friends for their gratification, but the character is not shown as enjoying this, biting her lips, and walking away dejectedly after another one of these sessions. Billie is at first a character who speaks in a low voice, but Buster brings out her 'voice' in a manner of speaking, and her personality into the light for the first time. Joan Goodfellow underplays her role, which makes the transition between her first incarnation, and second all the more startling, and heartbreaking.

Soundtrack: The use of "Billie's Theme" by Hoyt Axton is employed throughout the movie in various capacities depending upon the scene. A moving and emotional song, it perfectly complements the action without ever becoming tedious. It is used to most effect at the beginning of the film during the credits, and at the end. When one first sees the movie and hears the song, it is beautiful but does not make sense until the film starts moving, and is most poignant in the final scenes. The film also utilizes period songs to evoke the atmosphere of 1940s Georgia, such as in the dance scene featuring country music singers Claude Casey and Slim Mims, and in the pool hall sequences.

Mise-en-scene: The cinematography beautifully captures the Georgia landscape, with its farms, fields and other buildings featured, which give the film an aura of authenticity that could not be duplicated in a studio. The bus driver's dusty window is one of many small but significant touches that the film presents which bring verisimilitude to the film. Another striking scene is the school house wall which is filled with graffiti which provides a revealing, and important narrative insight into the characters, and their activities for viewers.

There are also symbolic comparisons made between the various family homes in the movie that speaks volumes of the characters in a non-verbal manner. The Lane and Hooks family homes are cosy, with a nice airy atmosphere, comfortable furniture, and friendly parents. The Truluck home resembles more of a stable than a home, with badly dressed, abrupt parents, various clothing pieces hanging on the wall instead of pictures or ornaments, and an unkempt table at the entrance. This points to a downbeat ambiance, but also serves to establish Billie's home life and upbringing by unsuitable parents, therefore increasing understanding about the character's motivations and actions.

Award-worthy performances in my opinion: Jan-Michael Vincent, Joan Goodfellow, Pamela Sue Martin, Robert Englund.

Suitability for young viewers: No. Low-level coarse language, brief male and female nudity, adult themes, high-level violence.

Overall Grade: A

Link: IMDB Page

Trailer