A true gem of “hicksploitation” cinema –horror films exploiting stereotypical depictions of backwood Whites of the rural American south – Poor Pretty Eddie (1975) both relishes and ravishes the genre and is sure to appeal to aficionados of ’70s, grindhouse celluloid.
Liz Wetherly (Emmy and Tony Award-winner Leslie Uggams, ABC’s Roots, CBS’ The Leslie Uggams Show), sets off on the road for a two-week break from performing, seeking rest and relaxation. Unfortunately for her, that road leads to the middle of nowhere … where her car breaks down. Coming across a ramshackle motel and bar, Bertha’s Oasis, Liz has no choice but to rely on creepy mechanic Keno (Ted Cassidy, “Lurch” from ABC’s The Addams Family, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) to get her back on her way.
At the motel, Liz meets Eddie (Michael Christian, TV’s Peyton Place, Private Obsession), a young Elvis impersonator who is involved with the overweight owner, Bertha (two-time Academy Award-winner Shelley Winters, A Patch of Blue, Alfie, A Place in the Sun), a washed- up singer. Eddie sees Liz as his ticket out of the boonies and into the spotlight, deluding himself that she has fallen for him.
Creepy soon turns to terror as Liz fights to survive amidst a cast of demented characters including a perverted sheriff (Slim Pickens, Dr. Strangelove, The Howling) and a twisted justice of the peace (Dub Taylor, Bonnie and Clyde, Maverick).