Cockfighter. 1974. USA. Directed by Monte Hellman. Screenplay by Charles Willeford, based on his novel. With Warren Oates, Richard B. Shull, Harry Dean Stanton, Ed Begley Jr., Laurie Bird. New 35mm print. 83 min.
To Save and Project presents a new 35mm print of Monte Hellman’s Cockfighter, the only Roger Corman–backed movie of the 1970s that lost money, though it has gained an avid cult following ever since. The celebrated crime novelist Charles Willeford (Miami Blues, The Burnt Orange Heresy) adapted his 1962 novel, chronicling the subculture of drifters and grifters who stage cockfights in the backwoods of the Deep South. A war hero who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, Willeford was a Jack London type who learned his craft working odd jobs, from hoboing during the Great Depression to boxing, horse training, and radio announcing. His ear for the vernacular turn of phrase and his eye for the colorful detail is echoed by the actors of Cockfighter, who look and sound the part: Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton, Ed Begley Jr., Richard Shull, Millie Perkins, and Laurie Bird. Jonathan Rosenbaum writes that “[e]xcept for Iguana, which is almost completely unknown, this wry 1974 feature is probably the most underrated work by Monte Hellman (Two-Lane Blacktop). Shot by Nestor Almendros on location in Georgia (partly in Flannery O’Connor’s hometown, which seems appropriate), it follows the absurdist progress of a man who trains fighting cocks (Warren Oates in one of his best performances) and who takes a vow of silence after his hubris nearly puts him out of the game, though he continues to narrate the story offscreen. Produced by Roger Corman as an exploitation item for the drive-ins, this performed so badly in that capacity that it was recut and retitled more than once (as Born to Kill, Wild Drifter, and Gamblin’ Man). But as a dark comedy and closet art movie, it delivers and lingers.”
New 35mm made by the Academy Film Archive with support from Roger Corman, Julie Corman, and Jon Davison; courtesy American Genre Film Archive.
Screening with trailers for Rock ’n’ Roll High School (1979), Piranha (1978), and Hollywood Boulevard (1976)
35mm prints courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.