WILDCAT! THE RESURRECTION OF THE FILMS OF MARJOE GORTNER

‘Marjoe Gortner’ is not a name often mentioned when the Hollywood A-list of the swingin’ ‘70s and ‘80s is recalled, but at the time, the Californian native was very much part of the scene. Having soared to notoriety/fame in the wake of the Oscar-winning documentary Marjoe (1972), the gripping expose of the boy-preacher whose name is an amalgam of ‘Mary’ and ‘Joseph’, the charismatic showman turned to acting. His golden mane and pearly whites were seen in Earthquake (1974), Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976), Food of The Gods (1976) and Viva Knievel! (1977); in 1978, he made his worst film, the now infamous Star Wars rip-off, Starcrash, and his best, When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder? The enigmatic star then spent three decades guest-starring in episodic television and riding the home video boom years with bit parts in B-movies with names like Mausoleum (1983), Jungle Warriors (1984), Hellhole (1985) and American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt (1989).

John Harrison has been intrigued by the larger-than-life presence of the child-evangelist-turned-movie star for all of those decades. The Melbourne-based author, whose encyclopaedic knowledge of and passion for the pulp extrtemiries of society has made him one of the most respected figures in Australia’s counter-culture community, examines the actor’s early life and filmography in his recently-published book, WILDCAT! The Films of Marjoe Gortner. “His story is a unique one,” Harrison (pictured, below) told SCREEN-SPACE, “so he will endure.”

SCREEN-SPACE:  Why does Marjoe Gortner hold such a fascination for you?

JOHN: I guess my fascination with Marjoe Gortner began from the first time I saw him, when I snuck off into the city as a kid to see a double-bill of Squirm (1976) and Food of the Gods (1976). Marjoe’s leading role in the later really appealed to me, as did his striking looks and rather exotic name. There just seemed to be a unique air that surrounded him on screen, and whenever I saw his name show up on a movie poster or as a guest star in the opening credits of a TV show, I always made it a point to watch it, even if it was something I wouldn’t normally have much interest in.

However, it wasn’t until I accidently caught a late-night TV screening of When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder? (1979) in the late-80s that I really began to investigate Marjoe’s career further. That film had such an impact on me, I was working part-time at a video store in St. Kilda at the time, and when I went in to work the next day and discovered we had the Roadshow VHS of When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder? on the shelf, I pretty much played it on the shop’s TV constantly, and took it home at least once a week to watch and study it properly. When the video store eventually closed its doors, the owner said I could take any five VHS tapes from the shelves, so of course Red Ryder was the first tape I went for, and still have it in the collection today.

Marjoe was still just an actor in my head at this point. It was in the early-90s that I first became aware of his past as a child preacher and evangelist, which naturally only made him more interesting to study, since acting and preaching both involve performance and playing a character and convincing people you are something or someone that you really aren’t.

SCREEN-SPACE:  Was he an actor? An opportunist? A businessman, supremely skilled at selling himself? How does he fit in the landscape of 70s/80s Hollywood?

JOHN: I think the most accurate answer would be that he was a combination of these things. He was certainly an opportunist, using his notoriety as a child preacher and the success of the 1972 documentary about him as a springboard to Hollywood. But it certainly wasn’t just a chance thing, he had been taking acting and singing lessons well before the documentary hit. He was also definitely a businessman, and a pretty good one. After seeing none of the untold sums of money that he brought in during his child preaching days (most of which was taken by his father after he spilt), Marjoe made sure people never took financial advantage of him ever again.  Bobbie Bresse, the actress he starred opposite in Mausoleum (1983), once relayed in an issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland that Marjoe told her to always get the money up front, and said every week a long black limo would pull up onto the set and two guys would step out and deliver a big black bag, filled with what she assumed was money, directly to Marjoe’s trailer! (Pictured, above; Gortner as 'Jody' in Earthquake)

As for how he fits into the overall landscape of the Hollywood of his era, I would say that he has definitely earned his place in pop culture. His early years were well documented on film, in print and on record albums, and a lot of the films and television shows he worked on have become cult classics of a kind. He was definitely of his time, and the fact that he completely turned his back on performing in the late-90s and now refuses to talk about or even acknowledge his past as either a preacher or an actor, only adds to his mystique.

SCREEN-SPACE:  For those new to the Greatness of Gortner, which film should be the entry point?

JOHN: I would have to go with When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder (1979; pictured, right, Gortner with co-stars Hal Linden and Lee Grant). It is easily his best onscreen performance and it’s such a galvanizing film. Marjoe is truly terrifying in it, and he is surrounded by a great ensemble cast that really breathe life and tension into the characters and story, which was adapted by Mark Medoff from his stage play.

Of course, the Oscar-winning documentary Marjoe (1972) is also essential viewing for anyone wanting to understand the Marjoe mythos, and if you want to see him in something that is just plain 70s genre fun you can’t go past watching him fend off giant chickens with a pitchfork in Food of the Gods (1976).

SCREEN-SPACE:  If there is a perception of Marjoe that you hope people take from your book, what would it be?

JOHN: While my book naturally covers Marjoe’s childhood and days as a child preacher, I wasn’t interested in writing some tell-all about his private life. Wildcat! is an examination of his filmography, so I hope it will give readers an appreciation of his work and just how prolific and diverse he was during his time in Hollywood. I hope people will use it in the same way that I used books like The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film and Incredibly Strange Films in the 80s, as a roadmap to seek out some films or TV shows they may not have been aware of, or completely forgotten about. And to discover a new appreciation for them, and in turn, Marjoe.

WILDCAT! The Films of Marjoe Gortner is available via its publisher, BearManor Media, Amazon, and wherever all good books are sold.