The Trip *** (1967, Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper) – Classic Movie Review 3866

Director Roger Corman’s infamous 1967 drugs exploitation psychedelic movie is notable for Jack Nicholson writing the intriguing if disjointed screenplay.

The story focuses on young television commercial director Paul Groves (Peter Fonda, convincing) who gets into a state when his wife Sally (Susan Strasberg) leaves him and takes LSD with help from his acid head friend John (Bruce Dern) and goes on a psychedelic trip. John takes Paul to a freak-out at the pad of his friend Max (Dennis Hopper).

Released by American International Pictures, it is a key movie of the counterculture-era period that mixes Ingmar Bergman-style angst with amazing crazed images, including psychedelic strobe effects (by Peter Gardiner) and frantic montage (Dennis Jakob).

Also in the cast are Salli Sachse, Katherine Walsh, Luana Anders, Dick Miller, Michael Nader, Peter Bogdanovich, Michael Blodgett, Tom Signorelli, Barbara Renson, Susan Walters, Frankie Smith and Mitzi Hong.

It was shot in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California.

The film was hit by censorship in the UK and was refused a certificate four times by the BBFC – in 1967, 1971 and 1980, and again for video in 1988. It was finally released on DVD fully uncut in 2004. Despite that, the very popular, low-cost ($100,000) film took $10 million in rentals, $5.1 million out it in North America.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3866
Check out more reviews on: derekwinnert.com

Hopper and Nicholson at the 1990 Academy Awards.