Cisco Pike **** (1972, Gene Hackman, Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black) – Classic Movie Review 6,021

The excellent, hard-hitting 1971 thriller film Cisco Pike stars Gene Hackman as a crooked cop who blackmails has-been rock star Cisco Pike (Kris Kristofferson) into dealing $10,000 worth of marijuana in one weekend.

Co-writer/ director Bill W L Norton’s excellent, hard-hitting 1971 thriller film Cisco Pike stars Gene Hackman as crooked LAPD narcotics police officer Detective Sergeant Leo Holland, who blackmails has-been rock star Cisco Pike (Kris Kristofferson) into dealing 100 kilos or $10,000 worth of confiscated Acapulco gold marijuana in one weekend.

Powerful acting from the fine cast, a menacing tone in the script and atmospheric direction make it mean a lot more than the mundane plot might suggest.

This Seventies melodrama may have has some unfavourable reviews and been a box office failure, but nevertheless it was a cult favourite when it was first shown and it still packs a punch, and has gone on to become an admired cult classic.

They never bothered to release in on video. It was released for the first time on DVD in 2006.

Acting in his debut, Kristofferson also sings his hit ‘Lovin’ Her Was Easier’. Karen Black is excellent as Sue, Cisco’s girlfriend, though Norton tried to oppose her studio-imposed casting.

Also in the cast are Harry Dean Stanton, Viva, Roscoe Lee Browne, Severn Darden, Joy Bang, Chuy Franco, Herb Weil, Antonio Fargas, Doug Sahm, Don Sturdy [Howard Hesseman] and Allan [Alan] Arbus.

Writers: Bill Norton [B L Norton] and Robert Towne (uncredited). Towne reworked debut director Norton’s story about the music and drug scenes and further developed the characters, adding the corrupt police officer who forces Cisco Pike back into the drug world and expanding the role of Cisco’s girlfriend.

It premiered in San Francisco on November 2, 1971 and was released in the US on January 14, 1972.

The soundtrack is mostly songs that comprised Kristofferson’s next album release The Silver Tongued Devil and I, including ‘Breakdown (A Long Way from Home)’, ‘The Pilgrim—Chapter 33’ and ‘Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)’.

The cast

The cast are Kris Kristofferson as Cisco Pike, Gene Hackman as Detective Leo Holland, Karen Black as Sue, Harry Dean Stanton as Jesse Dupre, Viva as Merna, Doug Sahm as Rex, Roscoe Lee Browne as Pawnshop Owner, Joy Bang as Joyce, Severn Darden as Lawyer, Antonio Fargas as Brother Buffalo, Chuy Franco, Herb Weil, Doug Sahm, Don Sturdy as Recording Engineer, and Allan Arbus as Sim Valensi.

Kristoffer Kristofferson.

Karen Black (July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013)

Robert Towne (November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024)

Kris Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024)

Gene Hackman (January 30, 1930 – February 17, 2025)

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6,021

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