The Whole Shootin’ Match (Eagle Pennell, US, 1978; 109m) is the story of Loyd and Frank, denizens of Austin, Texas, who spend much of their time thinking up get-rich-quick schemes: operating a frog farm, raising flying squirrels, selling polyurethane to rich hippies. None have had the hoped-for results—but now, Loyd has come up with a device called the Kitchen Wizard, which will simply revolutionize housework. And so it goes...
"A loving, indulgent, funny, very casual movie about the ups and downs of a couple of innocent, self-defeating American clowns....
The movie has something far more expensive features don’t have –
a way of getting in touch with life" – Vincent Canby, The New York Times
It is wonderful to be reminded of the audacity of The Whole Shootin’ Match. Eagle Pennell, 25 years old when he directed the film, follows the rhythms of Loyd and Frank’s many boozy encounters, capturing the texture of life on the down and out. His love for his characters is infectious; we are soon drawn into the world the film so effectively captures. Pennell does not want us to feel sorry for them, nor is he ever out to score easy points. Rather, The Whole Shootin’ Match sings of a slice of Americana simply ignored by the mainstream media. The film was featured in the eighth New Directors/New Films, while a screening at the 1978 USA Film Festival reportedly inspired Robert Redford to create Sundance.
Read Daniel Stuyck’s article on Eagle Pennell in the Nov/Dec issue of Film Comment.
