Lara Parker commentary on RACE WITH THE DEVIL

I saw the film shortly after it's U.S. release. I was stationed in Germany at the time and the post theatre would show two to three different movies per week. I spent a lot of time at the theatre as I enjoyed movies and it was a cheap form of entertainment. I of course knew who Laura Parker was as well as most of the other cast. I don't remeber thinking at the time that the production values were TV level as a lot of the films I saw were not of the highest grade anyway.

Jeff

Well, I wish you luck on being able to say the same AFTER you've seen it. 

Now, MB, be nice and remember the climate of those times--just as we still enjoy DS for what it was.  LOL

Brian

remember the climate of those times--just as we still enjoy DS for what it was.  LOL

OMG, DS is head and shoulders above Race With The Devil! Honestly, no offense, Brian, but it borders on sacrilege to compare the two.    And besides, as I said, I disliked RWTD when I first saw it in '75 (and when I saw it again 12 years later in '87 on TV, actually  ), so it's probably not likely I'm going to enjoy it now for what it was.    In fact, I already consider the 3 hours I spent during those two viewings to be 3 hours that I'll never be able to get back. 

Good grief, Pepe, you make "Race With The Devil" sound like the worst movie ever made.

Well, maybe the second worst movie ever made because, as everyone knows,  Ed Woods' "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is officially  "The Worst Movie Ever Made".....

Well, it's probably not the worst movie ever made. But IMO it just might be the worst movie made in '75.    And in a year when such bad films as Doc Savage...The Man of Bronze, A Boy And His Dog, Mandingo, and The $50,000 Climax Show came out, that's saying something. 

Oh, I don't know about that....there were quite a few stinkers that year: "Dolomite", perhaps....or maybe "The Giant Spider Invasion".  How about "A Boy and His Dog"?

(Isn't Google a grand thing?..... )

Don't let MB fool you. It's a great little flick for drive-in movie entertainment. Any movie with Lara Parker, Warren Oates, motorcycles, and Satanists can't help but be a little bit o' fun. Besides, in my book, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Airport 75, Death Race 2000,and The Giant Spider Invasion were a helluva lot worse.

Oh, I don't know about that....there were quite a few stinkers that year: "Dolomite", perhaps....or maybe "The Giant Spider Invasion".  How about "A Boy and His Dog"?

Saw A Boy And His Dog (a girlfriend who was into Don Johnson dragged me). Bad? Yes. As bad as RWTD. No!

I was spared both Dolomite and The Giant Spider Invasion, so you might be right that they were worse. 

Don't let MB fool you.

MB's not trying to fool anyone - merely spare them. 

Any movie with Lara Parker, Warren Oates, motorcycles, and Satanists can't help but be a little bit o' fun.

Oh, yes, it can.   And, as I mentioned in another topic, one of my "favorite" reviews of RWTD likened the experience of watching it to enduring a human sacrifice. And, unfortunately, Lara's talents are completely wasted in the film. (Anyone who wants to see Lara in something worthy of her that's also from around the same time should watch '73's Save The Tiger. She only has a small part, but she packs more into it than in RWTD in its entirety.)

Besides, in my book, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Airport 75, Death Race 2000,and The Giant Spider Invasion were a helluva lot worse.

I didn't see Death Race 2000 either, so you might be right there. But I'd sit through 1000 showings of Airport 1975 or The Apple Dumpling Gang before I'd want to sit through another of RWTD.    (Though others might absolutely disagree.  )

Hmm...I like RWTD, but I love Airport 1975!

So Lara Parker is the same age as my Mom.  Interesting.

What's even stranger is that my Mom and Grayson were carrying babies at exactly the same time in 1957/58; Matt Hall was born about 3 weeks after I was.

Talk about DS synchronicities!

G.

So Lara Parker is the same age as my Mom.  Interesting.  What's even stranger is that my Mom and Grayson were carrying babies at exactly the same time in 1957/58; Matt Hall was born about 3 weeks after I was.

That's very interesting to me, too, Gothick, since I was born on 1/7/1957 and my Mom was born 9/6/37.  Among other DS cast,  David Henesy is only 3+ months older than me, and I think I'm a few months older than Matthew Hall. . .it's great how we love and respect our DS connections!!

Brian

Well I'm shocked to find out she was born in 1937!  I admit I did wonder about her age when looking at pictures taken outside of the DS studios of her and her two sons. I thought for a woman in her early twenties to have two boys who looked to be about 7 or 8 seemed a little odd.  And, on top of that, to know that she also graduated college with a masters degree.  How did she find the time to do all that!  Now I know.  I think the IMDB lists her as being born in 1945.    But then, there is a discrepancy in KLS's age too. What the heck, what difference does it make anyway what a person's age is.

Hey, I just found this board and was scrolling through the threads and came across this.  I posted comments on another board about a month ago about the DVD commentary, Lara's age, and a somewhat revealing old article about Lara, so I figure I'll post it here as well: 

"Maybe not the most polite topic to bring up, but I have to admit I was always curious how old Lara really was.  On the show, I remember seeing/hearing a few different dates for her various characters.

"Nicholas once said Angelique was born in Martinique in 1774, making her 21 when she came to Collinwood (no mention of Miranda since the writers hadn't thought that up yet).  Later, in Parallel Time, Angelique's grave in the mausoleum displayed her year of birth as 1939, making the character 31!

"Granted, these are characters, not the actress.  Lara's IMDB entry lists October, 1942.  However, IMDB info is not always accurate, especially when it comes to years of birth for actresses (honestly, I can't think of another professional group who have a more justified reason to lie about their age).

"In truth, I think Lara is older.  If you listen to her DVD commentary for RACE WITH THE DEVIL, although she doesn't mention anything about her problems with Loretta Swit, Lara DOES tell a few interesting details about herself.

"Lara admits that during filming she was afraid she might be fired if the producers found out she was actually 3 years older than on-screen husband Peter Fonda.  She also tells about how she teased Peter early in the shoot about having been over his house years ago.  It was only near the end of filming that he figured out she had been a classmate of his sister Jane at Vassar.  Lara must have been pretty friendly with Jane; Lara talks about having been over the Fonda home to play Monopoly!

"Now, it's rather difficult for the son or daughter of a famous star to fudge their age.  Publicity for Henry Fonda will talk about when his kids were born, so the birth dates for Jane (December 1937) or Peter (February 1940) are almost definitely accurate.

"Lara, however, is a different matter.  Since she didn't start acting professionally until after she had completed school, married, and had two sons (rather late as compared to Alexandra Moltke or Kathryn Leigh Scott), I'm sure she could and most likely would have shaved a few years off in official bios for professional reasons.

"So, Lara's comments indicate her real date of birth is probably October 1937 (making her contemporary with Jane and, like she said, 3 years Peter's senior).

"I find this interesting because it means Lara had just turned 30 when she started her Dark Shadows career.  Judging from the way she looks today... maybe she does have supernatural powers."

ALSO, A FOLLOW-UP POST:

"I never thought those teen magazines or soap articles would be anything more than innocent fluff, especially those that ran in 1968-1971, but an article on Lara in a magazine called Daytime TV turned out to be pretty revealing in some areas.  It certainly gave a lot more information about her growing up, her first marriage, etc., that you just don't see in many of her fan (or official website) bios.

Here's a link to it:

http://members.aol.com/jonathanfrid/parker.html

Among other things, it explains why she left Vassar and why she didn't start acting professionally until relatively late.  It even talks about her real name.  (Bios keep saying she was born Mary Lamar Rickey, but if Rickey is the name of her stepfather, then it's NOT her actual birth name).

All very interesting..."

Thanks, Bloggermeister, for posting that link.  I did spot a typo:  fans know that Lara started on DS in December of 1967, not 1966.

This is completely unrelated, but earlier in the thread I spotted a discussion of Plan 9 from Outer Space.  I have to say that I find Plan 9 far more entertaining than many more supposedly better movies.  It's well worth the price of admission if only for the scenes involving Lugosi, Vampira, and Tor Johnson.  The rest of the movie is off in a world of its own.  It's also one of those films like Rocky Horror Picture Show--you keep finding new realms of oddity upon subsequent viewings.

just my two drachmae...

G.