Cowards (1970 film)

Cowards is a 1970 American drama film written and directed by Simon Nuchtern about the then-topical issue of draft evasion in the Vietnam War.[1][2] It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970.[3][4]

Cowards (Love-In '72)
DVD cover of the recut version of Cowards,
under the title Love-In '72
Directed bySimon Nuchtern
StarringJohn Ross
Sandra Peabody
Will Patent
Philip Baker Hall
Production
company
Jaylo International Films, Inc.
Release date
1970
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Following the commercial failure of Cowards, the film was re-edited with newly-shot erotic scenes featuring unrelated actors, and was reissued under the title Love-In '72 so that it could be remarketed as a sexploitation film. Nuchtern's name was removed from the credits of the recut version; the direction of Love-In '72 was credited to Sidney Knight and Karl Hansen, and the writing to Jay Robins.[1][5][6]

Plot

A young man must decide whether to flee the U.S. draft and move to Canada, or stay or go fight for his country in Vietnam.[7]

Cast
  • John Ross as Phillip Haller
  • Sandra Peabody as Joan Boyd (credited as Susan Sparling)
  • Will Patent as Peter Yates
  • Tom Murphy as Howard Yates
  • Philip Baker Hall as Father Reis
  • Alexander Gellman as Gregory Haller
  • Spalding Gray as Radical at party

Additional cast in Love-In '72 version:

  • Linda Southern as Sunny
  • Daniel Nugent as Steve

Reception

Reviews of Cowards were mixed to negative. Roger Greenspun of The New York Times said he "liked" Cowards despite it being "one of the squarest, most unashamedly flat‐footed films of the year," and praised the performances of John Ross and Susan Sparling.[8] The New York Daily News said that "at best, the drama is talky and labored."[9] TV Guide dismissed it as "inept" and "a film best forgotten."[10]

Reviewing the DVD release of the Love-In '72 cut, Frank Henenlotter of Something Weird Video said "Eagle-eyed viewers will enjoy spotting two now-mainstream actors in small, incendiary roles: Philip Baker Hall plays the priest who preaches the gospel of civil disobedience, while monologuist Spalding Grey is alternately funny and scary as a psycho terrorist babbling at a party."[5]

References
  1. "Cowards". AFI Catalog. American Film Institute. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  2. "Cowards 1970". TCM. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  3. "Cowards - Directors Fortnight". Quinzaine des réalisateurs. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  4. Starr, Mark (November 13, 1972). "Bothol Promise". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Henenlotter, Frank. "Love-In 72 Review". Something Weird Video. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  6. "Hartford Courant". Hartford, Connecticut. October 15, 1971. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Cowards" (PDF). Connelly Library. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  8. Greenspun, Roger (July 24, 1970). "'Cowards' gives war views at the Carnegie". The New York Times. p. 16.
  9. Guarino, Ann (July 24, 1970). "Cowards: Another Talky Antiwar Film". Daily News. New York. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Cowards". TV Guide. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
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