November 4, 2008
The Cross and the Switchblade (1970)
Should I see it?
Believe it or not, yes, but only if you can handle b-movies.
Believe it or not, yes, but only if you can handle b-movies.
Short Review: The characters are saved by Jesus. The film is saved by a good story.
This movie really wants to stink. The production seems to go out of its way to be unwatchable. Luckily, it fails on these efforts.
This is a poorly shot Christian film from 1970 starring Pat Boone and Eric Estrada. This description alone marks this movie for the trash heap. Beyond all odds, this is a pretty good film considering its problems. There are plenty of issues with this film and each one is right up there on the screen. The dialog is often melodramatic, much of the acting is embarrassing and the cinematography is below par. This movie should be singularly awful but again, I have to admit again that I enjoyed it. I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it. It is difficult to be overly enthusiastic about this film because it is so deeply flawed by bad film making.
This film tells the story of Pastor David Wilkerson as he copes with a couple of warring New York gangs. Wilkerson is a naive preacher from Pennsylvania and through his adherence to the teachings of Jesus, and a great deal of courage from the same source, he gets the gangs to put down the knives and guns in favor of Bibles. Many people know of the great work Teen Challenge (link found here) has done around the world. This is the story of how that ministry began and if it weren’t real it would be unbelievable.
Pat Boone plays Wilkerson. He carries the film and offers a solid performance. What centers Boone is that he is a believer. When he speaks of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, you know he means it. In the film’s final scenes when Wilkerson makes his final confrontation with the gangs Boone’s delivery sells the scene. With the lacking talent in the rest of the cast and the dismal script, it is saying something that Boone manages to save the production with his performance.
As stated above, the film itself has many problems and many people will probably have difficulty taking it seriously. There is stiff performances and this is a low budget film from 1970. To put it plainly, this film is best viewed if you actually want to see it. If you come at this movie without knowing what you’re in for, you’ll probably not make it ten minutes. If you hunker down and suffer through how dated this movie is, you will find an inspiring and interesting story about faith, redemption and the power of God. For Christians, this is a must see. I suggest this film for those who aren’t Christian as well but I do so knowing that there are parts that feed into the “Christians are out-of-touch” stereotype we have. This is a dated film that is begging to be remade (and I sincerely hope that it is) but it is something many of the films released today are missing – a good message.
Related Reviews:
Christian films
Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
The Decalogue (1989)
Other Critic's Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes
Bad Movie Dimension
Labels: Christian film, David Wilkerson, Eric Estrada, film, movie review, Pat Boone
posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 5:00 PM
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4 Comments:
I had read both The Cross and the Switchblade and Run Baby Run before watching this movie. I too like it despite it's flaws. You didn't mention how bad the music is. I always thought it would have been better if they had placed the movie in the 1950s (when it really happened), and used music from that era.
I also find it interesting that many of the people who make fun of how bad Christian movies are watch absolutely below b-grade horrible horror movies.
Good point about the horror movies. The difference is the tone of the movies. A cheesy horror movie has a junk-culture quality to it that some find appealing. They see it as frivolous. Christian film attempts to present the faith and is therefore more serious. I'm not sure God is gloried by lousy art.
I remember watching this movie at church a long time ago. It was pretty good for me back then. I remember the end was powerful.
I'm excited to report the following...
I wanted you to be one of the first in the world to hear about my musical of the same name that I am pursuing a producer for right now.
Feel free to check it out at http://www.thecrossandtheswitchblade.net and please drop me a line either on facebook or my blog. Please grab your free copy of my eBook 'Dust Off Your Dream' as well.
God bless Peter
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