The Cross and the Switchblade
Superdave
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068428/
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.
The Cross and the Switchblade
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.
TT
Might want to watch it...at least the book was a hit, brutal depiction
of gang violence...many read only that part and skipped the latter part
where Nicky Cruz found Jesus...
On gang violence I recommend Walter Hill's "The Warriors" (1979)...has
nice claustrophobic feel in it...no nonsense 70's flick.
And if you like it then I recommend his film "Southern Comfort" couple
years later. Good stuff.