Matchstick Review of Buster and Billie

Buster and Billie (1974)

Not a great drive-in flick for kids, but a great tragic movie for adults.

[6/10 · 24 October 2006]

I happened to see this movie at a drive-in when I was 6 yrs. old. I don't know what the hell my parents were thinking taking a 6 yr. old (me) and my 4 yr. old sister in an Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser station wagon. Sure, we were real comfy with the seats folded down lying on blankets and pillows munching on popcorn, but wow, this movie really had an effect on me, and it wasn't real good. As a young child, I was able to grasp the concept of a deep love between Buster and Billie but when things began to get ugly, it really freaked me out. All I remember after Buster's full frontal shot was Billie getting raped and then her being wrapped in cloth or mummified in some way (this was 28 yrs. ago so the visual details elude me) and then Jan Michael Vincent doing some kind of crazy karate move where he flips some dude with his arm on a pool table and killing a few guys. I have to tell you this shook my 70's innocent Disney perspective on life to the core! When we got home and I was in my pajamas, brushing my teeth, I started crying my eyes out. My mom came in and said, "Oh, sweetie, why are you crying? Was it because Billie died at the end of the movie?' I said, "No". But...umm ya...hell ya, it was because you subjected me to this terrible rape and murder that would be hard even for an adult!! Again, WTF were they thinking (incidentally, I will make them both read this review). Wow, glad I got that out of my system! BTW, hope I don't seem too harsh on my parents, after all, they seemed to think it was "OK" to let me stand up in the middle of the front seat in the blue Chevy Chevelle whilst speeding away and lie down in the back window when I was "sleepy". WTF was up with my parents and most parents who owned automobiles until the early 80's!?!? LOL. Anyway, don't let your 6 yr. olds see this movie (and don't let them sleep near the back windshield) sheesh!