Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon

Maverick director Otto Preminger's wobbly mix of pathos, tragedy, surrealism, and comedy carries an ambiance unique to post-Woodstock 1970, the year of the film's release (Pete Seeger in person does a stroll through the opening credits while performing “Old Devil Time”). Junie Moon (Liza Minnelli) is a headstrong 23-year-old whose comeliness is marred by a cruel acid attack on her face by a deranged date. Following a hospital stay, Junie cohabits with fellow long-term patients—chiefly a haunted epileptic (Ken Howard) and a wheelchair-bound “queer” (Robert Moore)—in an eccentric dowager's disused spare home in a coastal town. The misfits aspire to a dignified, independent lifestyle, despite love triangles, community disapproval, and their contentious personalities. Based on Marjorie Kellogg's 1968 novel, the film offers a relatively progressive portrayal of homosexuality and interracial affairs. James Coco, Fred Williamson, Angelique Pettyjohn, and Leonard Frey round out the cast. Recommended. (C. Cassady)