So Sad About Gloria (1973; Harry Thomason)

One of most interesting "where are they now" stories from the days of regional films involves director and producer Harry Thomason, who would produce such successful TV series as Designing Women and Evening Shade, and contribute to Bill Clinton's election campaign. He had paid his dues in the previous decade with a quartet of drive-in genre pictures made in his native Arkansas, including the horror anthology Encounter With The Unknown (1973); the 1975 rural comedy The Great Lester Boggs (of which I may be its one admirer); and the delightful 1950s sci-fi homage The Day It Came To Earth (1977). Of these, perhaps So Sad About Gloria is the most sentimental, character-driven and competently acted (if because it features some Hollywood talent... not to take away from the busy local players who appear in many of these films).  

Like a piece of classic Southern Gothic fiction, So Sad About Gloria explores the themes of insanity and longing, as our heroine Gloria Wellman (Lori Saunders) is released from a sanitarium, after having experienced trauma from her brother's death, into the care of her uncle Fredrick (Dean Jagger). ("I don't feel much like The Madwoman of Chaillot".) Back into the real world, Gloria yearns to settle down and have a happy, normal, simple life, contrary to the wealth that her estate provides. ("She sees wealth as an intruder on her self.") However, Gloria still has visions of a mysterious man dressed in a black cape, who hacks away at a coffin in a train station (what Bunuel would've done with this!). Still, Gloria meets and marries writer Chris Kenner (played by Robert Ginnaven, who appeared in all four of Thomason's regional films). They move into their new home, oddly enough, the location where a young woman was murdered (seen earlier in the film, in a scene that is quite bloody for a PG rating) and whose death remains unsolved. Of course, strange things occur: the house resonates with chimes from a musical box; chains are heard rattling; and her apparitions return.

The second act takes 45 minutes of its 90-minute running time to begin, as much time is spent in the courtship of Gloria and Chris, and even in moments between our protagonist and her friend Janie (Linda Wyse). Before the terror truly kicks in, Marshall Riggan's screenplay wisely lets us get to know Gloria as a person before the trauma re-occurs, but similarly tries our patience with its leisurely pace and a cinematic device that quickly becomes repetitive. There are two montages featuring Gloria and Chris spending time together, playing on swings, canoeing, and visiting the zoo before tying the knot. (Thomason must have a thing for romantic montages to fill running time: evidenced by the four-minute interlude late in Encounter With The Unknown.) Yet still, there is a hint of melancholy even during these moments, accented by James Roberson's autumnal cinematography and Hank Levine's odd piano-trombone score. 

But even when this turns into a mid-Western Gaslight, the film doesn't generate much excitement. As Gloria becomes in greater danger, there is more flash cutting to the mysterious man with the coffin, which soon becomes a tiresome gimmick.

Admittedly, the conclusion is rather astonishing, but most may not decide to stick through this leisurely melodrama to get there. At best, this serves as a good movie vehicle for Lori Saunders. (Her scant feature film credits include the 1966 cult favourite Blood Bath.) The dark-eyed beauty (best known as Bobbie Jo on TV's Petticoat Junction) shows her natural, seldom-used dramatic talent. Amidst the many romantic montages of the first half, the camera just simply records the actress being herself, thus giving this woman-in-peril a three-dimensional persona.  It's too bad that she concluded her acting career while still relatively young with a Bob Emenegger cheapo sci-fi epic (1980's Captive). As Gloria Wellman, one senses that she had the potential to break through into meatier roles.

So Sad About Gloria was featured on Elvira's Movie Macabre TV show (as was The Day It Came To Earth) before appearing on a Prism Entertainment VHS tape with the less-interesting video title Visions Of Evil. Code Red subsequently released it to DVD in a combo with the UHF chestnut The Severed Arm as part of its Maria's B-Movie Mayhem series. Dark Force Entertainment has just recently released it to Blu-ray, paired with the hicksploitation classic, God's Bloody Acre.