During the Christmas
theatrical season of 1982 — when the big, prestigious films are launched by the
Hollywood Studios — an independent film stole the hearts of America. The film was director Pierre De Moro’s Savannah
Smiles, which had actually had a small regional theatrical release in
Utah during April of 1982 where it proved to be a monster among small town
audiences.
The small town release
pattern that began in April continued into the fall when a national theatrical
distribution deal was finally secured.
A lawsuit followed in the wake of the December launch over some
distribution misgivings, but that’s a story for another time.
MVD Entertainment Group
has selected Apr. 24 for the release of a new 2K restoration (from the Library
of Congress 35mm print) of Savannah Smiles. Both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions
will be available under MVD’s “Rewind Collection” promotional banner.
The film itself, written
by and starring Mark Miller, was originally planned as a film vehicle for his
daughter, but by the time financing was arranged she had outgrown the
part. Thus Bridgette Andersen was cast
as the Savannah, the six-year old who feels ignored by her politician father
and decides to run away from home!
As this family-themed
story goes, she falls into the hands of a pair of escaped convicts, Alvie (Mark
Miller — Dixie Dynamite, Ginger in the Morning, etc.) and Boots (Donovan
Scott — Popeye, Police Academy, Psycho III), but manages to work her
magic on them and they soon find themselves on the path to reform and
salvation.
Bonus features include a
newly-prepared documentary titled The Making of Savannah Smiles,
featuring both Mark Miller and Donovan Scott, plus actress Teresa Anderson and
composer Ken Sutherland and two featurettes — “Memories of Bridgette Andersen”
and “The Songs and Music of Savannah Smiles.”
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