Film Masters Looks To August 5 As The Street Date For A Limited Edition Blu-ray Presentation Of The Class Of '74

Film Masters has tabbed Aug. 5 as the street date for the Limited Edition Blu-ray release of tag-team directors Mack Bing and Arthur Marks’ The Class of ’74.

You have to admire Mack Bing, he noticed packed theatres for Valley of the Dolls and the sequel, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (and others), and so he recruited Barbara Mills (The Harem Bunch, Wild, Free and Hungry, Sinthia: The Devil’s Doll, Matinee Wives) to star in a sexual awakening tale that he titled Gabriella, Gabriella.   

Mills was even billed as Gabriella Caron, but by all standards it was an unstructured mess.  What Gabriella, Gabriella had going for it was some nice footage of Mills, and this is why you have to both enjoy and admire the filmmaking process whereby an “unstructured mess” is turned into a commercial theatrical success.

Enter Arthur Marks, who had just written and directed Togetherness, starring George Hamilton, Peter Lawford and Olga Berova (aka: Olga Schoberova).   The film was also distributed under his newly formed General Film Corporation, or simply “GFC,” and it was a winner.

Marks was from a show biz family and he got the bug, first in production and set work, then some “assistant director” assignments (re-shoots, etc.) and finally the big break came as both a director and producer on the popular Perry Mason courtroom series.   This filmmaking background taught him the efficient use of time and resources — set up, shoot quickly and move on.   Time is money!

Somehow he meets up with Bing, who has this unstructured mess, but with some nice footage of Barbara Mills.  A flash of lightning!  Why not use the footage as the basis for “flashback” sequences and quickly recruit and shoot a wrap-around narrative featuring a naïve “Gabriella” (Mills) as a college student.

With Barbara Mills onboard, Marks casts three “experienced” college classmates — Carla (Marki Bey — Sugar Hill, The Roommates, Hangup), Heather (Pat Woodell — The Big Dollhouse, The Twilight People, The Roommates) and Maggie (Sondra Currie — Jessi’s Girls, Teenage Seductress … and as Linda in The Hangover trilogy) — who are more than willing to give “Gabriella” some much needed instruction in making the transition from naïve co-ed to a sexually-charged woman!   Genius!

Although the film is generally considered a spring/summer of 1972 release, Marks actually had the film completed in the fall of 1971 and had prints ready to test screen during the Christmas/New Year’s holiday period in the Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas markets.  

One of these, as an example, was the Circle Drive-In Theatre in Waco, Texas (a triple feature with Quick, Let’s Get Married and A Swinging Summer), where advertising in the local paper was relatively inexpensive, but nevertheless effective.

The feedback from this limited run gave Marks some valuable feedback on the effectiveness of the adverting … and some assurance that The Class of ’74 was going to be a winner!  General Film Corporation had a hit!

Now Film Masters has this new Limited Edition Blu-ray presentation of The Class of ’74 heading home on Aug. 5 for film fans to take a fun-filled trip down memory lane.

Bonus features include a newly-prepared commentary by film historian and “Cereal at Midnight” host Heath Holland!