If anyone out there is curious as to the definition of the word nepotism, it's unlikely that there is a better place to start than the story of the Hall family and Fairway International Pictures. In 1962, a man named Arch Hall, Sr., a former B-western cowboy who had once worked with the likes of John Wayne and Gene Autry, wanted to make a film that would propel his only son, Arch Hall, Jr., into instant fame and fortune. Hall Sr. had been working odd jobs for most of his life and decided to invest all of his money into his very own film company so he could make the movies he wanted with his own son as the leading man. He called his company Fairway International Pictures and set up offices in Los Angeles, California.

Arch Hall, Jr. had been playing music since he was a child, and even had a single released by the time he was fifteen. Plus, he already had a band and was performing at various rock and roll clubs in Los Angeles. But his father was aiming higher: he wanted to make his son into a movie star. As a way to capitalize on the drive-in scene and the growing trend of teen stars such as Frankie Avalon and Ricky Nelson, Wild Guitar (1962) became the vehicle for Hall Jr. to showcase his talents as an actor and singer. The movie was bankrolled and produced by Arch Hall, Sr. and his small Fairway International staff in order to turn Arch Jr. into the latest teenybopper sensation.

In fact, the story of Wild Guitar could be Hall Sr.'s own fantasy of his son's success. A fair haired rock and roller named Bud Eagle (played by Hall Jr.), armed with nothing but his trusty six string, rides his motorcycle to Hollywood to make it big in the music industry. After he arrives he stops into a diner and produces what little money he has for a meal. He starts talking to a restaurant patron named Vickie (Nancy Czar) and she is immediately taken by Bud and his story. She then tries to get him a spot on a rock and roll television show on which she performs as a go-go dancer.

As luck would have it, one of the performers on that evening's show drops out and Bud takes his place. Shortly after Bud's performance, he is approached almost immediately by a record producer who says he can make him a star. Mike McCauley (Hall Sr.) and his young assistant Steak (Cash Flagg) agree to show him the ropes while at the same time bilking the naive Bud out of his fair share of the profits. Through a series of events the two men exploit the clueless musician until he gets wise to their scheme. After their plans are foiled, Vickie helps Bud in getting a fair record contract and it's only then he becomes the star he wanted to be.

Although the plot seems to mirror the typical hard luck story experienced by countless wannabe stars and musicians, Wild Guitar is not without its own unique take on the subject. For example, it's hard to tell if Ray Dennis Steckler (a.k.a. Cash Flagg, who also served as the director of Wild Guitar) was actually acting as Hall Sr.'s young sleaze ball assistant. His icky swagger and pathetic mustache is almost too convincing. Bud Eagle's hair alone threatens the institution of feathered bangs and endless hairspray most notably championed by 1980's synthesized pop gurus A Flock of Seagulls. (It's insanely enormous.) And although Arch Hall, Jr. wrote and performed all the songs in the film, you can't help but notice that he is phoning it in at every moment. You can't blame him since the music is not "wild" rock 'n roll at all but lame pop music imitations of stuff Bobby Vee or Frankie Avalon would put out.

Even though it's arguable whether or not Arch Hall, Jr. ever reached the stardom that his character achieves by the closing credits, the spirit of independent cinema should be enough of a reason to celebrate a movie such as Wild Guitar. The film is a true do-it-yourself undertaking, a labor of love from a father to his son whose desire to keep it in the family produced a memorable piece of cult movie history.

Producer: Arch Hall, Sr.
Director: Ray Dennis Steckler
Screenplay: Arch Hall, Sr., Joe Thomas, Bob Wehling
Cinematography: Joseph Mascelli
Film Editing: Anthony Lanza
Art Direction: Patrick S. Kirkwood
Cast: Arch Hall, Jr. (Bud Eagle), Nancy Czar (Vickie Wills), Arch Hall, Sr. (Mike McCauley), Ray Dennis Steckler (Steak, as Cash Flagg), Marie Denn (Marge), Robert Crumb (Don Proctor).
BW-92m.

by Millie de Chirico