| DVD: www.amazon.com thefilmarchive.org The Sadist (also known as Profile of Terror and Sweet Baby Charlie) is a 1963 black-and-white exploitation film written and directed by James Landis, and stars Arch Hall, Jr. The film is loosely based on the killings of Charles Starkweather, upon which the films Badlands and Natural Born Killers were also based. It was shot by famed cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond over a period of 2 weeks for $33000 with a cast of five, one of which doubled as the production's production manager. Three high school teachers, Ed, Doris, and Carl, are driving through rural Southern California on their way to a Dodgers game in Los Angeles. The group's Chevrolet Belair has some trouble and they are forced to pull off to a gas station/junkyard on the side of the road. After examining the vehicle Ed concludes that the fuel pump will need to be replaced. Doris and Carl search the junkyard looking for the owner, but they cannot find him. In the residence Carl finds a warm meal with a table set for four, but oddly enough nobody is in the house. The three realize this is very peculiar and start to seriously worry about their situation. At this point Charlie Tibbs, a rather large man wielding a Colt .45, and his girlfriend Judy show up. Charlie and Judy have spent the past several days heading west from Arizona, leaving a trail of corpses behind them. Law enforcement is on the hunt for them, but Charlie has managed to stay a step ahead by changing vehicles ... |
