Shanty Tramp

Betty Dickson

Shanty Tramp

Wr. Reuben Guberman, Music Frank Linales

K.G.M. 1003

★

From the movie "Shanty Tramp" released in 1967 produced by K. Gordon Murray who hired a Cuban exile, José Prieto, with a limited résumé (the 1964 horror short Love Goddesses of Blood Island) to direct, plus a crew principally composed of nonunion Cuban Americans.

Shanty Tramp (1967). Murray's best -- and best-known -- original production features cast of unknowns invoking all the verities of the Southern exploitation picture: dissolute dame, rape, incest, nudity, miscegenation, patricide, bikers, fiery car explosion, moonshiner, gangsters, false prophet, lynch mob, and go-go dancing. Vampiric-looking small-town slut tempts slimy revival preacher, fends off welshing biker leader named Savage, willingly submits to -- then betrays -- young, confused black man, and winds up facing off carnally against drunken Daddy Dearest. Tennessee Williams on a shoestring. Memorable line: "Crazy like, man. Like me and my chick want to find a dark corner somewhere anyway, Daddy-o."

★

the King of the Kiddie Matinee

K. Gordon Murray was a Florida-based producer and distributor of low-budget motion pictures. From the late 1950's through the mid 1970's, Murray released at least 66 films, which can be broken down into three categories:

1/ Murray imported, redubbed and released some 30 horror films from Mexico.

2/ Murray released over 20 fairy tale films to a "Weekends Only" matinee audience, virtually creating the highly lucrative "Kiddie Matinee" marketing niche. These films were either redubbed imports, rereleases of older films, or original productions.

3/ Murray released about a dozen exploitation films, risque adult dramas designed both for drive-ins and adults-only grindhouses. These included imported foreign films and original productions.

Further reading : Miami's B-Movie Mogul by Michael Yockel ( a very detailed article)

★

Singer Betty Dickson - an institution in South Florida's show business community for over fifty years - passed away on December 7 [2006?] after a long bout with ARDS. Starting in the 1950s, Betty performed with jazz greats like Tiny Kahn, Chubby Jackson, Lionel Hampton, James Moody, Harry "Sweets" Edison, John Williams and Louie Bellson. She's perhaps best known for her work with pianist Eddie Higgins,... From Betty Dickson's obituary found only HERE (a jazz and blues japanese website?).

Lyricist Reuben Guberman, a self-proclaimed "fat Jewish maverick," had a long and varied career in film production, public relations and other trades. Working for Murray his job was translating the original language scripts into English dialog for the voice-talent. See 8thman.com HERE

★

Note : the label release information (and the sound file) is from the Buffalo Bop CD "Restless Doll". I have no label pic to offer, no further information on the original release, perhaps a LP ?



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