Scarecrow (1973)

This week, as our A-to-Z challenge continues we take a look at the letter “S”. For the letter “S” we have an often-overlooked film that won the Palme d’Or (well, technically shared the win with The Hireling) Scarecrow (1973).

Title: Scarecrow

Director: Jerry Schatzberg

Released: April 11, 1973

Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes

Available to stream on: HBOMAX

IMDb synopsis: An ex-con drifter with a penchant for brawling is amused by a homeless ex-sailor, so they partner up as they head east together.

Max (Gene Hackman) just finished up a six-year sentence in the slammer. His goal is to get himself to Pittsburgh where he plans to open his own car wash called Maxy’s Car Wash. On his way, he wants to stop in Denver to visit his sister.

Meanwhile, Lion (Al Pacino) has spent the last five years at sea. Now that he’s back, he plans to head to Detroit to see his wife, Annie, and their child. He abandoned Annie when she was pregnant, so he has never met his child and doesn’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl. To try and make up for abandoning her, Lion has sent Annie all of his paychecks while he was at sea.

Max and Lion happen to meet each other rather early on in their travels. As a result, they decide to travel together and even go into business together on the car wash in Pittsburgh. Their journey brings with it plenty of heart, plenty of hijinks, and even some laughs along the way.

The plot is very straightforward and very thin. You can get away with that though when you have Pacino and Hackman turning in performances that don’t get talked about enough. Pacino showing his lighthearted comical side and Hackman being a quick-tempered fighter.

What hurts the story though is that we know almost right away what’s going to happen. Lion’s story of the scarecrow all but spoils the emotional mirroring that unfolds between Lion and Max. Granted, we don’t know how it’s going to happen. So, kudos for that I suppose.

Before this viewing, I had no idea that Scarecrow (1973) even existed. It’s a film you rarely hear mentioned in conversation despite the names that are in it. That’s a shame. More people should know about this movie and make it a point to watch it at least once. No, it’s not a movie that’s going to knock your socks off. But it is worth an hour and fifty-two minutes of your time simply for the performances given by Al Pacino and Gene Hackman.

Well, how about you? What do you think of Scarecrow (1973)? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

You know what’s next. Next week we’ll cover the letter “T” in our challenge. You’ve got until Wednesday afternoon to get those suggestions in. Keep your eyes on Twitter and Instagram Wednesday evening for a sneak peek at what the movie will be.