the robert downey jr film guide

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Greaser’s Palace (1972)

Tags: Minimal Screentime, Comedy, Last Resort for the Obsessive Fan, Independent, Career Trajectory: Unknown Actor, On DVD in Region 1, Unrated

Summary

Satire sets story of Jesus in the Old West.

Director

Robert Downey Sr.

Downey Factor

Very low. Appears in a few scenes but has no lines.

Character

Uncredited, young boy at a pioneer camp who gets his throat slit by god.

Looks

Seven years old.

Performance

Mopey, ragdoll.

Dies, Gay or Villain

Yes, he’s only 7, no.

Cast

Allan Arbus, Albert Henderson, Luana Anders, George Morgan

Connection

Elsie Downey in Pound and Moment to Moment. Robert Downey Sr.’s Hugo Pool, Pound, Up the Academy, Moment to Moment, Rented Lips, America, Too Much Sun, in The Last Party and Johnny Be Good. Allan Arbus in Too Much Sun.

RDJ Says

Greaser’s Palace was about a messiah, it was about how even god is an actor. It just seemed like part of my day was: Dad isn’t into the child-labor laws, but he wants to have an eight-year-old get his neck slit by god in Greaser’s Palace, so you’re in the movie. I was pissed. I wasn’t into it ... I didn’t understand why more than one take was necessary.

Time & Place

Nineteenth century, American old west.

Availability

Released on 31 July 1972. Rare. Released on DVD in Region 1.

Hot Link

Greaser’s Palace at badmovies.org
Greaser’s Palace at 366 Weird Movies

Rotten Tomatoes

40% Fresh | 5 Reviews

Critical View

Vincent Canby, The New York Times: Greaser’s Palace does to vulgar humor what the George Stevens film did to Christianity: it embraces it with awe and far too many technical resources. The film, I’m told, cost close to $1-million, and it looks it, which depresses me even more than its witlessness. Just a few years ago, Downey could have made a couple of dozen movies with that money.

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: As a product of an unusually adventurous time in cinema history, Greaser’s Palace has perverse appeal. As a comedy, it’s virtually unwatchable.

2 Reasons to See It

1. You dig ‘70s cult satire.
2. You also have the hubba hubba in your soul.

Overall

It is a strange, ‘70s underground cult movie.

If You Liked It

You might also like Rented Lips (1988), The Singing Detective (2003)

Photos

Video