SCARECROW ON SEATTLE
Scarecrow
In appreciation and recognition of Seattle's long and illustrious film history, we are proud to partner with Scarecrow Video to bring you weekly reviews of historical Seattle films. Each week we will showcase a new movie, with special emphasis on how these films show Seattle's most filmable locations.

99 & 44/100% Dead (1974)
In 1974, John Frankenheimer, Richard Harris, Edmond O'Brien, & Chuck Connors came to town to make a movie. What kind of movie they made is still up for discussion. One could call it a gangster comedy, but that would be selling the hard-edged violence short. One could call it a gang war satire, but even then it's almost played too straight for that. I like it because it's an odd little curio of a film that features a big gangster meeting at Lower Woodland Park, a showdown of sorts at Gasworks Park before it got "nice," and a spectacularly intense scene at University Heights school, just three short blocks from Scarecrow. It also features a boffo score by Henry Mancini, a title sequence that is a Roy Lichtenstein painting come to life, and the most bizarre collection of cement shoes you could ever imagine sitting right off of Pier 63. Oh, and let's not forget Chuck Connors' prosthetic arm attachments, which include a feather tickler, a cat-o-nine tails, a wine opener, and a machine gun. And to make it even more of a local movie, the only place you can see it (unless you have the Fox Movie Channel and pay real close attention to their schedule) is right here at Scarecrow. It's not out on DVD, but we've got a copy of the VHS tape.
--Mark Steiner, Scarecrow Video Employee