The Devil’s Fiddler

The Mondo Film & Video Guide Interview With Jack Hill

Conducted By: Mondo Justin
Mondo Film & Video Guide Editor

Jack Hill working on new film, called THE DEVIL’S FIDDLER…Here’s the scoop…

It’s been almost thirty years since Hill walked away from the camera, via the 1982 Roger Corman mangled flop-ola, SORCERESS. The whole experience left a bad taste in Hill’s mouth, and his last film remains missing from official DVD release as of 2011. Hill’s work has grown in popularity over the decades, thanks to the help of famous fans, the internet and advent of DVD. Now there isn’t a horror/genre film fan alive who doesn’t know Jack Hill’s work today. 

Since his last film in 1982, Hill has never stopped writing screenplays. He’s ready to step back behind the camera again, as director. Hill’s got a new film in the works, that he plans to shoot digitally. Jack Hill is ready to bring everyone to their knees, with a new suspense thriller that he’s calling, THE DEVIL’S FIDDLER.

You started your film career at UCLA. Did you develop an interest in film at the college level, or was it something you had interest in as a kid prior to college?

Well, I was really interested in music initially. Since the age of 5 I’ve been playing the piano and violin. My mother was a music teacher. Sooner or later I stared to pick up other instruments, and that lead to me becoming a concert and recording artist. I played in the orchestra that scored the film, DR. ZHIVAGO. I did end up at UCLA for music, but the whole reason I got into film in the first place was because I was trying to learn how to compose for film there. Someone in the class told me that I should start to write movies, and I just transitioned out of music and into film.

So, the fact that your father worked for Walt Disney and Warner Brothers had nothing to do with your film career?

My dad was a set designer/art director for Warner Brothers, going all the way back to the silent film days. He was working at Warner Brothers before it was called ‘Warner Brothers.’  He’d bring me home scripts occasionally to read. When I was a kid, I had a little 8mm camera, and I would make little films. I also started reading everything I could about photography. I started to read about how to do my own lights correctly. So I actually had a really general background prior to getting into films real seriously.

While at UCLA, you made a short film called, THE HOST. You’ve mentioned elsewhere that the film is based off of the James George Frazer book, ‘The Golden Bough.’ Being interested in that novel, did that lead you into other occult writings?  I wouldn’t call ‘The Golden Bough’ an occult book. His ideas have been advanced over the years, so I don’t know if I could classify it as occult writing. It is a legitimate branch of study. The book really just gave me the idea for the story is all.

I’ve seen your friend, Sid Haig mention in an interview that Francis Ford Coppola really just “lifted” the whole idea for that APOCALYPSE NOW third act from your short film actually. What do you think?

Well. I’d say it must have been inspired by it certainly. Francis and I worked on each others student films at UCLA. Years later, I met a person that worked on APOCALYPSE NOW and they told me that they had a joke on the set, “.We’re shooting Jack Hill’s student film in the Philippines.” But, if you look in a few scenes in that film, you can see behind Colonel Kurtz, a bookshelf with ‘The Golden Bough’ sitting on it.

I’ve often seen you mention in various other interviews were you’ve said that projects like, COFFY,  PIT STOP, and THE BIG BIRD CAGE weren’t really films you wanted to make in the first place. On that note, if you would’ve had your choice what would you rather have been doing?

Well, I pretty much did what I was hired to do. You do that, or you don’t get to do anything.  To be honest, I never really took the work that seriously as an art form or as a career. I kinda fell into it. I just got these assignments, it’s what I was hired to do. But I did try to do the best I could with those projects, and I feel like I created something that was a cut above the rest in the general genre.

Pit-Stop I did take very seriously however. As long as I was able to fulfill the genre requirements imposed on me for that film by the producers, I was then able do something more in-depth with that story than any other film I had worked on. Pit-Stop is my favorite of the films, I’ve made.

Also, I wasn’t really into FILM at that time. I did enjoy movies. I loved the Warner Brothers movies of the 40′s. I was interested in Film Noir, the gangster movies, ‘Casablanca’, the French New Wave. What I love about all those films, and what has influenced me so much is the fact, that all of those types of genre films were made with fairly low budgets, and that forced the filmmakers to think outside of the box in terms of accomplishing the end result.

You’ve never said much in the past about your film, MONDO KEYHOLE (1966). I was curious to see if it’s a film you’d like to brush under the carpet?

No…Lately it seems to have become a sort of cult film though. I really didn’t like the concept of the film, but again, I was hired to do a job. I was hired to make this certain type of film. I was watching a lot of French New Wave at the time, so I tried to do something interesting with it while I was shooting it. I did alot of the camera myself. Watching it today, I just look at some of the stuff in there, and I find it horrible, but I can certainly understand why cult movie fans like it. But I can’t stand to watch it today…laughing.

I’ve since read, that you filmed some of the scenes yourself in MONDO KEYHOLE, nude?

Let me clarify that some. I didn’t shoot anything in MONDO KEYHOLE nude. The guy who put up the money for ‘Keyhole’ made a lot of nudist camp movies as well. I was shooting and editing them for him. So after a while we did go to a few nudist camps to shoot some stuff for an intended theatrical release. Part of the rule is that you have to be naked in there. So you can imagine how difficult that was for me, carrying my camera around shooting, and I’ve only got a tool-belt on for my camera accessories..laughing

You’ve always placed alot of humor in your films. Do you think that has directly contributed to your work being so highly admired or loved?

Yes, and I also think that it contributed to their initial success apon release as well. I’ve always liked to put in humor where the audience won’t expect it. A little humor were it’s unexpected and out of context is always great. I learned that from the Warner Brothers movies of the 40′s.

A lot of filmmakers, actors/actresses talk about rampant drug use back in the good ole days of exploitation. So I have to ask, did you ever take LSD?

I did. My very first glimpse into spirituality, I had while on LSD. And years later, when I met Swami Muktananda in 1980, and that exact experience came back to me. But back then, I wasn’t really too into it. I didn’t do ‘My Fair Share’ or anything like that.

What do you think the best piece of dialogue you’ve ever written is?

I’d say some of my most favorite dialog was in SPIDER BABY especially the dinner scene. I dunno, though, it’s hard to select anything in particular. “It’s not nice to hate” from SPIDER BABY has become a favorite quote in some circles, I think.

You’ve came through UCLA, and the Corman stable with people like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme and Joe Dante. Your films were huge money makers for Roger Corman and AIP. Yet, you never made that transition from low budget films to Hollywood blockbusters like your contemporaries. Why do you think that is?

Well..I always thought that if you made movies that made money people would come to you for that. But it doesn’t really work that way. You have to get good reviews. Then stars and agents wanna work with you. I am not upset about it. Things have happened to me exactly the way they were supposed to. So I am very happy with the way things have turned out.

So do you wanna update us on where you are at with any new projects?

I’m writing with my wife right now. She’s a very talented writer. We’re trying to write movies that people will feel uplifted by and not assaulted from in the theaters. We’ve written a couple romantic comedies. To bring you up to date, we just finished a new script, that’s getting some real attention. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written. And not to give away too many details but it’s about the great violinist, Paganini. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to direct it. I’m pretty excited about the project.

For more with the legendary Jack Hill including new insights into his films SWITCHBLADE SISTERS, MONDO KEYHOLE, FOXY BROWN, COFFY and PIT STOP plus more information on Jack Hill’s possible upcoming new film, please pick up FANGORIA Issue #303 coming to newsstands in mid April 2011.

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