The key to a great exploitation film is to be able to pivot the marketing without shame. If the distributor swears the angle will sell tickets, the change will be made. Nothing is sacred. Whether it be the title, the scenes, the poster design or the cast listing, change can happen. This change can even happen after the initial release. Alice, Sweet Alice is the perfect example of a film that went a lot of alterations. The movie was originally release in the UK as The Communion which makes sense. The original US distributor demanded three minutes of cuts which the filmmaker did. They still were dropped from release. Allied Artist picked it up on the rebound and insisted changing the name to Alice, Sweet Alice since The Communion might make people think it’s an inspirational holy roller religious film. Even then, distributor swapped the name to The Mask Murders in a few territories. After the initial release in 1977, Allied wasn’t done with the film. When Brooke Shields became a star after release of Pretty Baby, Blue Lagoon and the impending Endless Love, Allied Artist put the film back in the theaters in 1981. This was the era before VCRs sales erupted. To make it feel “new,” the distributor changed the name to Holy Terror and elevated Brooke Sheilds to the star in the credits and poster. Spoiler alert: She wasn’t. Alice, Sweet Alice is now out on 4K UHD with all three version as part of the disc.
Catherine Spages (An Unmarried Woman’s Linda Miller) is doing her best to raise her two young daughters in Paterson, New Jersey. In a slight scandal, she’s a divorced woman in 1961. But she does find help in her local Catholic Church since the two girls attend the parochial school. Karen (Endless Love‘s Brooke Shields) is the perfect younger daughter. She’s eager for her first communion. Alice (Liquid Sky‘s Paula Sheppard) is not coping well with the breakup of her parents. She like to upset Karen. One of her things is to put on those creepy translucent masks with her yellow school raincoat to spook the girl. They are a handful for Catherine. Things go completely wrong when Karen disappears before the first communion ceremony. When she’s found, it’s a disturbing scene. Alice is suspected of doing the horrific thing to her sister. Her guilt seems obvious when other people are attacked by someone in the same mask and raincoat. Is Alice this monstrous of a sister?
The first time I saw Alice, Sweet Alice was at a Cinema Overdrive screening and it blew me away. Is this an American Giallo film? Even though there’s no bottle of J&B Scotch on the screen; it’s got that mystery killer flair and character depth that set the best of the Italian films apart. The locations in Paterson, New Jersey are as grungy as many of the nasty spots in the Italian murder flicks. Mr Alphonso (Alphonso DeNoble) is extra creepy as a landlord who keeps eyeing Alice. Watching it in 4K UHD allows you to really get grossed out at Alphonso’s pants.
Director Alfred Sole did a great job of casting the sisters. Brooke Shields went onto a long career including Pretty Baby, Blue Lagoon and Freeway. Paula Sheppard appears to have only made one other movie: Liquid Sky. You might remember her for singing “My Rhythm Box.” Making Sheppard’s performance even more surprising is that she was 19 playing a 12-year-old. If you want a bit more trivia, Linda Miller’s father is Jackie Gleason. She is the daughter of Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners. For a while she was married to Jason Miller, best known as being Father Damien in The Exorcist. Their son is Jason Patric from The Lost Boys.
Of the three versions on the 4K UHD, Communion is the way to go since it has two scenes that were recut to be less graphic for the U.S. release. The Holy Terror version was probably the most shocking for people conned into thinking Brooke Shields was the main character. No matter what cut of Alice, Sweet Alice you select, it’s an effective horror movie spiked with Catholic frights.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfers is a brand new 4K restoration of the original theatrical version from the original camera negative. It brings out the scungy nature of Paterson, New Jersey. The Audio is LPCM 1.0 Mono. It sounds so good that you can feel creeped out by the delicate musical notes. The movie is subtitled in English.
Brand new audio commentary with Richard Harland Smith gets into the Roman Catholic culture in cinema at this time. He gives background on the cast.
Archival audio commentary with co-writer/director Alfred Sole, editor M.Edward Salier and Bill Lustig (director of Uncle Sam). They talk about how he cast Brooke Shields in her first major role. Alfred saw her early modeling work and thought, “This is a kid you’d see murder.” He actually enjoyed working with Brooke and her mother. Alfred praises his editor’s work. It’s nice when the director doesn’t take all the credit in a movie. Alfred also admits the raincoat came from watching Don’t Look Now.
First Communion (18:45) has director Alfred Sole remember making Alice, Sweet Alice back in 1976. His first movie was an X-rated feature called Deep Sleep since it seemed to be a cheap and easy way to make a first movie. This didn’t work out well since he used the Archbishop’s house in the film. The $25,000 budget film made $12 million. Which would be good news except the FBI came knocking. But the success brought him the shot at making Alice, Sweet Alice. He talks about casting Paula Sheppard and Brooke Shields. He directed this film while battling hepatitis.
Alice on My Mind (14:49) lets composer Stephen Lawrence discuss his music. He’s by the piano and plays the themes. He talks about what influenced his score and atmosphere. Lawrence won three Emmys for his music on Sesame Street. He also composed the theme song to Free to Be… You and Me. Lawrence is a legend. He passed away in 2021.
In the Name of the Father (16:03) catches up with actor Niles McMaster who played the divorced father. He got into real estate after returning from Vietnam. He got into modeling through a girlfriend and was making commercials. He arrived in New York City and a month later, he was cast in Alice, Sweet Alice. A newspaper article about the film being made says it was supposed to be a Made-For-TV production.
Sweet Memories (11:19) has Dante Tomaselli cousin of Alfred Sole, discusses his longtime connection to the film. He was six when the film was being made. His dad provided the communion outfits for the film. His relatives didn’t like the film. He didn’t get to see the film, but read the novelizations. Eventually he did see the videotape. Alfred would help him on scripts. He made his own religious horror film by this time. He plans on doing a remake with Alfred.
Lost Childhood: The Locations of Alice, Sweet Alice (16:03) is a tour of the shooting locations around Paterson, New Jersey hosted by author Michael Gingold. The church and the hospital with the chapel for the interior shots are gone. But there are a few buildings still standing. We learn that there was a scene shot at the famous Patterson waterfall (the I think was featured in The Sopranos). I like how they audio recreate the lost scenes from the script.
Deleted scenes (2:43) are two silent scenes since they can’t find the audio. The first is the father meeting the priest without any audio. A second is father at the hotel getting a phone call with partial audio.
Split-screen version comparison (2:13) compares the original English opening, the US theatrical, the original release to the ’81 version that promoted Brooke Shields as the star. We also see how they handled a violent scene in different ways
Re-release Trailer (1:44) opens with Brooke Shields. They make it look like she’s Alice in the film. “Too old to play with dolls. Too young to play with men” is a great slogan. Plus they throw in a more recent shot of Brooke Shields. This is some prime exploitation action.
UK TV spot (0:16) is for Communion. Tintorera, a shark flick was the double feature.
Image gallery has 40 press photos, lobby cards, posters, VHS cover, newspaper ads and the novelization cover.
The original screenplay so you can read the first communion nightmare.
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Michael Blyth
Arrow Video presents Alice, Sweet Alice: Limited Edition. Directed by Alfred Sole. Screenplay by Rosemary Ritvo & Alfred Sole. Starring Linda Miller, Mildred Clinton, Paula Sheppard, Niles McMaster, Brooke Shields, Jane Lowry, Rudolph Willrich, Michael Hardstark and Alphonso DeNoble. Running Time: Rating: R Rated. Release Date: February 11, 2025.
