Bitter Harvest (1993 film)

Bitter Harvest
Australian DVD cover of "Bitter Harvest"
Directed by	Duane Clark
Produced by	Gary Binkow Steven Paul Eric M. Breiman (line producer) Barry L. Collier (executive producer)
Written by	Randall Fontana
Starring	Stephen Baldwin Patsy Kensit Jennifer Rubin
Music by	Michael Tavera (as Mike Tavera)
Edited by	Paul Petschek
Production company	Crystal Sky Worldwide, Prism Entertainment Corporation
Distributed by	Prism Entertainment Corporation
Release dates	November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Bitter Harvest is a 1993 thriller/drama film starring Stephen Baldwin, Patsy Kensit and Jennifer Rubin. It was directed by Duane Clark. The film was released on November 3, 1993.^[1]

Background

The film stars Stephen Baldwin as Travis, Patsy Kensit as Jolene and Jennifer Rubin as Kelly Ann. Others in the film include Adam Baldwin as Bobby, M. Emmet Walsh as Sheriff Bob, James Crittenden as Lester, Art Evans as Earl Yates, Joanna Jackson as Lutie Yates, Ed Morgan as Judge Henry McGrath and David Powledge as Andrew Taylor.^[2]

The film was originally released on VHS in America where it now remains out-of-print, unavailable in the country on DVD.^[3] An all-region Australian import DVD was later released,^[4] as well as a Spanish import DVD,^[5] and a Dutch import DVD.^[6]

The film's tagline reads "A triangle of innocence, sin ... and murder."^[4]

Plot

Travis, a lonely and rather foolish young man, has just lost an abusive father who left all of his money to a TV preacher but left him his valuable coin collection and his large farm when, Kelly Ann, walks into his life. At the same time, another attractive blonde, Jolene, starts taking an interest in Travis after supposedly wanting to buy the farm. Both women are secretly after something, but wide-eyed Travis, in need of emotional aid and comfort after the death of his father, finds himself the object of the girls' attentions. Even when he realizes he's being played for a chump he doesn't have the inclination to escape the ladies' clutches and things begin to take a sinister turn.^[7][8]

Cast

• Stephen Baldwin as Travis
• Patsy Kensit as Jolene
• Jennifer Rubin as Kelly Ann
• Adam Baldwin as Bobby
• M. Emmet Walsh as Sheriff Bob
• James Crittenden as Lester
• Art Evans as Earl Yates
• Joanna Jackson as Lutie Yates
• Ed Morgan as Judge Henry McGrath
• David Powledge as Andrew Taylor
• Jim Lovelett as Rip
• William Dennis Hurley as Two Pines Bank Teller
• Bonnie Paul as Astonville Bank Teller
• Kandra King as Hurley Bank Teller
• Jeff Yesko as Two Pines Bank Guard
• Wally Rose as Hurley Bank Guard
• Michael R. Long as Police Officer
• Gary Robertson as Travis' Father
• Clayton E. Robertson as Young Travis
• Eric M. Breiman as the Rancher (uncredited)

Reception

Hal Erickson of Allmovie gave the film three out of five stars, stating "When the call went out for a Baldwin, Stephen answered and was cast in the lead of Bitter Harvest. Patsy Kensit and Jennifer Rubin costar as a pair of oversexed young ladies who get their jollies by victimizing their male lovers. Wide-eyed Baldwin, in need of emotional aid and comfort after the death of his father, finds himself the object of the girls' attentions. Even when he realizes he's being played for a chump, Baldwin hasn't got the inclination to escape the ladies' clutches. And then things take a sinister turn."^[9]

Chris Parry of EFilmCritic gave the film one and a half stars out of five, stating "Sure, Stephen Baldwin isn't generally a name you associate with movies that make a lot of sense (Usual Suspects notwithstanding), but this thing is so totally boring and unrealistic that it's really hard to watch. If not for the nudity of the gals (which, granted, is very nice and very prevalent), there'd honestly be nothing else to watch here but Baldwin's mullet. The direction, by TV hack Duane Clark, manages to introduce tons of sub-plots (such as flashbacks to a mysterious robed figure) then completely ignore them for the remainder of the film. The continual staring of Baldwin's character at a badly painted portrait of a stern old dude would be far less funny if they weren't accompanied by 'mysterious music' that leaves you wondering when the painting's eyes are going to move. They never do, though yours will. They'll roll back into your head if you sit through this dreck."^[10]

Scoopy gave an unfavorable review and wrote "Bitter Harvest is a bad erotic thriller. There was a time I lost all interest in where the plot was going, and the nudity was over by then as well."^[11]

For the DVD & Video Guide 2005, authors Mick Martin and Marsha Porter gave a rating of two stars out of five and wrote "Baldwin is good, but excessive subplots lessen the film's impact."^[12] The book VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever gave a rating of two out of five stars.^[13]

References

External links

• Bitter Harvest at the Internet Movie Database