"Initiation" Rites (and Wrongs!)

Y'all know how much I adore vintage TV-movies. I think there ought to be a 24-hour channel that plays NOTHING but made-for-TV movies and miniseries. There must not be much of a market for it, or it would likely have happened already, but I know I would probably find a way to work from home (or go on mental disability!) in order to watch it all the time if it existed. Anyway, I have no viable reason why or how, but today's dip into the TV-movie Time Tunnel - The Initiation of Sarah (1978) evaded me ever since it was made - until just the other day. What a hoot it was, too. Memories of this hazing horror were hazy to me. I somehow got it mixed up with Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975) or The Initiation (1984) or a number of other things. Ha ha! This one's a doozy, so let's get started.

This is not Sarah and this person goes through no initiation... It's just a young gal in a bikini on the beach. And from what I've gathered, the makers of this movie were keen on eyeing as much of the merch as possible.

'Course I ain't agin it myself when the tables are turned!

Nestled in amidst the beautiful people is our star, Kay Lenz, who plays Sarah of the title.

She's snuggled up in a towel with her sister when suddenly the latest installment from their "Hunk of the Month" club appears, wanting the sister to come for a swim with him.

Lenz's sister is played by Morgan Brittany. No harm to 'em, but it's rather clear we're not going to be experiencing anything monumental here, such as with perhaps...

The Gish sisters, Dorothy and Lillian, seen here in 1921's Orphans of the Storm!

Why this man is kept in almost complete silhouette is unknown, but his outline sure looks good.

Unfortunately, it soon becomes clear that he wants to do more than swim with Brittany! (You see, Lenz is the socially-awkward, unwanted sister while Brittany gets everyone's zippers twitching.)

Suddenly, a wave takes the guy out, solving the problem, and leaving him with his buns facing the moon.

Cut to the next morning when Brittany and Lenz are heading off to college, seen off by mother Kathryn Crosby. She's all giddy over Brittany, exclaiming how much fun she'll be having.

Then, practically as an afterthought, she looks over at Lenz and is basically, "Oh.. and you be okay, too!" Ha ha! Come to find out, Lenz is a foundling who was taken in by Crosby, so the gals aren't blood-related. But still, the difference in approach was hysterical.

Arriving in town, the two can't seem to locate the freshman dorms, so they pull over and ask a clatch of girls for directions. (It just happens to be, of course, gals who will figure into the plot line.)

One of them comes over and is instantly friendly with Brittany, but barely even bothers to glance at Lenz.

Afterwards, the girl reports back to her ringleader (Morgan Fairchild!) and they decide that one of the two in the car might make a good sorority pledge. (It's broad daylight, but Fairchild's headlights are on!)

You just know that some pervy men were involved when you see "dorm life" and girls in their undies, boobs for days, playing backgammon (no - I don't believe for one second that either one knew how!) or doing each other's hair.

Barely settled into their dorm, the sisters head out for Rush Week and come to the primo sorority house where every member is groomed to the hilt and elegant. Lenz is in a frumpy cardigan and carrying a saddlebag for a purse.

Fairchild strides across the room as only she can to greet the newbies.

Brittany seems to have found her tribe, but Lenz is out of her element.

Fairchild is all about Brittany, but sends Lenz off to the refreshment table.

There she runs into another cast-off that no one there wants.

Soon enough, she's steering Lenz (and her reluctant sister) down the street to the PEDs (which her sorority refers to as "pigs, elephants and dogs!")

Along the way, the young ladies are sized up by a couple of college dudes. One, Robert Hays, takes note of Brittany in particular.

As they're about to enter PED, Lenz spies something unsettling in an upstairs window.

Well, in one way at least, the dog thing is correct! A snarling dog greets them on the porch, but retreats after Lenz gives him the eye.

Inside, the contrast between this and the other house is quite marked. It's quite dark.

The unenthusiastic members of this sorority don't even bother to get up! The one in green, Talia Balsam, seems to be the leader while the one behind her sucks on a large, black piece of licorice.

Also on-hand is Tisa Farrow as a meek sorority sister (nicknamed "Mouse," in fact) with a keen interest in Lenz.

All of this interaction is being observed from the stairwell by a bewigged figure. (I thought maybe the girls had accidentally stumbled into a "clown college!")

Later that evening, Brittany and Lenz are going over their prospects.

Brittany suggests something different with Lenz's hair. (Why on earth it's taken till college for her to lend a hand is a mystery in itself!)

The results seem promising and bring a smile to her sister's face.

The mini-makeover is interrupted, though, by a call from mom Crosby.

She's happy to hear that Brittany was apparently well accepted by her own sorority (to which she still donates), but is alarmed when she hears Brittany bemoaning the way Lenz was rather kicked to one side.

The ever-put-together Crosby has little room for any potential threat to Brittany's inclusion to the sorority and begins to try to impress her daughter thusly.

Meanwhile, Lenz is beginning to get the hang of this hair and makeup thing.

She darts into the hall to show her sister just as Brittany is telling her mom, "What's wrong with pity....?" (Note the way Brittany is lit so that we get to see through her nightie!)

Lenz, humiliated and dejected, flees back to her room, smears cold cream on her face and stares into the mirror - which promptly breaks!!

Seven years bad luck...

Now it's time for the campus sororities to settle on the pledges they want. This is done in Fairchild's by casting lots in a crystal glass.

They have plenty of snotty remarks for the gals they didn't care for, but naturally they all approved of Brittany.

At the counter where all the new girls receive their fate, Brittany is elated to have been picked as an Alpha Nu Sigma. She (inexplicably) tells Lenz she'll wait outside while she gets her info.

Of course, Lenz is only offered a place by one house - the PEDs.

Fairchild heads a welcoming committee outside the building.

Brittany is immediately put to a test while Lenz (who was ashamed to admit that PED was the only house who accepted her) tries to be supportive.

Hyper-cruel Fairchild wants Brittany to swear that she'll never speak to a PED! Still desperate to be "in," Brittany regretfully concedes.

A humiliated Lenz flees the scene.

She parks herself near a few guys who are hoisting a piano up the side of a building.

Upon closer inspection we discover that one of them is Tony Bill while another is the aforementioned Hays.

An apologetic Brittany comes running to lenz to apologize for what happened, but Lenz is still perturbed.

Suddenly, the piano snaps free and comes careening to the ground where Brittany was standing!

Only a sudden shift of conscience caused Brittany to survive the object's fall. 

Somehow Lenz catched the eye of Bill, who we learn is an instructor at the school. (Thankfully, he teaches Psychology!)

Now it's move-in day and Lenz makes her way to the dingy, dark rooms of the PED house.

At this point, we also meet the PED's house mother, Miss Shelley Winters!

It's dark to make out, but there's a stuffed bird at her side as she examines the new tenant.

"I always feel like... somebody's watchin' me..."

In contrast, Brittany's house is elegant and bright. Fairchild has placed a large, fresh flower arrangement in her new room.

Lenz's place resembles a reform school. Only a cherished photo of the (adoptive) sisters can perk it up slightly.

I said slightly.

Winters invited Lenz over to her own room for a visit and offers this college freshman (!) a brandy, which she declines.

An expressive Winters has questions for Lenz and also expounds on the longstanding rivalry between Alpha Nu Sigma and Phi Epsilon Delta.

Back in her own hey-day, Winters was attractive enough to have been one of the Alpha Nus herself, but there was a falling out.

Incidentally, when she pulls back her curtain and looks outside, we're expected to believe that this (obvious!) model is the view of a hedge maze in the backyard...

It's clear to Lenz (see what I did there?) that she's no ordinary coed. She's got some sort of psychokinetic ability brewing and she raises her hand in Bill's class with questions that might help her sort out her situation.

A still-loyal Brittany tries to meet up with Lenz by lying to her new sisters, but is found out by the omnipresent Fairchild and chided for her disobedience.

When Farrow tries to smooth over Lenz's hurt feelings, but is rejected, she storms away into the path of an oncoming vehicle! She manages to survive, but has an injured arm nonetheless.

Bill seems to be interested in studying more than psychology.

And, in truth, Lenz seems to be gaining a little more confidence having lived in the nerd house for a while. (I'm no dummy. I try this, too... surrounding myself with lesser mortals in order to make me look better! Ha ha ha!!)

While doing a Morticia Addams on a nearby rose bush, Winters takes note of Lenz's recent blossoming relationship.

Next comes one of the telefilm's several camp highlights. While walking across campus (shot at the California Institute of Technology, if you're curious), Lenz and Farrow are suddenly stricken.

Farrow has spotted some Alpha Nu's coming their way and she wants to avoid them at all costs.

As one of the hazing rituals, Brittany is done up as a hobo with a tin cup and is forced to go around campus begging for money.

Lenz is a lot less timid in the face of Fairchild than she had been previously.

And what a face it is. As noted in her infamous beauty book, Fairchild always made the most of her features. Some of them (her nose, for instance) really weren't the greatest, but she knew how to pull it all together.

Like most bullies, Fairchild can't resist attacking the weaker of the adversaries on hand and begins to intimidate Farrow. She grasps her sheet music and starts to bait her. With this, Lenz has had her fill...

Without even touching her, she sends Fairchild (in fact, Fairchild's hilarious stunt double) shooting backwards into the fountain!

Even though it goes by FAST, in an era with few VCRs, her emergence from the water in a clingy, braless turtleneck got many tongues wagging back in 1978.

Even worse, she's got to stand there while Lenz unleashes a furious diatribe against her.

Later, at the PED house, Winters is giddy that an Alpha Nu has been given her just desserts.

Meanwhile, the two Morgans have a heart-to-heart over what went down.

Fairchild says she feels awful about what happened and wants to make things right. She tells Brittany that she's going to get Lenz accepted into their sorority.

Brittany is thrilled by this gesture.

Bill and Lenz are getting closer by the day as he tries to help get a handle on her psychological (and other) attributes.

What's this? I mean, because you always set up a weight-lifting station in the middle of the gymnasium floor...

A feline Fairchild is chatting up Hays.

It seems she wants a favor from him.

Fairchild's nipple-baring T-shirt early on, her wet turtleneck and one more moment still to come got some people in a lather, but this part didn't seem to raise any hackles.

Even when she slides a pinky into the waistband of Hays' abbreviated shorts!

Anyway, the deal is sealed... with a kiss.

Hays calls Lenz in order to include her in a surprise party for his buddy (and her buddy, too!) Bill.

The PEDs are all aflutter as they await the emergence of Lenz from her cocoon.

Farrow has been upstairs helping her get all showroom new for her night with Bill at the party in his honor. Then the doorbell rings.

Lenz steps onto the porch and is soon blinded by the blaze of several car headlights.

The Alpha Nus are stationed outside and begin lobbing eggs and ripe tomatoes at the hapless Lenz!

Somehow the raft of produce, including celery (!) transmogrifies into mud (!) as it arrives on Lenz's party dress. For reasons known only to the screenwriter, Lenz cannot turn her back on the assailants and go back inside the door that is brightly lit behind her. She has to stand there until she is completely coated down in gunk.

There is no truth to the rumor that Lenz was up for the role of "Zuni Fetish Doll" in Karen Black's Trilogy of Terror (1975.)

Now they've really done it. (This is Lenz's Carrie, 1976, moment. More than a few comparisons were made to that thriller, though elements from The Stepford Wives, 1975, seemed to be woven in as well.)

As the evening wears on, Hays has become regretful that he took part in the shenanigans.

An appalled Brittany turns to Bill for advice and assistance.

Winters has some ideas of her own!

She presses Lenz into focusing on the selfish Fairchild, really getting her steamed.

Thus, when Brittany tracks Fairchild down to confront her about the vicious "prank,"...

The two girls find themselves caught in a scalding shower with no way to stop the water, nor no way to get the door back open!

Fairchild later claimed that she was unexpectedly requested to do this scene topless (worn down by 9:00pm) and that the set was left open to a multitude of visitors. When a cameraman allegedly exclaimed, "Now press your bodies up against the glass for the boys at ABC," the costumer exited the set.

On a lighter note, her character dons full hair and makeup, after having been nearly drowned in piping hot water, before she'll show her wounds to her fellow coeds.

Bill is beginning to see that Lenz is more than he bargained for and has developed a backbone at last.

At last comes the big night... Initiation! Fairchild's girls are aglow in gold...

...while Winters' women are awash in black.

It's yet another study in contrast.

Winters is bent on revenge against the mean girls of Alpha Nu.

Lenz, however, may be able to unleash more than even she had ever considered.

Shelley begins to blow!

Somehow from afar she even blows off Morgan's makeup!

But you'll have to watch the movie to see what leads Miss Winters to this variation of her crazed expressions... A beautiful rendition of it can be seen here. There is also a Blu-ray release, with extras, out there.

This is the same pic I led the post with, but... I had cropped it the first time in order to keep some of the cast secret for those who weren't aware. Notice how Tony Bill (!) was top-billed, followed by Kathryn Crosby! Neither Morgan rated mention...

A later home video release (on VHS) had Lenz back on top and included the Morgans, but the cover photo (which happens to be a flipped negative) focuses solely on Fairchild. Oddly, another picture of her on the back of the sleeve also has its negative reversed!

Born to parents who worked both in front of and behind the camera, Lenz was on TV briefly as an infant, later developing into a child actress on stage at 13 and on TV the year after. Her biggest splash came in 1973 when Clint Eastwood selected her to play opposite William Holden in Breezy, but the film failed to make much headway. (Despite this, she earned a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer.) More movies and TV followed wherein she picked up a Daytime Emmy for The ABC Afternoon Playbreak and was nominated for Rich Man, Poor Man (1975), losing to co-performer Fionnula Flanagan. A lengthy, busy career followed (albeit one dotted with things like Death Wish IV: The Crackdown and Stripped to Kill, both 1987.) Doing three episodes of Midnight Caller resulted in an Emmy win. At the time of Initiation, Lenz was the wife of David Cassidy (from 1977 - 1983) and it was a tumultuous experience thanks to his level of fame. Off screen since the mid-2010s, she is currently 71.

At no time is Lenz shown in a swimsuit (she's covered in a towel during the opening), but it's telling that pics like these were used for publicity. Though she was rarely shy about showing her body, this project just seemed to have an air about it when it came to the powers that be taking pleasure in treating its actresses like, well, meat. Today there are generally more stringent safeguards available for actresses.

Winters, a two-time Oscar-winner for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), not to mention a high-profile nominee for The Poseidon Adventure (1972), had a field day on TV during this period. Revenge! (1971) and The Devil's Daughter (1973) were two of several telefilms that gave her the chance to gnaw some scenery. Once a toothsome, curvy sex bomb (and onetime roommate of Marilyn Monroe), she honed her craft and was capable of portraying a wide variety of types. Although there were chintzy projects into which she packed a lot of ham, I nonetheless found her second memoir "Shelley II" a very valuable resource when it came to performing. A late-career boost came when she landed a recurring role on the hit sitcom Roseanne. Following that, she made a few more appearances and then retired. A heart attack claimed her in 2005 at age 85.

As a recent graduate of Notre Dame, handsome Bill made an auspicious movie debut in 1963 as Frank Sinatra's kid brother in Come Blow Your Horn, which led to a role in Soldier in the Rain (also 1963) opposite Steve McQueen. Sinatra thought enough of him to cast him in None But the Brave as well as Marriage on the Rocks (both 1965) which were followed by TV roles and occasional movies like Ice Station Zebra (1968.) Bill later moved into producing (copping an Oscar for The Sting, 1973) and directing, with movies like My Bodyguard (1980) and Six Weeks (1982), among others. He continued to act, appearing in Shampoo (1975) and one of our favorites, Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985), aptly playing a movie exec. He began to slip into retirement as the 2000s came to a close and is currently 83.

Crosby (then brunette) had begun as beauty pageant contestant Kathryn Grant and entered the movie world in 1953, often uncredited in small roles calling for good looks. By 1955, she was portraying more key roles in movies like The Phenix City Story, followed by Storm Center with Bette Davis and The Wild Party (both 1956) with Anthony Quinn. In 1957, when she was practically at her busiest with Mister Cory, The Guns of Fort Petticoat and Operation Mad Ball, among others, she wed widower Bing Crosby and only worked a short while after that. Still, some of her more memorable movies came from that period like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Anatomy of a Murder and The Big Circus (both 1959.) Soon enough, though, she was busy raising four of her and Bing's children (in addition to the four sons he already had) and was mostly relegated to his TV specials. Bing had died in 1977, so this marked her return. Probably only working one day, she was perfect in her role as a style-conscious, class-conscious sorority alumnus. Only making a select few appearances thereafter, she is still with us today at age 90.

We've written about Fairchild (with regards to her book) and speculated about her (elusive movies that she has mentioned, but for which no credits exist!) and zeroed in on one of her notable movies. Having moved from Dallas to The Big Apple, reinventing herself in the process, she made a mark on Search for Tomorrow as the villainous Jennifer Pace. (Her character in Initiation is also named Jennifer.) Segueing into prime-time TV, she guest-starred on many hit series. Built for playing glamorous, conniving types, she struggled to get a foothold on a successful regular series with valiant attempts including Flamingo Road and Paper Dolls. (Like Bill, she also popped up to hilarious effect in Pee Wee's Big Adventure.) While promoting AIDS awareness in the wake of losing friends like Dack Rambo, she continued acting on a wide variety of TV shows. Emmy nominations came for Murphy Brown (losing to Swoosie Kurtz for Carol & Company) and Days of Our Lives (losing to Vernee Watson on General Hospital.) Fairchild played Crosby's role in a 2006 remake of The Initiation of Sarah! Still active today, she recently worked alongside other cohorts from her hey-day in Ladies of the '80s: A Diva Christmas (2023.) She is currently 74.

Born Susanne Cupito, Brittany was a successful child actress working on Sea Hunt, Thriller and multiple episodes of The Twilight Zone as well as playing Baby June in Gypsy (1962) and portraying one of the kids terrorized by The Birds (1963.) She continued to amass credits as Cupito until 1968. She then changed her name (to avoid the "teen" typecasting she was facing) and became a sought-after model with the famed Ford agency. This led to a barrage of TV ads and then film roles, followed by multiple guest spots on various hit series. In 1981, she landed the role of evil Katherine Wentworth on Dallas, who ended up killing Bobby Ewing (though the whole thing later wound up being dismissed as a dream after that infamous season.) Off-screen since the mid-2000s, she has more recently concentrated on writing and political commentary and public speaking. She is 72.

 

What gave Brittany an edge during the mid-to-late '70s was a series of appearances as Vivien Leigh in her famed role of Scarlett O'Hara. Brittany played this in Day of the Locust (1975), Gable and Lombard (1976) and, as seen here, in The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980) with Tony Curtis as David O. Selznick. For the latter, her photo was plastered everywhere and it caught the eyes of Dallas producers who were looking for a new vixen. Ironically, for Initiation, Fairchild was not permitted to read for Brittany's role because nice girls were a dime a dozen, but "bitches" were harder to find. Yet Brittany later demonstrated that she, too, could be a major thorn in heroines' sides.

Prior to this, young Hays had mostly played policemen on Marcus Welby, M.D. and The Blue Knight along with other roles on shows like Laverne & Shirley and Wonder Woman. He also co-starred in some TV movies and a resultant short-lived attempt at a series called The Young Pioneers. Slightly more successful was the sitcom Angie with Donna Pescow. In 1980, he landed the starring role in the outrageous parody Airplane!, followed by an inferior sequel. He worked in movies and on TV, briefly headlining Starman, which was based on the 1984 Jeff Bridges film. Though much of his work has been under-the-radar (including voice work), he remained active up through 2020. He is currently 76.

The daughter of movie director John Farrow and his wife Maureen O'Sullivan (Jane of Tarzan fame), Farrow was the youngest of their seven children. Eldest sister Mia had been a major movie star in the 1960s and '70s and Tisa began acting in 1970 with the Canadian-made film Homer. The majority of her cinematic output would fall under "cult following" thanks to the subject matter and minor budgets. Some Call It Loving (1973), Only God Knows (1974) and Strange Shadows in an Empty Room (1976) are some of the titles, though Fingers (1978), with Harvey Keitel is a bit better known. She worked in The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979) soon after this. Turning to violent Italian thrillers as the 1970s came to a close, she retired in 1980 and pursued a career in nursing. She died in her sleep of heart failure earlier this year at age 72.

Finally comes another second-generation performer. Oscar-winning actor Martin Balsam and Joyce Van Patten (an Underworld fave) were married from 1958 to 1962 and brought forth daughter Talia. She began acting in 1977, chiefly in a recurring part on Happy Days, and so was still new here. (Funny, I don't recall "nerds" wearing Izod polo shirts!) Many TV guest roles followed, with good and bad movie opportunities coming in the mid-'80s, like Mass Appeal (1984) and Crawlspace (1986.) In 1989 she became the wife of a struggling actor who'd just starred in Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988) - one George Clooney! The unhappy union ended in 1993 with Clooney vowing never again to walk down the aisle (until he did, in 2014.) Balsam, who seems never to crack more than a half-smile, has gone on to a highly prolific career as a character actress. Some of her shows include L.A. Doctors, Without a Trace, Mad Men, Divorce and, most recently, Wilderness. Remarried since 1998 to actor John Slattery, she is currently 65.

Bonus Pic: Loyal friend Fairchild attending the premiere of Bill's 1982 directorial effort Six Weeks, which starred Dudley Moore and Mary Tyler Moore.