The Army Reunion (1971)

Steve Finkelstein wrote and directed The Army Reunion in 1971 and it's making its premiere release now! Did the film really need to be in post-production for 50 years?? Not really, but after 2 days of shooting, Steve decided not to finish the film. Yes, there was more to come. However, what was shot can be considered a complete episode with a somewhat logical and funny conclusion.
Steve Finkelstein tells me that after the filmed picnic sequence that appears in this film was finished, a football game was planned. Either the "Goon Squad" members were planning on splitting up and taking sides, or perhaps they were goin to play against another army team altogether. All the while, "Loser Lenny" (played by Gary Lowenthal) would keep trying to sabotage each play. Finally, the Goon Squad would have enough of Lenny's meddling and attack him- ripping his arms off and stuffing him in a trash can in a scene that conjures up the ending of Tod Browning's Freaks. This was the ending as Finkelstein planned it. It would have taken a lot of planning to film the football game and this ending and perhaps that's one of the reasons Steve decided to call it quits.
What footage was shot in 1971 was developed and I'm assuming that the cast was invited to view the outcome. After that, Steve made me the caretaker of the film- and it just languished in my possession for years until 1995 when I decided to make several VHS copies of the movie that only a very few people saw. However, this was just the raw footage- unedited, no titles and didn't look that comprehensible unless someone in the know was there to explain what was going on as the film unfolded. Fast forward to 2020 and the pandemic. Suddenly, I found I had time to do all sorts of home projects. I decided to edit The Army Reunion footage together, complete with titles and then it could be shown to a wider audience and would be much more self-explanatory than before. (Although admittedly, the film's greatest appeal would be for the cast members that appears in it.)
A bonus to this production is that it features a good cross section of members of the Los Angeles Comic Book Club (also known as SMASH). Alumni will no doubt feel transported back 50 years and see themselves in action which sometimes wasn't too far removed from real club meetings! The cast consists of Gary Lowenthal, Jeff Gluckson, Herb Robaire, Barry Siegel, Bruce Simon, Jules Kragen, Sandy Frielander, Rob Solomon, Dave Collins and Steve Finkelstein. Although I doubt if our dear friend Steve Sherman who was the director of photography on this film would think this was the crowning achievement of his career, sadly, he passed away in July 2021 before this final version was completed.