The Commune (lost Manson family-inspired film; 1970)

This article has been tagged as NSFW due to its sexually explicit nature.

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AD from The San Francisco Examiner (15 March 1970).

Status: Lost

The Commune was a 1970 film directed by Monroe Beehler based on the crimes of the Manson family. Released on March 11th, 1970 just 7-months after the Tate–LaBianca murders, the film holds the title of being quite possibly the first film based on the crimes. Very little is known about the film, other than it apparently had its premiere at the Eros Theatre (now New Beverly Cinema) in Los Angeles, California on March 11, 1970. The film later played at the Nob Hill Theatre in San Francisco.

AD from The L.A. Times (06 March 1970)

Background

Monroe Beehler was known for directing gay pornographic films and showing them at theaters in the San Franciso area. Possibly wanting to cash in on the recent murders, Beehler filmed and released The Commune in 1970. Although Beehler was known primarilly for directing pornography, it's been stated that the film may not have been pornographic in nature, and rather that it was "basically just a straight exploitation feature" that only played at the porn-centric Nob Hill Theatre due to the fact that Beehler owned the theatre at the time.

Premier

While it is known that the film premiered on March 11th, 1970 at the Nob Hill Theatre in San Francisco and at Eros Theatre in Los Angeles, due to the obscure release it is unknown how long the run time was or if it was a critical success. There was an advertisement for The Commune taken out in the LA Times.

Cast

While the cast is known, it is unknown who they played in the film

• Eric Berne
• John Chavez
• Nancy Gold
• Robert Harvey (Former bass player for Jefferson Airplane, credited as Robert Harry)
• Nancy Kinberg
• Ronald McTash
• Joann Nelson
• Sherli Nixon
• Enrico Rizini
• Candy Rodgers
• Joan Stormer
• Larry Watts

Avalability

Like many other low-budget films of that era, The Commune was not widely known outside of certain communities in California. Due to this, it is unknown if The Commune saw any home releases or local theatrical re-releases. As of the writing of this article, no footage from the film has surfaced.

Impact

The release of The Commune started a trend in the film industry from 1971 until 1979 of films based on the Manson Family murders. These films were all locally released in various regions of the United States from local releases like The Commune. While most were obscure, others such as Snuff garnered huge attention and is now considered a cult classic.