If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?
| If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover art | |
| Directed by | Ron Ormond |
| Written by | Screenplay: Ron Ormond Book: Estus Pirkle |
| Produced by | Estus Pirkle Monnie Stanfield |
| Starring | Estus Pirkle Cecil Scaife Judy Creech |
| Edited by | Ron Ormond Tim Ormond |
| Distributed by | The Ormond Organization |
Release date | 1972 |
Running time | 52 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? is a 1971 Christian film directed by Ron Ormond.
The film is based on the teachings of Estus Pirkle and warns of the dangers facing the United States from Communist infiltrators. The film suggests that the only way to avoid such a fate is to turn to Christianity. It has attracted something of a cult following among secular fans because of its explicit depictions of torture and the heavy-handed nature of its evangelical message. The title paraphrases Jeremiah 12:5:
- "If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?"
The movie is perhaps best known for having been sampled by the sound collage band Negativland and by featuring a musical number which was used in Ed Wood's 1954 film Jail Bait. Pirkle's narrative includes a (speculative) experience in a communist totalitarian country where public loudspeakers issued proclamations such as "Christianity is stupid, Communism is good" ad infinitum. Negativland lifted the phrases and played them repeatedly backed by industrial music and various other sound effects. A more complete version of Pirkle's narrative can be heard on Negativland's Helter Stupid.
In 2016, the film was the subject of a satirical review on the web series The Cinema Snob,[1] as well as the God Awful Movies podcast.
See also
References
- ^ "If Footmen Tire You What Will Horses Do?". The Cinema Snob. February 22, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
External links
- If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? at IMDb
- If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? at AllMovie
- A review of the film
- An outline of the sermon on which the film was based
- Full film on YouTube
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