The Oldenburg film festival will honor music producer and one-and-done film director James William Guercio at this year’s festival, hosting Guerico and presenting a special screening of his 1973 cult film Electra Glide in Blue.
The satirical black comedy, which mocks the hippie motorcycle movies made popular with Easy Rider (1969), stars Robert Blake and Billy Green Bush as Arizona motorcycle cops who get caught up in a murder investigation. Electra Glide in Blue premiered in competition at Cannes. Blake was nominated for a Golden Globe for his lead performance. The role reportedly helped Blake land the lead in the popular 70s cop series Baretta. (Years before the actor would become notorious after he was charged, and eventually acquitted, of the murder of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley).
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Electra Glide in Blue failed to land with audiences at the time, with critics dismissing it as a reactionary alternative to Easy Rider. A take Oldenburg rejects.
“Guercio’s only film has since been accepted into the canon of great artistic cinematic works,” the festival said, announcing the Guercio tribute on Wednesday. “A cult film in the best sense, its nuanced approach between John Ford’s Americana and the counterculture of the 1970s makes Guercio’s cinematic work a singularity of magnificent beauty.”
Guercio never made another film but became a power player in the music business. He’s best known as the producer of the rock band Chicago. (Several members of the band appear in minor roles in Electra Glide in Blue and performed on the film’s soundtrack.) Guercio produced the jazz-rock giant’s first eleven studio albums, including 5 that reached number 1 in the Billboard charts. However, by 1977, tensions reached a breaking point when the band discovered Guercio’s contract entitled him to 51 percent of the profits—leaving the remaining 49 percent split among the eight members—and accused him of pocketing royalties, prompting an acrimonious split after the release of Chicago XI.
Guercio has since had an eclectic career, mostly away from the entertainment business, pursuing cattle ranching, property development, and oil and gas exploration. For a period, he was the owner of the Country Music Television channel and a U.S. pro-soccer team.
Guerico will attend the 2025 Oldenburg festival, which runs Sept. 10-13.
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