Powerful

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I saw this for the first time in 2015 on TCM of all places, but I remember when it came out. What makes this so laughable are the effects which look like an old SCTV skit. The movie loses me totally with the guy in the alligator suit. This feels more like a TV movie than a theatrical movie. It's a 1970s "B" movie but with a considerable cast of Tony Curtis, Michael Ansara and Susan Strasberg of all people. It's probably typical for its time. I also would like to make a suggestion to Amazon that they change the minimum of a review from 10 lines to 5 lines. The reviews can still be good without having to make so many points about the movie.

San Francisco psychic Tony Curtis (as Harry Erskine) receives startling news from his girlfriend Susan Strasberg (as Karen Tandy). She has a strange, fast-growing lump on her back. Comparing the bump to a fetus, doctor, writer and associate producer Jon Cedar (as Jack Hughes) is unable to operate. We suspect, from the opening credits, it's "The Manitou" (something to do with ancient Native Americans). Ms. Strasberg says strange things in her sleep and Mr. Curtis' wealthy tarot card clients start to freak out. Curtis goes to beautifully tanned Stella Stevens (as Amelia "Amy" Crusoe) for help. She taught him how to use his psychic powers and read the tarot cards (although he seems to be a phony, for the most part). The cast gets good help from hospitable anthropologist Burgess Meredith (as Ernest Snow). He leads them to modern-day "Indian" medicine man Michael Ansara (as John Singing Rock)...This is presented like a Native American Indian version of "The Exorcist" (1973), with some interesting differences. In a few ways, it's better. Producer-director William Girdler and his crew do a fine job coordinating the effects and characters, and the threat seems like it's going to be more realistic. However, the story is weak in that the "villain" results from some confusing hocus-pocus that really doesn't add up. It certainly must have made more sense in the original novel, by Graham Masterson. Here, the evil forces are impressive, but not frightening. And, the ending just looks like everyone decided to do "Star Wars" instead of "The Exorcist". With eyelash enhancement and extra-tight clothing, Curtis often appears befuddled. That's understandable. "The Manitou" was the last film from Mr. Girdler, who died in a helicopter crash at age 30, sadly. He undoubtedly had not reached his peak in filmmaking.***** The Manitou (4/15/78) William Girdler ~ Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Michael Ansara, Burgess Meredith

The Manitou was Tony Curtis's last starring role, henceforth after this Curtis would be a character actor for the rest of his career. He's quite a character in The Manitou.What can I say but that the Manitou is an American Indian version of The Exorcist. Just as Linda Blair was possessed by a demon spirit in that film, in The Manitou here Susan Strasberg is naturally disturbed by the sudden appearance of a growth on her back. It's getting quite exponentially large and doctor determine it's a fetus of some kind. And operating on it causes some horrific casualties.Here's when Tony Curtis calls in a consult. Curtis is a spiritualist of sorts and has quite the act, but for the real deal when he hears one of his clients Lurene Tuttle start babbling in Indian tongues he calls on Michael Ansara who is a medicine man. It is Ansara who determines that this is a great spirit from the past looking to be reborn.So Ansara with Curtis's help essentially performs an exorcism Indian style. And if you've seen The Exorcist you know what happens.When I started to watch The Manitou I saw that Tony was playing it a bit tongue in cheek. When we first meet him he's giving Jeanette Nolan a fleecing. He was very good and I thought the whole film might be tongue in cheek, but it got good and serious after that.Maybe if it had stayed in a satiric vein, it might have rated higher for me. And ironically I think it could have been played that way.

In commemoration of Tony Curtis' sad passing yesterday, I thought I would use it as a reason to visit one of my guilty pleasures.The Manitou was a horror novel hacked out (not to put too fine a point on it) in the early 70s by horror pulp novelist Graham Masterton. The story concerns the girlfriend of a small-time stage magician and psychic con artist called Harry Erskine, who finds herself with a mysterious growth on her neck. The growth turns out to be the reincarnation of malevolent native American demonic shaman Misquemacus, who has bad things in mind. Harry, enlisting the aid of untried medicine man John Singing Rock, becomes reluctant hero and joins battle.This sounds fairly daft (and is), but it works fairly well on the printed page. This film adaptation, with Curtis as Erskine, translates it fairly faithfully to the screen, at which point you realise what a load of preposterous old tosh it actually is. Having said that, it has moderate production values, and is played straight albeit with a twinkle in its eye, and is entertaining if you are prepared to crank up the suspension of disbelief (and, let's face it, if you've sat down to watch it then that's probably the case).Curtis had five phases to his career. There was an introductory phase, where he got by on cheesecake good looks while learning his trade. Then the second phase saw him garnering respect in movies like Spartacus and Some Like It Hot. The third phase was a plateau which included critical successes like The Boston Strangler and crowd pleasers like The Great Race. The fourth phase was a slow and graceful decline, encompassing high profile TV series The Persuaders and low rent (but relatively high budget) potboilers like The Manitou. Finally, having retired to all intents and purposes, he popped up for the odd cameo here and there.It was a successful and well structured career, the career of a man who entered it based solely on his looks, but who had sustained success in it based largely on his talent, skill, and ability to learn.He will be missed.