Willy & Scratch (also known as Willie and Scratch)[1] is a 1974 crime western drama film directed and written by Robert J. Emery[2] and starring Paul Vincent, Claudia Jennings and Michael Hatfield. The film was the first film produced by American Pictures Corporation. It was also the first film distributed by Apollo Productions/Pictures operated by advertising and film executive Ron Libert. Libert’s former company, Libert Films International, distributed Elroy Schwartz’s currently lost, paranormal documentary, Death Is Not the End (1975).[3][4][5]
A pair of dangerous criminals make a desert ghost-town their hideout in the wake of a deadly heist.
The film was shot in the abandoned Floridaland amusement park and in the Brooksville.[6] The film was Jennings's first film lead.[7]
The film contained a significant amount of graphic content, including a scene in which actor Michael Hatfield was stabbed in the throat with a pitchfork and a rape scene featuring Claudia Jennings. To receive an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, 11 seconds of footage from the pitchfork scene were deleted.[8]
The film was released theatrically on February 7, 1974, in Denmark[9] and in the United States in March 1975 by American Pictures Corporation. The film was also shown on television between 1982 and 1987 but its survival status is currently unknown.[10]
The interest of cinephile Joe Bob Briggs mentioning Willy & Scratch on his social media in 2020 (Twitter), inspired renewed interest in the film and the search for a print. In December 2024, the film review site Dawn of the Discs (Facebook) announced Joe Rubin’s film restoration and film distribution company, Vinegar Syndrome, found a print on eBay and is in the process of restoration.[11]