At last, the acidheads have hit Hollywood. A clear successor to the cycle of psychoanalytical films of the '40s (Spellbound, etc.) and so far about as insightful, is the first wave of movies offering a far-outside view of the mind-bending potentialities of LSD.
The Trip is a psychedelic tour through the bent mind of Peter Fonda, which is evidently full of old movies. In a flurry of flesh, mattresses, flashing lights and kaleidoscopic patterns, an alert viewer will spot some fancy business from such classics as The Seventh Seal, Lawrence of Arabia, even The Wizard of Oz. Eventually, in a scene that is right out of 8%, Fonda perches on a merry-go-round while a robed judge gravely spells out his previous sins and inadequacies. The photographer's camera work is bright enough, and full of tricks, without beginning to suggest the heightened inner awareness so frequently claimed by those who use the drug.
The Love-ins tells the tale of a professor (Richard Todd) who resigns his post to spread the gospel of love and acid among some unaccountably scrubbed-looking Hashbury hippies. A leary disciple shoots him dead at a rally in a stadium packed with flower folk at a $5 admission tab. Among other implausibilities: a psychedelic-balletic version of Alice in Wonderland.