
            In New York City, soft-spoken Helen returns to the apartment she shares with her boyfriend Marco after enduring an unhygienic and inept abortion. Although Helen becomes ill from the procedure, Marco is satisfied because he was able to procure the abortion through bartering, and thus did not have to expend any money. When Marco leaves briefly to collect some cash, Bobby, an amiable small-time drug dealer to whom Marco owes money, shows unexpected gentleness and concern for Helen. Soon after, when Helen is hospitalized for profuse bleeding, Bobby sneaks in after visiting hours and tells her that Marco has gone away. Briefly, Helen considers returning to her dysfunctional family in Fort Wayne, Indiana. However, after she is released from the hospital, she moves in with Bobby. As they are walking together, Bobby steals a television out of a parked van and pawns it for money to buy drugs. At his apartment, Bobby declines Helen's invitation to have sex until she feels better. When she awakens to find him taking drugs, he explains that he is not an addict, but only "chipping."At Sherman Square, which has been nicknamed "Needle Park" because it is a hangout for drug dealers and addicts, Bobby introduces Helen to various acquaintances that make up his social group of drug customers. At a cheap luncheonette, she meets Bobby's older brother Hank, who wears a suit and burgles for a living. In an apartment used by several addicts, Helen witnesses the intricate ritual of "shooting up" or preparing and injecting the heroin into a vein, and listens to their discussion of the price and availability of drugs. On the street, Bobby becomes anxious when drugs he has paid for are not in the telephone booth where he is to pick them up. After tracking down the man who sold him the drugs, he is re-directed to look into a trash can. That night his drug-taking renders him unable to make love to Helen.When they are evicted for non-payment of rent, Bobby suggests to Helen that she return home, but she refuses and they move into a sleazier apartment. After Bobby asks her to deliver money to Freddy, one of his suppliers, Helen realizes Bobby has not given her enough money to pay for the drugs and that she will be expected to make up the difference by having sex. While Helen is negotiating with Freddy, Hotch, a policeman on the drug squad, and his partner arrest them. As his partner convinces Freddy to assist them in a sting, Hotch explains to Helen about what it's like when there is a "panic." He explains that when the drug supply on the street is low, everyone begins to turn one another into the police, in return for favors. Unexpectedly, Hotch releases Helen without booking her and she returns to Bobby, who begins to use drugs more heavily. While Bobby spends more time sleeping, Helen, who all along has only observed the others, begins to shoot up.Some time later, Bobby is exuberantly playing stick ball with some children, when he passionately kisses Helen and looking into her eyes, realizes she is now using. In his favorite diner, as the drugged Helen sits listlessly beside him, Bobby proposes. Upon hearing the news, Hank asks what they will live on and doubts Bobby's supposition that he can quit drugs. Hank offers Bobby work as a burglar, but Helen rejects the idea, saying instead that she will get a job. However, Helen who has been hired as a waitress, does a terrible job and soon quits. Just before Bobby is to assist Hank in a burglary, he overdoses. With the aid of other users, Helen finds Bobby and helps him through the ordeal, but Hank is angry with Bobby for jeopardizing his plans. Reluctantly, he allows Bobby to assist him on another night, but the theft goes awry and Bobby is arrested. While he is in jail, Helen finds it harder to get drugs and has sex with Hank, in exchange for heroin.When Bobby is released, he and Helen have a big fight, after which Bobby considers moving to the country, but they agree that it is not feasible. Bobby persuades Santo, a major drug dealer, to let him handle distribution in Needle Park, and is directed to an apartment where the heroin is being prepared and bagged. Meanwhile, as they are in need of immediate money, Helen turns to streetwalking. After Bobby distributes Santo's drugs, Needle Park residents are happy to have a reliable source for a while. Bobby tells Helen that he stashed some drugs away as an insurance in case he is arrested, so that he can pay for a lawyer. However, when he finds the drugs missing from his hiding place, he accuses Helen of stealing it. As her health deteriorates from increasing drug use, their relationship suffers. Hotch, who is not surprised to watch her fall from an innocent woman in love to a drug abusing prostitute, keeps an eye on her and, when she is arrested with her john, he asks the arresting officer not to book her, as he needs her for something he is planning.When her mother writes, asking Helen to meet friends who are visiting the city, Helen is reluctant, but dresses up, carefully trying to hide the track marks on her arms. Instead of meeting them, however, she picks up a young virginal customer. When Bobby finds her, he scares the boy away, but then he and Helen begin to laugh. Realizing they have been too serious, they take the ferry to the countryside, where they buy a puppy. On the return trip, they discuss making a fresh start and Helen suggests that they move out of Needle Park, but Bobby refuses and convinces her to go into the men's room to shoot up. When the dog begins to whine, he puts it outside the door. Afterward, Helen discovers the dog missing and finds it just before it falls off the end of the ferry and into its machinery.Desolate, she goes to see Marco, who is back from his trip, but soon returns to Bobby and steals drugs from him. Needing a "fix," she goes to a doctor, falsely claiming she needs drugs for a painful kidney stone. Aware that she is an abuser, the doctor refuses to write a prescription for her, but gives her some samples, telling her never to return. She takes some of the pills, but is arrested for selling the rest to minors. Hotch warns her about the dangers of the women's prison and knowing that Bobby can lead them to Santo, offers to arrange for the charges to be dropped if she will help them to catch Bobby in the act of picking up a drug shipment. When she refuses, Hotch explains that she will go to jail for one to three years, but Bobby, who knows how to work the system, will probably only serve six months. Later, at home, Bobby elatedly tells her that there will be no more "panic" after the new shipment arrives, saying that Santo is giving him as much as he can sell, and is allowing him to have people work under him.In the next two weeks, Hotch approaches Helen several times, reminding her of the pending trial. Depressed, she increases her drug use and spends days in bed, until even Bobby is annoyed. Helen finally agrees to help the police and late one night Helen and Hotch watch, as a squad of policemen apprehend Bobby, who is in possession of a large quantity of heroin. Spotting her on the street and feeling betrayed, Bobby yells, "I was gonna marry you!" Months later, when he is released, Helen waits for him at the gate. Although his first impulse is to rebuff her, he calls to her and they walk off together.[4]
    

The Panic in Needle Park


            The film begins with the following written statement: "This story is true. Only the names and places have been changed."In 1954 Louisiana, Chris Dixon (Alan Vint) makes love to a prostitute when his brother, Wayne Dixon (Jesse Vint), interrupts to warn that three men, including the woman's pimp, are pursuing them. Chris quickly follows Wayne out the apartment window, clothes in hand, and the brothers run across town, stopping only for Chris to dress. Upon discovering their car has been towed, they walk through the night to an impound yard and spend most of their money to collect the vehicle.Back on the road, the brothers stop at a diner, but when two redneck police officers come in to eat, Wayne escapes through the bathroom window. After Chris pays for his meal, he jumps in the car and the brothers race off, stiffing the waitress for Wayne's bill. Although the police give chase, Wayne has rigged their vehicles with a chain and the officers are left immobilized.Further along the highway, the brothers pick up 20-year-old Jenny Scott (Cheryl Waters), who is hitchhiking in a ball gown. Chris tells Jenny that he was accused of assault with a deadly weapon, but the judge offered him a choice between jail and military service. When Chris selected the armed forces, Wayne re-enlisted so they could remain together. Wayne explains that they are on a road trip to enjoy their last two weeks of civilian life before they report for active duty in the Air Force.Meanwhile, Macon County Deputy Reed Morgan (Max Baer) buys a rifle for his ten year-old son, Luke, to celebrate the first day of hunting season. When Chris and Wayne's car breaks down at the local gas station, Hamp (Geoffrey Lewis), the owner, says the brothers need a fuel pump but refuses to take a credit card. Brandishing a rifle, the brothers attempt to trade the weapon for a pump, but Hamp says he doesn't need the gun. Instead, the men negotiate a $5 temporary fix and Hamp says it will keep them on the road until they reach a station that accepts credit cards.As Chris and Wayne wait for Hamp to service the car, Jenny changes in a "white only" restroom and Deputy Morgan pulls into the station for a beer. Outside, two outlaws, Lon Hawkins (Timothy Scott) and Elisha Gibbons (James Gammon), nervously eye Morgan as Hamp pumps their gas. However, Morgan is preoccupied with the brothers, who are clearly out-of-towners. After noticing their Illinois license plates and checking their identifications, Morgan hassles the young men, explaining that anyone carrying less than $10 is considered a vagrant. When Chris promises to leave town as soon as the car is repaired, Morgan drives away but reports the brothers' vehicle to the police dispatcher.That night, as the three companions wait for Hamp to finish the repairs, Chris and Jenny kiss. Elsewhere, Morgan picks Luke (Lief Garrett) up from military school and praises him for being ranked Lieutenant. The boy explains he cannot go hunting with his father because he promised to play ball with his friends, but Morgan is displeased when his son acknowledges his African American companions.Meanwhile, Lon and Elisha break into the Morgan home. As Lon takes Morgan's wife, Carol (Joan Blackman, into the bedroom to rape her, he sees the deputy's uniform and becomes agitated, remembering how he was once tortured by police officers. At the same time, Chris, Wayne and Jenny get back on the road, but the car breaks down in front of Morgan's house. While Wayne sleeps in the car, Chris and Jenny cuddle in the barn and make love in a water tank. When Lon and Elisha drive away, they are pulled over for broken taillights, but Lon shoots highway patrolman, Deputy D. Van, dead. Deputy Bill gives chase and collides with the outlaws' vehicle. At the police station, Deputy Bill pressures the men to sign confessions and shoots Lon in the hand when he refuses.Meanwhile, Morgan and Luke return home and when Luke discovers his mother's body, Morgan fires his rifle at the brothers' car. After calling the police dispatcher for an ambulance and alerting Deputy Bill to the crime, Morgan leads Luke on a chase through the woods, hunting Chris, Wayne and Jenny, determined to kill all of them. When Jenny is shot and falls into a lake, Wayne returns fire and yells to Morgan that they are innocent. Pulling Jenny out of the water, the three companions barricade themselves in a boathouse, but as Chris slips into a boat to get help, shots fire and he disappears. When Wayne and Jenny call to Chris, the boathouse is barraged with bullets and they are both killed. Pursuing the trail of his colleague, Deputy Bill finds Morgan's dead body and discovers Luke in the boathouse, repeatedly cocking his empty rifle having accidentally shot his father while shooting at Wayne and Jenny. Meanwhile, Chris resurfaces and sees Luke crying in Deputy Bill's arms.Sometime later, back at Hamp's service station, Chris's car is repaired. As somber townspeople look on, Chris drives into the distance.The film closes with the texts:"On March 26, 1961, after one retrial and two stays of execution, Lon Hawkins and Elisha Gibbons were executed in the electric chair for the murders of Deputy D. Van and Mrs. Carol Morgan.""Chris Dixon is now a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and is stationed in Hawaii with his wife and three children."
    

Alan Vint

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