“Cisco Pike is a man of the West...West L.A.!” proclaims the release poster for this grimy, sunbaked flick that turns its back on the peace-and-love ’60s to confront the mean 1970s. A corrupt cop (Gene Hackman) forces a former drug dealer and struggling musician (Kris Kristofferson in his film debut) to sell 100 kilograms of marijuana in a single weekend. The events unfold over the canals of Venice Beach, then an affordable haven for the decade’s starving artists. A standout for its location photography, Cisco Pike receives bonus points for featuring Lions Love (…and Lies)’s Viva as a professional groupie.

DIRECTED BY: Bill Norton. WRITTEN BY: Bill Norton. WITH: Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black, Gene Hackman, Harry Dean Stanton. 1971. 94 min. USA. Color. English. Rated R. 35mm.

Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.