The negatives to these two films were lost in a fire not long after Savage's death in 1981. They will undergo digital restoration as soon as funding can be secured.
CAULIFLOWER CUPIDS Synopsis: Johnny
Stiletto (Peter Savage), "godfather" to the Cauliflower Cupids gang
(six world boxing champions), decides to leave his life of crime so his
daughter can have a better life. But the Cupids won't let him go because
they need his smarts and they've gotten used to their success. Johnny is
torn between his loyalties to his gang and his family when he catches his
daughter in bed with her upper-crust boyfriend, and he decrees that they must
get married. But Aunt Nira (Jane Russell), the boy's widowed guardian,
stands in the way.
Stiletto discovers that gorgeous Nira is a fortune-hunting fake who is just
waiting for her rich, old Uncle Bruno to pass away, and she doesn't want any
riff-raff to get in the way. Stiletto assigns his gang members to
chaperone the kids while he gets a bead on Nira. He and his loyal crew
kidnap Uncle Bruno and bring him to their swinging club to learn a thing or two
about him. Soon he and Stiletto hatch a plan to get rid of Bruno's
annoying, money-hungry relatives (and allow Stiletto to put one over on Nira at
the same time). Stiletto snags a makeup artist to make him up as Uncle
Bruno so he can pretend to die in front of his relatives, dictating his
"new" will as he goes. Aunt Nira finds out, and tries to
"persuade" Stiletto to be fair... and he seduces her.
Meanwhile, back at the Mob, bumbling Detective Honest John (Alan Dale) is
tailing Stiletto and the Cupids. The boys corner him, escort him to their
hideout, accuse him of police brutality and hold a mock trial with Jake La
Motta and Rocky Graziano as prosecutors.
Stiletto's daughter and her boyfriend continue to sneak away together, despite
the gang's attempts at intervention.
Stiletto fluffs his feathers at his cruel deception of Aunt Nira when she turns
the tables on him with evidence she stole from Honest John. Uncle Bruno,
a gleeful old scoundrel, takes over the gang, leaving Stiletto to serve out his
sentence as Nira's cabana boy for the seven-year statute of limitations she is holding
over his head.
THE RUNAWAYS Synopsis: During the WWII
invasion of Italy, two soldiers, Charles Delmont (Peter Savage) and Joe Senken
(Jake La Motta), impulsively desert the army during a heavy bombardment.
They make their way to Naples and set up a lucrative black market operation.
Just as they are about to land a big score, Delmont's brooding over his
cowardice turns to self-loathing, which manifests in hallucinations and
blackouts. As he learns in a romantic interlude with Sherry (Sharon
Dale), he is also plagued by impotence and emotional confusion. Senken, a
cruel and treacherous man, decides his partner is no longer an asset and
decides to get rid of him, permanently.
Delmont, suspicious of Joe, flees to Rome to secure proper papers and thwart
any ideas that Senken may have about getting him deported. In a cruel
twist, Delmont's bullet wound from a botched crime is unexpectedly torn open
and he collapses alone by a river. Annette Russi (Teresa Pellati),
strolling by the river and contemplating ending her life, finds him and nurses
him back to health. She, like Delmont, is also a "runaway" from
life. After many emotional confrontations, Annette falls for Delmont and
persuades him to face his troubles. In a desperate cry for help, he is
finally able to give a voice to his ghosts and learns to face himself again.
Delmont then secures his papers and takes Annette back to Naples, where he
unknowingly walks into a trap set by Senken. Annette discovers the
betrayal after Delmont has left for the setup job. After a vicious knife
fight, Delmont escapes, but not before Senken seduces Annette with a promise to
save Delmont's life. Delmont walks in to discover Senken and Annette in
his bedroom, and the explosive conflict between the two men erupts in a
ferocious fight to the finish.
Freed of his
demons, Delmont turns himself in to the local authorities to pay for his
crimes. Annette’s influence has made him
a better man, but he must leave her in order to clear his name.
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