Review of The Cross and the Switchblade

Without a doubt, Erik Estrada's first role was his greatest, and why Pat Boone didn't collect any prizes just blows my mind. Preacher Pat comes to New York City and steps into a gang war between the Maus Maus and the Bishops...an alternate universe where a conglomerate white/Latino gang is named for Kenyan freedom fighters and Estrada sweats out a Broadway performance as real-life reformed gangster Nicky Cruz. When Pat decides to hold a youth rally in a hall "big enough for all the gangs and junkies in New York", one of his local converts snickers, "that won't fit any hall, that'll fill the Grand Canyon." Yeah, but even the Big Apple is tamed by the power of Jesus in this bizarre Afterschool Special, such as when Pat and his friends pray away the withdrawals of Estrada's junky girlfriend, sent by the gang leader with a switchblade to kill the meddling man of God for a mere $10 fix. Not a soul can resist Boone's exhortation, "Come on with all your hang-ups, and let Jesus clean you up." The camp in this 1960s Christian masterpiece rarely wavers; the price of admission, however, is definitely a two bong-hit minimum. Enjoy.