In the spring of 1972 a tiny sexploitation comedy directed by Eric Jeffrey Haims and starring Joe E. Tata opened at the Cinestage Theatre on Dearborn Street in Chicago just six days after Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange finished an 18‑week run at the nearby Michael Todd Theatre. The proximity was no accident: A Clock Work Blue’s producers leaned into a blatantly derivative title and advertising copy — even running lines that boasted the film “makes Orange blush” — hoping to siphon curiosity and ticket buyers from Kubrick’s controversial hit. That kind of opportunistic titling was a common exploitation-era tactic, but it also invited trouble when a major studio’s hot property was involved.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
Warner Bros. sues over cheeky title stunt — A Clock Work Blue blocked after opening next door to A Clockwork Orange in Chicago
A Clock Work Blue / 1970s
In the spring of 1972 a tiny sexploitation comedy directed by Eric Jeffrey Haims and starring Joe E. Tata opened at the Cinestage Theatre on Dearborn Street in Chicago just six days after Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange finished an 18‑week run at the nearby Michael Todd Theatre. The proximity was no accident: A Clock Work Blue’s producers leaned into a blatantly derivative title and advertising copy — even running lines that boasted the film “makes Orange blush” — hoping to siphon curiosity and ticket buyers from Kubrick’s controversial hit. That kind of opportunistic titling was a common exploitation-era tactic, but it also invited trouble when a major studio’s hot property was involved.
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