I'm not going to talk about the plot of RUN
STRANGER RUN because it was a rare find around the BOF video
ranch; a serious, competent , well executed piece of 70's
almost- exploitation. (Pseudosploitation?) Instead I'll run
down a few factoids about this flick In case you run across
it, You can watch it without any wise-ass spoilers. And by
the way, god bless the internet movie database, they do the
research so I don't have to.
1. It was released originally in 1973 under
the title HAPPY MOTHERS DAY, LOVE GEORGE.
2. A young Ron Howard is the star, and proves
what THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW and AMERICAN GRAFFITI already
knew. The guys a good actor, despite HAPPY DAYS. What are
you teenagers doing these days? You're not acting in low budget
films. You're all listening to the hip hop and the boy bands
and taking the pot.
3. Cloris Leachman's in it. Great actress,
we all saw LAST PICTURE SHOW, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, and CRAZY
MAMA. Cloris 3:16.
4. Patricia Neal is in it, and aside from
the fact that she's from KY, she was in THE DAY THE EARTH
STOOD STILL and A FACE IN THE CROWD with Opie=s
TV dad. A FACE IN THE CROWD should have given Andy Griffith
instant cred as an actor to be reckoned with, but that's for
another review. Patricia Neal kicks much ass.
5. It was written by Robert Clouse. Never
heard of him? Me neither, but he wrote THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR,
FORCE FIVE, and SOMETHING EVIL. He directed ENTER THE DRAGON,
BLACK BELT JONES, the China O Brian movies, THE BIG BRAWL,
and the TV series THE MASTER. That's just a partial list of
credits. He died in 1997. Lets spill a little liquor for
Robert Clouse, an unsung hero of damn fine movies.
6. It was directed by Kolchak himself, Darren
McGavin. Brother George worships McGavin even more than he
worships Ben Murphy.
7. The plot involves a stranger in town,
murder, sex, mystery, repression, suppression, and family.
8. The whole thing plays like a cross between
PEYTON PLACE and A BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK.
9. Exploitation elements: some light nudity,
salty language, a really dumb guy, a slutty daughter in law,
bad folk music about being on the road, 3 murders on- screen,
5 murders off-screen, 1 swinger, dead kittens, a never -explained
english accent, some mod seventies clothes, a decomposing
corpse, some blood, an abandoned house, some maybe-incest,
the ocean, and Opie with sideburns. (Damn, I feel like Joe-Bob.)
