A Small Town in Texas

Last updated
A Small Town in Texas
Small town in texas.jpg
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by Jack Starrett
Written byWilliam Norton
Produced byJoe Solomon
Starring Bo Hopkins
Susan George
Timothy Bottoms
CinematographyRobert Jessup
Edited byJohn Horger
Music by Charles Bernstein
Distributed by American International Pictures
Release date
  • October 30, 1976 (1976-10-30) [1]
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.2 million [2]

A Small Town in Texas is a 1976 action film directed by Jack Starrett and starring Bo Hopkins, Susan George, and Timothy Bottoms. It was filmed in Lockhart, Texas.

Contents

Plot

After serving a five-year prison sentence for marijuana possession, Daniel "Poke" Jackson returns to his hometown in Texas where he is greeted by the man who convicted him, Sheriff Duke Calley. Poke assures Duke that he will soon be leaving to go to California, but Duke warns Poke that he is under close watch. Poke calls his old girlfriend Mary Lee Carter and arranges a meeting to see their son Kevin, whom he has never met. Duke warns him off and Poke discovers that Duke and Mary Lee are now sleeping together. However, Poke visits her anyway to confront her and the two end up making love.

Later, Duke arrives at the mansion of county political boss C.J. Crane and is assigned to guard congressman-elect Jesus Mendez, who is scheduled to speak at a barbecue. After Mendez delivers the speech, he is shot and killed by a man in a police uniform. Poke watches as Duke kills the assassin, extracts an envelope and hides it in a trashcan. Duke later returns and retrieves the envelope but finds it empty, and concludes that only Poke could have witnessed the incident and taken the contents. An alert goes out to arrest Poke for marijuana possession. Meanwhile, Poke shows his friend and auto mechanic Boogie the $25,000 he found in the envelope. When Duke's deputy Lenny arrives at the garage looking for Poke, Boogie stalls him long enough for Poke to escape on a motorcycle, initiating a police chase. When two deputies are killed in the chase, Poke becomes wanted for murder.

Poke asks junk dealer Cloetus for refuge and he agrees. Early the next morning, Boogie collapses at the door, names Duke as his assailant and dies. Poke hides in the back of Cloetus's truck and manages to get through the police cordon and into Mary Lee's house, where he explains Duke's role in the Mendez assassination to her. Poke, Mary Lee and Kevin then escape in a stolen police car. Another chase ensues which ends with Poke driving into a pond and getting captured. While being driven to the police station, Poke tells Lenny about Duke's role in the assassination. Duke retrieves the $25,000 and begins beating Poke, but when Lenny intervenes Poke is able to escape. Crane tells Duke that the sheriff's career is over unless he retrieves the money. Poke and his family reach the home of Bull Parker, a former bootlegger and family friend, who offers to drive them out of state in his truck which has been customized to evade the law. When Bull runs a roadblock another chase begins, during which Bull falls from the truck but tells Poke to drive on without him. After several police cars end up wrecked the only opposing vehicle remaining is driven by Duke, who tries to run Poke's truck off a steep mountain road but ends up going over the cliff himself. With Duke dead, Poke decides to return to town to clear his name.

Cast

Reception

Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "an OK movie with some good chase scenes and stunt driving (I'd never seen a car plow into a pile of ice blocks before), but I had to keep assuring myself I hadn't seen it before." [3] Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film "another foolish melodrama about rural life in a fictional state called Texas, where all the county sheriffs are crooked, all the sheriff's deputies are named either Lenny or Leroy and are slow-witted, and decent young men go wrong because there's nothing else to do." [4] Variety called it "an exploitable synthetic mixture with lots of car chase action for yahoo audiences. The film starts off as a potentially interesting modern western character study, but veers off into cheap B-picture elements." [5] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote that the real stars of the movie were "the unnamed stunt drivers who breathe life into an otherwise dreadful Southern action film." [6] Kevin Thomas deplored the film's "excessive violence" and lamented that director Jack Starrett "demonstrates that he has what it takes to do important pictures" and "gives the film more than it deserves, makes us care about his people, but nonetheless it winds up just another piece of grisly trash." [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Dukes of Hazzard</i> (film) 2005 American film

The Dukes of Hazzard is a 2005 American action comedy film loosely based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and released on August 5, 2005, by Warner Bros. Pictures. As in the television series, the film depicts the adventures of cousins Bo, Luke, and Daisy, and their Uncle Jesse, as they outfox crooked Hazzard County Commissioner Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999.

<i>Big Top Pee-wee</i> 1988 film by Randal Kleiser

Big Top Pee-wee is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser. It is the second installment of the Pee-wee Herman trilogy and a standalone sequel to Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), the film stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman with Susan Tyrrell, Kris Kristofferson, Penelope Ann Miller, and Valeria Golino in supporting roles. The original music score is composed by Danny Elfman. It was released on July 22, 1988, and grossed $15 million against a $20 million budget. Another standalone sequel, Pee-wee's Big Holiday, was released in 2016.

<i>El Dorado</i> (1966 film) 1966 film

El Dorado is a 1966 American Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Written by Leigh Brackett and loosely based on the novel The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown, the film is about a gunfighter who comes to the aid of an old friend who is a drunken sheriff struggling to defend a rancher and his family against another rancher trying to steal their water. The supporting cast features James Caan, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, Arthur Hunnicutt, Michele Carey, R. G. Armstrong, Ed Asner, Christopher George, Adam Roarke and Jim Davis.

<i>The Sugarland Express</i> 1974 film by Steven Spielberg

The Sugarland Express is a 1974 American crime drama film directed by Steven Spielberg in his theatrical film directing debut, following the television film Duel (1971). The film follows a woman and her husband as they take a police officer hostage and flee across Texas while they try to get to their child before he is placed in foster care. The event partially took place and the film was partially shot in Sugar Land, Texas. Other scenes were filmed in San Antonio, Live Oak, Floresville, Pleasanton, Converse and Del Rio, Texas.

<i>Hard Rain</i> (film) 1998 film by Mikael Salomon

Hard Rain is a 1998 action thriller film directed by former cinematographer-turned director Mikael Salomon, written by Graham Yost, produced by Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, and Gary Levinsohn, and starring Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver, and Ed Asner. An international co-production among the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, and Japan. In a small Indiana town amidst a natural disaster, a gang attempts to pull off a heist and survive man-made treachery. It received generally negative reviews and was a box office flop.

<i>Psycho III</i> 1986 film by Anthony Perkins

Psycho III is a 1986 American slasher film, and the third film in the Psycho franchise. It stars Anthony Perkins, who also directs the film, reprising the role of Norman Bates. It co-stars Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey, and Roberta Maxwell. The screenplay is written by Charles Edward Pogue. The original electronic music score is composed and performed by Carter Burwell in one of his earliest projects. Psycho III is unrelated to Robert Bloch's third Psycho novel, Psycho House, which was released in 1990.

<i>Red Rock West</i> 1993 American film directed by John Dahl

Red Rock West is a 1993 American post-Western neo-noir thriller film directed by John Dahl and starring Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle, J. T. Walsh, and Dennis Hopper. It was written by Dahl and his brother Rick, and shot in Montana, Willcox, Arizona, Sonoita, Arizona and Elgin, Arizona.

<i>The Car</i> (1977 film) 1977 film by Elliot Silverstein

The Car is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by Elliot Silverstein and written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack and Lane Slate. The film stars James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley and Ronny Cox, along with real-life sisters Kim and Kyle Richards. It tells the story of a black unmanned self-driving mysterious car that goes on a murderous rampage, terrorizing the residents of a small town.

<i>The Town That Dreaded Sundown</i> (1976 film) 1976 film by Charles B. Pierce

The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a 1976 American thriller horror film directed and produced by Charles B. Pierce, and written by Earl E. Smith. The film is loosely based on the 1946 Texarkana Moonlight Murders, crimes attributed to an unidentified serial killer known as the Phantom Killer. It is narrated by Vern Stierman, who had narrated Pierce's 1972 film The Legend of Boggy Creek. Ben Johnson stars as Captain J.D. Morales, a fictionalized version of Texas Ranger Captain M. T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas. The Phantom is played by Bud Davis, who later worked as stunt coordinator on films such as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and Inglourious Basterds. The film was mostly shot around Texarkana, and a number of locals were cast as extras. The world premiere was held in Texarkana on December 17, 1976, before its regular run in theaters on December 24.

<i>A Time to Kill</i> (1996 film) 1996 film by Joel Schumacher

A Time to Kill is a 1996 American legal drama film based on John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name. Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and Kevin Spacey star with Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appearing in supporting roles and Octavia Spencer in her film debut. The film received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, making $152 million worldwide. It is the second of two films based on Grisham's novels directed by Joel Schumacher, with the other being The Client released two years prior.

Leonard Harold Von Dohlen IV was an American television, film, and stage actor. With a 40-year career that primarily featured work in independent films and guest appearances on numerous prominent series, he was probably best known for his performance as architect Miles Harding in the film Electric Dreams (1984), the title role as a steelworker's son opposite Karl Malden in Billy Galvin (1986), and as the orchid-loving agoraphobe Harold Smith in the television series Twin Peaks and its prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

<i>The Flim-Flam Man</i> 1967 film by Irvin Kershner

The Flim-Flam Man is a 1967 American comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner, featuring George C. Scott, Michael Sarrazin, and Sue Lyon, based on the 1965 novel The Ballad of the Flim-Flam Man by Guy Owen. The movie has well-known character actors in supporting roles, including Jack Albertson, Slim Pickens, Strother Martin, Harry Morgan, and Albert Salmi.

<i>Switchback</i> (film) 1997 American film

Switchback is a 1997 American crime thriller film written and directed by Jeb Stuart in his directorial debut. It stars Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Jared Leto, Ted Levine, William Fichtner and R. Lee Ermey. An FBI agent tracks his son's kidnapper to Amarillo, Texas, where two lawmen are seeking to use the case in their election bid.

<i>Race with the Devil</i> 1975 American action thriller film directed by Jack Starrett

Race with the Devil is a 1975 American action horror film directed by Jack Starrett, written by Wes Bishop and Lee Frost, and starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, and Lara Parker. Its plot follows two couples on a road trip who are pursued by a Satanic cult after witnessing a human sacrifice while camping in rural Texas. This was the second of three films Fonda and Oates would star in together. Race with the Devil is a hybrid of the horror, action, and car chase genres.

<i>Lawman</i> (film) 1971 American western film

Lawman is a 1971 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Michael Winner and starring Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb and Robert Duvall.

<i>Last of the Wild Horses</i> 1948 film by Robert L. Lippert

Last of the Wild Horses is a 1948 American Western film directed by Robert L. Lippert and starring James Ellison, Mary Beth Hughes and Jane Frazee.

<i>Jackson County Jail</i> (film) 1976 Michael Miller film

Jackson County Jail is a 1976 American crime film directed by Michael Miller, and starring Yvette Mimieux, Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Carradine.

<i>Drive-In</i> (film) 1976 film by Rod Amateau

Drive-In is a 1976 American comedy film directed by Rod Amateau and written by Bob Peete. The film stars Lisa Lemole, Gary Lee Cavagnaro, Glenn Morshower, Billy Milliken, Lee Newsom and Regan Kee. The film was released on May 26, 1976, by Columbia Pictures.

<i>Trick</i> (2019 film) 2019 American horror film

Trick is a 2019 American slasher film directed by Patrick Lussier and starring Jamie Kennedy and Omar Epps.

References

  1. ↑ "A Small Town in Texas - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute . Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  2. ↑ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 300. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  3. ↑ Ebert, Roger (July 14, 1976). "A Small Town in Texas". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  4. ↑ Canby, Vincent (July 10, 1976). "'Small Town in Texas' Opens at Cinerama 2". The New York Times . 15.
  5. ↑ "Film Reviews: A Small Town in Texas". Variety . June 9, 1976. 23.
  6. ↑ Siskel, Gene (July 12, 1976). "'Town in Texas' just a turnoff". Chicago Tribune . Section 3, p. 7.
  7. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (July 21, 1976). "Director Needs a Better Break". Los Angeles Times . Part IV, p. 15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.