The Fool Killer (1965)

12-year-old George Mellish, tired of beatings for both real and fancied misdeeds at the hands of his foster parents,runs away from home by hopping a freight train and lands somewhere east ... See full summary »

Director:

Servando González

Writers:

Helen Eustis (novel), Morton S. Fine (screenplay),

Stars:

Anthony Perkins, Dana Elcar, Henry Hull

Cast

Credited cast:
Anthony Perkins	...	Milo Bogardus
Dana Elcar	...	Mr. Dodd
Henry Hull	...	Dirty Jim Jelliman
Salome Jens	...	Mrs. Dodd
Yvonne Gilbert	...	Janet
Charlotte Jones	...	Mrs. Ova Fanshawe
Arnold Moss	...	Reverend Spotts
Sindee Ann Richards	...	Blessing Angeline Fanshawe
Edward Albert	...	George Mellish
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Curtis Haymore	...	Various (voice)
Lana Wood	...	Alice

Storyline

12-year-old George Mellish, tired of beatings for both real and fancied misdeeds at the hands of his foster parents,runs away from home by hopping a freight train and lands somewhere east of the Mississippi River. The first person he meets is Dirty Jim Helliman who lives in a fantastically filthy hovel and with whom George feels a kindred spirit, both having "suffered" at the hands of a clean woman. It is (really dirty) Dirty Jim that tells George of the mythical, eight-foot bogey man called "The Fool Killer." George gets sick and Dirty Jim takes him to town where Mrs.Ova Faversham takes charge of the feverish boy. When Blessing Angeline, Mrs. Faversham's 10-year-old daughter, tells George that her mother intends to return him to his foster parents, George hits the road again. He meets Milo Bogardus, a young Civil War veteran, who has been robbed of his memory by a war wound, and is as lost in his own way as George. THey come upon a camp meeting, where the fanatical Reverend Spotts is...

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | skinny dipping | based on novel | independent film

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Taglines:

All the secret joys, the sudden terrors of being young and free and far from home

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Mexico USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Violent Journey

Filming Locations:

Louisville, Tennessee, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Landau

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally announced in 1956 as a vehicle for Glenn Ford.

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Connections

Version of Kraft Theatre: The Fool Killer (1956)

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Soundtracks

"The Ballad of the Fool Killer"
Written by Tillman B. Franks & Mike Phillips
Sung by David Houston

User Reviews

A very good movie to watch for young and old alike

I was a part of the filming of this movie.I appeared in at least one scene as an "extra" and was there for the filming of many other scenes.It was filmed on location in Knox County and Blount County in Tennessee in 1963 and premiered at Tennessee Theater in Knoxville TN in April 1965.The outside of Dirty Jim's house was filmed at my home place at Concord Tennessee.The cast did an excellent job.My rating is high for the cast.The plot is good but could have been handled a bit better in my opinion.Overall,this movie is worth seeing.This movie portrays a young boy befriending people while he is on his own and shows a scared but loving kid.