80 Steps to Jonah (1969)

A young man hiding from the law takes refuge in a summer camp for blind children.

Director:

Gerd Oswald

Writers:

Frederick Louis Fox (screenplay), Frederick Louis Fox (story),

Stars:

Wayne Newton, Jo Van Fleet, Keenan Wynn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wayne Newton	...	Mark Jonah Winters
Jo Van Fleet	...	Nonna
Keenan Wynn	...	Barney Glover
Diana Ewing	...	Tracy
Mickey Rooney	...	Wilfred Bashford
Sal Mineo	...	Jerry Taggart
Slim Pickens	...	Scott
R.G. Armstrong	...	Mackray
Brandon Cruz	...	Little Joe
Erin Moran	...	Kim
Teddy Quinn	...	Richard
Michele Tobin	...	Cathy
Susan Mathews	...	Velma
Lilly Martens	...	Nina
Ira Angustain	...	Pepe

Storyline

Nevada police take into custody drifter Mark Jonah, although he claims he was an innocent hitchhiker, after the crash of a stolen car in which hoodlum Jerry Taggart is killed. Mark escapes and, while sleeping in a field two days later, is awakened when an eight-year-old blind girl, Nina, stumbles over him. Nina leads Mark to three other blind children---Kim, Little Joe and Cathy. The youngster's, sensing Mark's gentleness, take him to their summer camp for blind children. There, he meets Tracy, a girl his own age who is also blind. He is mistaken for the camp's new handyman by Tracy's housekeeper, Nonna, who views him with suspicion, and also meets the other children, Richard, Velma and Pepe. The children learn to love Mark, whom they follow everywhere, as their Pied Piper figure. Led by tough Barney Glover, the police finally catch up to Jonah. But a well-known local character, Wilfred Bashford, clears Mark, who returns to Tracy and his new "family."

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Plot Keywords:

girl | summer camp | housekeeper | drifter | blind girl | 

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Taglines:

It's family-sized entertainment.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

80 Schritte bis zum Glück

Company Credits

Production Co:

El Tigre, Motion Pictures International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Goofs

Hearing footsteps behind her, one of the blind children turns and addresses another child by name, even though the girl had not spoken and there was no way to distinguish her from other children wandering around.

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Soundtracks

"If I Could Be to You"
Written by Wayne Newton and Don Vincent

User Reviews

A Touching Story

I feel that there was excellent casting in this picture. Wayne Newton handled the lead quite well - he played it with heart, but resisted the temptation to make it overly sentimental. Not afraid of being upstaged by animals or children, he worked well with them to tell us a beautiful story. Brought to the foreground was how independent people with disabilities can really be. The music, too, was a definite plus!