End of the Road (1970)

After a catatonic episode on a railway station platform, Jacob Horner is taken to "The Farm", a bizarre insane asylum run by Doctor D. After being cured, Jacob takes a job as an English ... See full summary »

Director:

Aram Avakian

Writers:

John Barth (novel), Dennis McGuire,

Stars:

Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, Dorothy Tristan

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stacy Keach	...	Jacob Horner
Harris Yulin	...	Joe Morgan
Dorothy Tristan	...	Rennie Morgan
James Earl Jones	...	Doctor D
Grayson Hall	...	Peggy Rankin
Ray Brock	...	Sniperman / Mrs. Dockey
John Pleshette	...	Finkle
Gail Gilmore	...	Miss Gibson (as Gail Gibson)
Maeve McGuire	...	Receptionist
Norman Simpson	...	Dr. Schott
Graham Jarvis	...	Dr. Carter
June Hutchinson	...	Miss Banning / Tea Lady
Joel Oppenheimer	...	Chicken Man
James Coco	...	School Man
Oliver Clark	...	Dog Man

Storyline

After a catatonic episode on a railway station platform, Jacob Horner is taken to "The Farm", a bizarre insane asylum run by Doctor D. After being cured, Jacob takes a job as an English lecturer and begins a disastrous affair with Rennie, the wife of a colleague.

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Plot Keywords:

anti establishment | mad doctor | abortion | cult film | absurd humor | 

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Taglines:

Are you ready for "End Of The Road"?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

X

Details

Official Sites:

Terry Southern Estate

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Weg in den Abgrund

Filming Locations:

Great Barrington, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Max L. Raab Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The train station shown in the movie is the Villanova University stop on Amtrak's Paoli Local line. Other scenes are shot in the area also.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits play over footage of the moonshot, and end with the sound of Jacob Horner moaning.

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Connections

Featured in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

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Soundtracks

"Don't Worry 'Bout Me"
Written by Ted Koehler & Rube Bloom
Performed by Billie Holiday

User Reviews

Boy, people really love it or hate it, don't they?

Man, it is hard to digest some of the bile and acrid animosity of many of the comments here. I saw this when it first came out right as I was about to graduate high school in 1970, and I loved it. I had not read John Barth's novel, so I had no prejudice about the approach. I have watched the film a couple of times since on video (though it is virtually impossible to find) and must testify it more than holds up. Stacey Keach really gives a great, subtly nuanced performance (perhaps the best of his career when he was still getting 'serious' roles) as the guy plagued by occasional catatonia, and James Earl Jones is also fantastic as a brilliant, maverick innovator of psychiatry (think Wilhelm Reich by way of Malcolm X) who, at the end, may be a bit too godlike for his own good. I personally think Terry Southern is a wonderful writer, and I love all of the films from his work from the more favorably acknowledged, like DR. STRANGELOVE and MAGIC Christian, to the less so (CANDY, which is probably my favorite). There are some crazy juxtapositions here as well as absurd humor (that would do the 1920s-30s surrealists proud), but the humor is not stupid by any means. Director Aram Avakian and Terry Southern were a good pairing. It's too bad that they never did another film together. I can only guess that this dark, dark comedy that is about America in the sixties and about human vulnerability, hubris and arrogance touched many raw nerves with not only some of the IMDb commentators, but the few people who saw it on its initial release. A totally uncompromising picture with the courage of it's twisted convictions. The intention of director, screenwriter and cast was to rattle complacent, uptight people's cages -and, judging from the invective here, I'd say they succeeded in spades. I will echo: whomever owns the rights to END OF THE ROAD, put it out on DVD - NOW!