Molly and Lawless John (1972)

Molly, the shy, romance-starved wife of an arrogant frontier sheriff, finds herself drawn to a prisoner in her husband's jail. This prisoner, a handsome young man named Johnny, plays on ... See full summary »

Director:

Gary Nelson

Writer:

Terry Kingsley-Smith

Stars:

Vera Miles, Sam Elliott, Clu Gulager

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Vera Miles	...	Molly Parker
Sam Elliott	...	Johnny Lawler
Clu Gulager	...	Deputy Tom Clements
John Anderson	...	Sheriff Marvin Parker
Cynthia Myers	...	Dolly Winward
Charles Pinney	...	Reverend
Bob Westmoreland	...	Telegraph Operator
Melinda Chavaria	...	Pregnant Apache
Pasqualita Baca	...	Ancient Apache
George Le Bow	...	Marshal
Dave Burleson	...	Volunteer
Grady Hill	...	Deputy
Dick Bullock	...	Bill Bartley
Terry Kingsley-Smith	...	Man in Bed

Storyline

Molly, the shy, romance-starved wife of an arrogant frontier sheriff, finds herself drawn to a prisoner in her husband's jail. This prisoner, a handsome young man named Johnny, plays on Molly's sympathy and convinces her to help him escape. Molly then accompanies Johnny on his cross-country flight but soon learns he's simply been using her. Molly makes the best of the situation, however, and by the time the sheriff's posse catches up with them, Molly shows that she's learned how to assert herself.

---

Plot Keywords:

sheriff | jail | seduction | opening action scene | blood | 

---

Taglines:

He used her ... abused her ... and she loved him for it!

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Molly und der Gesetzlose

Filming Locations:

Cerrillos, New Mexico, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film of Cynthia Myers.

---

Soundtracks

"Take Me Home"
Music by Johnny Mandel
Lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman
Sung by Renée Armand

User Reviews

You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks.

Middle-aged Vera Miles is married to a bland, somewhat domineering sheriff and longs for love and self-esteem. She succumbs to the oily charm of young murderous stud Sam Elliot, a "guest" at her husband's jail.

She frees him and together they flee. However, she soon finds that life on the lam is no life at all and that her new love might not be the misunderstood romantic she thought he was.

A satisfying low-budget frontier drama/adventure, Elliot and Miles deliver good performances and are well cast as the naive Molly and the vile John.

Of interest is the chance to see a young Sam Elliot in a central role, long before he perfected his unmistakable western drawl. Here he sounds like a California surfer!

Overall, a good effort. It's too bad though, that the great character actor Clu Gulager is wasted on a small role as a grungy sheriff's deputy.