Coward of the County (TV 1981)

A life-long yellow-belly who made a deathbed promise to his father to be a pacifist seeks bloody revenge on the men who gang raped his wife.

Director:

Dick Lowry

Writers:

Jim Byrnes, Clyde Ware (screenplay),

Stars:

Ana Alicia, Ned Bridges, Mariclare Costello

Cast

Credited cast:
Ana Alicia	...	Violet
Ned Bridges	...	Rube
Mariclare Costello	...	Emma
Jon Hayden	...	Lt. Ralph Henderson
Frank Koppala	...	Paul
Fredric Lehne	...	Tommy Spencer
Toombs D. Lewis Jr.	...	Deacon Toombs
Tim Maier	...	Josh
Kenny Rogers	...	Uncle Matthew
William Schreiner	...	Jimmy Joe Gatlin
Garth Shaw	...	Townsman
Todd Waring	...	Luke
Noble Willingham	...	Car-Wash
Largo Woodruff	...	Becky

Storyline

A life-long yellow-belly who made a deathbed promise to his father to be a pacifist seeks bloody revenge on the men who gang raped his wife.

---

Plot Keywords:

based on song

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pelkuri

Filming Locations:

Oconee County, Georgia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Entertainment Production, Kraco Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the song of the same name written by Roger Bowling and Billy Ed Wheeler and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers.

User Reviews

For what it was, it was good.

When critiquing Coward of the County, I must keep in mind that it is a made for TV movie based on a country song. I had a difficult time connecting with the "lead character" because I never was clear if that character was to be Matthew (Kenny Rogers) or Tommy. The film opens with Matthew giving a most unusual (and ineffective IMO) sermon about turning the other cheek. Why not start the film with "the final words my brother said to Tommmy"? A little more background of Tommy's character earlier in the film might have served better to draw the audience more into the character. The films trudges along with the outbreak of WWII and all the young men in town joining up and Tommy staying behind to meet Becky. It seems there was a lot of filler leading up to when "the Gatlin boys" came calling. Much of the space was filled with Matthew's shortcomings as a preacher, which had little to do with the story of the "Coward of the County". Overall, the film is good enough for TV and the acting was not bad. It is just slow at times and takes "the scenic route" in dealing with Tommy reaching the decisions that he does.