Sonny Boy (1989)

Director:

Robert Martin Carroll

Writers:

Graeme Whifler (original screenplay)
Peter Desberg (additional dialogue)

Release Date:

26 October 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A small-town crime boss accepts delivery of a stolen car, only to find there's a baby in the back-seat...

Plot Keywords:

Bare Chested Male Bondage | Murder | Child Abuse | Pyramid | Father Son Relationship

Cast

David Carradine	...	Pearl
Paul L. Smith	...	Slue
Brad Dourif	...	Weasel
Conrad Janis	...	Doc Bender
Sydney Lassick	...	Charlie P.
Savina Gersak	...	Sandy
Alexandra Powers	...	Rose
Michael Boston	...	Sonny Boy (as Michael Griffin)
Steve Carlisle	...	Sheriff
Steve Ingrassia	...	Deputy
Stephen Lee Davis	...	Bart
Robert Broyles	...	Mayor
Jeff Bergquist	...	Father Owen
Dalene Young	...	Doc Wallace
Christopher Bradley	...	Husband
Samantha Phillips	...	Wife
Ivan Naranjo	...	Sam

Directed by
Robert Martin Carroll

Writing credits
Graeme Whifler		(original screenplay)
Peter Desberg		(additional dialogue) (as Peter Desberg Ph.D.)

Produced by
Ovidio G. Assonitis	....	producer
Moshe Diamant	....	executive producer
Peter Shepherd	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Carlo Maria Cordio		(music composed by)

Cinematography by
Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Claudio M. Cutry		(as Claudio Cutry)

Casting by
Ed Mitchell

Production Design by
Mario Molli

Set Decoration by
Marty Wittie

Costume Design by
Terry Dresbach

Makeup Department
Camille Calvet	....	chief hairdresser (as Camille Calvett)
Cheryl Markowitz	....	assistant makeup artist
Franco Rufini	....	chief makeup artist (as Frank Ruffini)

Production Management
David Dodson	....	unit production manager
Donatella Ibba	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matthew J. Clark	....	first assistant director (as Matthew Clark)
Anthony Fabian-Reinstein	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Robert Clifton	....	construction manager
Billy Jett	....	assistant art director
Chuck Roseberry	....	set dresser
Mark Sandy	....	sketch artist
George Stevens	....	property supervisor

Sound Department
Roberto Arcangeli	....	foley editor (as Robert Arcangeli)
William G. Flick	....	sound boom operator (as Bill Flick)
Leslie La Penna	....	supervising dialogue editor
Danilo Moroni	....	sound engineer
James Pilcher	....	sound designer (as Jim Pilcher)
Federico Savina	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Donato Ungaro	....	sound editor
David Waelder	....	production sound mixer (as David Waelter)

Special Effects by
Louise Derossi	....	special effects technician
Bob Glaser	....	effects consultant
Don Power	....	special effects engineer

Visual Effects by
Karen Ross	....	optical photography supervisor

Stunts
Gregg Brazzel	....	stunt coordinator
Doc D. Charbonneau	....	stunts
Joe Gilbride	....	stunts (as Joe Gilbridge)
Jean Malahni	....	stunts
Roberto Messina	....	stunts (as Robert Messina)
A.J. Nay	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Adolfo Bartoli	....	camera operator: second unit
Jeff Buchanan	....	gaffer
Katherine M. Butler	....	focus puller (as Kate Butler)
Dante Cardone	....	dolly grip
Vincenzo Carpineta	....	camera operator: second unit (as Vincent Carpineta)
Piero Clemente	....	assistant camera
Jack Fitzgerald	....	assistant camera: second unit
Rory Flynn	....	still photographer
Roberto Forges Davanzati	....	director of photography: second unit (as Robert Forges Davanzati)
Bobby Green	....	generator operator
Paul Grindrod	....	grip
Jeff Honeycutt	....	gaffer
Jerry Lane	....	second assistant camera
Anthony T. Marra II	....	key grip (as Anthony Marra)
Walter Martucci	....	grip
Mario Palermi	....	gaffer
Luigi Pasqualini	....	chief gaffer (as Louis Pasqualini)
Peter Sherman	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Michael Sudmeier	....	gaffer
Jay Villa	....	gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sandra Greenman	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Pina La Rosa	....	second assistant film editor (as Pina Larosa)
Ernesto Novelli	....	color timer
Donna Tracy	....	first assistant film editor

Music Department
David Carradine	....	performer: theme song
Carlo Maria Cordio	....	music conductor
Alex Michelson	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Arcadio Garcia	....	driver
Denny Greenman	....	driver
Alvin Hurd	....	driver: honeywagon
Gene Schubert	....	driver
Harry Smith	....	driver
Stephen Smith	....	transportation

Other crew
Annette Baird-Smith	....	assistant: Mr. Assonitis
Susan Bierbaum	....	script continuity
Ron Bledsoe	....	wrangler
Greg Fletcher	....	assistant accountant
Donna Idol	....	unit publicist
Henry Mayer	....	production accountant
Rebecca Morrison	....	production assistant: L.A.
Bridget Oram	....	production office coordinator
Paola Pulvan	....	research
Denise Ream	....	production assistant
Victor Rocky	....	production assistant

Thanks
Chuck Avis	....	the producer would like to thank: the Bank of Beverly Hills
Elaine Calhoun	....	the producer would like to thank: the Bank of Beverly Hills
Laurie Cartwright	....	the producer would like to thank: Albert G. Ruben Insurance Co.
Kelly Cosandaey	....	the producer would like to thank: the New Mexico Film Commission (as Kelly Cosandey)
Bill English	....	the producer would like to thank: the Columbus Chamber of Commerce (as Mr. and Mrs. Bill English)
Sharon Henderson	....	the producer would like to thank: the Deming Chamber of Commerce
Scott Jacobson	....	the producer would like to thank: Chilton Inn Manager
Virginia Poole	....	the producer would like to thank: United N.M. Bank of Mimbres Valley

Production Companies

• Trans World Entertainment (TWE) (presents)

Distributors

• Triumph Releasing Corporation (1990) (USA) (theatrical)
• VPS Film-Entertainment GmbH (1989) (Germany) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video (1990) (Japan) (VHS)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2009) (USA) (TV)
• Video Treasures (1992) (USA) (video)

Other Companies

• Albert G. Ruben and Company  the producer would like to thank (as Albert G. Ruben Insurance Co.)
• Bank of Beverly Hills  the producer would like to thank
• Chilton Inn  the producer would like to thank
• Citizens of Deming  the producer would like to thank
• Columbus Chamber of Commerce  the producer would like to thank
• Deming Chamber of Commerce  the producer would like to thank
• Filmtrucks  the producer would like to thank
• Foto-Kem  negative developed by
• Fujifilm  filmed in (as Fuji Color)
• LV di Luciano Vittori  color and prints (as L.V. Luciano Vittori)
• New Mexico Film Commission  the producer would like to thank
• Panavision  camera and lenses by (as Panavision®)
• United N.M. Bank of Mimbres Valley  the producer would like to thank
• Videogamma  titles and opticals (as Video Gamma)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min | West Germany:93 min (video)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Australia:M | Germany:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Columbus, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Trans World Entertainment (TWE)

Trivia:

David Carradine once called the movie a cross between Bonnie and Clyde, Bringing Up Baby, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Sonny Boy (1989) (#1.56)" (2009)

Tongueless in the desert

Terminally weird indie film with Paul L. Smith playing Slue, a small town crime boss. David Carradine plays his transvestite (I think) squeeze, Pearl, while Brad Dourif and Sydney Lassick are his two henchmen, Weasel and Charlie P. Weasel kills a couple and steals their car, which he brings to Slue. He didn't realize, however, that the couple's baby was asleep in the back. Slue wants to feed the kid to the hogs, but Pearl sees him as the son he could never have. They raise him as a killer to be used against Slue's enemies. They also cut out his tongue as a birthday present?! When Sonny Boy gets loose, his actions threaten to turn the town against Slue.

I had wanted to see this one after reading about it in "Terror on Tape", and TCM gave me the chance when they aired it as part of their Underground lineup. As you can plainly see from the plot description, it's certainly offbeat. Sort of an allegory in disguise for the effects of child abuse, you might expect this to be a disturbing film. Not even close. Instead, it's just strange. Slue has an old canon, and in a wicked scene, he uses it to blow apart a nosy deputy. There are also some obvious parallels to Frankenstein towards the end. Had I not known it beforehand, I would have been shocked to see that this was released in '89. It felt like something straight out of the 70's. The main giveaway was the computer font which tells how much time had passed.

While I would hesitate to call "Sonny Boy" a good film, it's worth a look if only to say that you've seen it. For fans of bizarre cinema, there's enough of a novelty present to warrant at least one viewing. Personally, I'm still not 100% sure if Carradine was supposed to be playing a guy in drag or an actual woman.