When Jimmy's idol, James Dean, dies on September 30, 1955, the small-town Arkansas college undergraduate goes berserk. He and his friends hold a vigil which turns into a drunk and, finally,...
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Title: September 30, 1955 (1977)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Richard Thomas | ... | Jimmy J. | |
| Susan Tyrrell | ... | Melba Lou | |
| Deborah Benson | ... | Charlotte | |
| Lisa Blount | ... | Billie Jean | |
| Tom Hulce | ... | Hanley (as Thomas Hulce) | |
| Dennis Quaid | ... | Frank | |
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Mary Kai Clark | ... | Pat |
| Dennis Christopher | ... | Eugene | |
| Collin Wilcox Paxton | ... | Jimmy J.'s Mother (as Collin Wilcox) | |
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Ben Fuhrman | ... | Coach Haynes |
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Michael Lovell Farris | ... | Edgar (as Mike Farris) |
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Tom Bonner | ... | Radio Announcer |
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Glen Irby | ... | Band Director |
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Bryan Scott | ... | Dickie |
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Bush Satterfield | ... | Charlotte's Father |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
When Jimmy's idol, James Dean, dies on September 30, 1955, the small-town Arkansas college undergraduate goes berserk. He and his friends hold a vigil which turns into a drunk and, finally, a tragedy. Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Taglines:
It Was a Date That Would Change Their Lives Forever. See more »Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
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Frank: We're just havin' a little picnic. Just havin' a little weenie roast.
Mr. Phillips: Looks to me like you're trespassin'.
[Frank recognizes Mr Phillips, and talks his way out of the situation by offering him a cold beer]
Hanley: We're not trespassin' any more.
Pat: Wish we had some weiners.
Hanley: I got one, Pat. Big, nice, fat one.
Pat: Did you buy some? Where'd you get some?
Pat: [Hanley giggles, and she realizes just what he's saying] ... nasty. You know that's nasty!
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Written by Jimmie Rodgers
Sung by Webb Pierce
Courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Tom Bonner, a college classmate of director James Bridges, was cast as a radio announcer, a job he held while in college. Tom was a weather man for many years at television station KARK in Little Rock. See more »Quotes
Mr. Phillips: Hey, what you kids doin' down there?Frank: We're just havin' a little picnic. Just havin' a little weenie roast.
Mr. Phillips: Looks to me like you're trespassin'.
[Frank recognizes Mr Phillips, and talks his way out of the situation by offering him a cold beer]
Hanley: We're not trespassin' any more.
Pat: Wish we had some weiners.
Hanley: I got one, Pat. Big, nice, fat one.
Pat: Did you buy some? Where'd you get some?
Pat: [Hanley giggles, and she realizes just what he's saying] ... nasty. You know that's nasty!
See more »
Soundtracks
In the Jailhouse NowWritten by Jimmie Rodgers
Sung by Webb Pierce
Courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.
See more »
An appealing rookie effort by James Bridges that has its moments. Yes, the quality is uneven but its melancholy, nostalgic undercurrent echoes Dean's effect on the disaffected youth of the "innocent" Fifties, the first generation to register his impact. Offbeat, quirky and, yes, melodramatic, "September 30, 1955" captures adolescent confusion, longing and the death of innocence, paralleling Dean's own untimely death. The day-for-night closing fade-out and elegiac music foreshadow a sleepy generation soon to lose its Saturday-night youth to rapid, startling change. Throughout, Dean's presence is often eerily palpable in an admittedly lesser effort that deserves a greater following.