Honkytonk Man (1982)

A boy with a music talent goes into the journey with his uncle for a stage concert.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Clancy Carlile (novel), Clancy Carlile (screenplay)

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Kyle Eastwood, John McIntire

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Red Stovall
Kyle Eastwood	...	Whit
John McIntire	...	Grandpa
Alexa Kenin	...	Marlene
Verna Bloom	...	Emmy
Matt Clark	...	Virgil
Barry Corbin	...	Arnspriger
Jerry Hardin	...	Snuffy
Tim Thomerson	...	Highway Patrolman
Macon McCalman	...	Dr. Hines
Joe Regalbuto	...	Henry Axle
Gary Grubbs	...	Jim Bob
Rebecca Clemons	...	Belle
Johnny Gimble	...	Bob Wills
Linda Hopkins	...	Blues Singer

Storyline

As the film opens on an Oklahoma farm during the depression, two simultaneous visitors literally hit the Wagoneer home: a ruinous dust storm and a convertible crazily driven by Red, the missus' brother. A roguish country-western musician, he has just been invited to audition for the Grand Ole Opry, his chance of a lifetime to become a success. However, this is way back in Nashville, Red clearly drives terribly, and he's broke and sick with tuberculosis to boot. Whit, 14, seeing his own chance of a lifetime to avoid "growing up to be a cotton picker all my life," begs Ma to let him go with Uncle Red as driver and protege. Thus begins a picaresque journey both hilarious and poignant.

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Plot Keywords:

audition | tuberculosis | ends with funeral | nashville tennessee | cult film | 

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Taglines:

The boy is on his way to becoming a man. The man is on his way to becoming a legend.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Última Canção

Filming Locations:

Gardnerville, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$667,727, 19 December 1982, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$4,484,991

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Malpaso Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After starring in this movie, Kyle Eastwood, son of Clint Eastwood, auditioned for the lead role in The Karate Kid (1984) but Ralph Macchio got the part. Ironically, in that film's remake, The Karate Kid (2010), Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith, got the part.

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Goofs

Ryman Auditorium is used as the setting for the Opry. This venue was not used until the 1940s, and the movie takes place in the 1930s.

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Quotes

Red Stovall: Mary was right to go back to her husband. What the hell did I have to offer a kid? Just honky-tonks and flop-houses. That's the life of a country singer, Hoss. Sound good to you?
Whit: It don't sound too hot when you put it like that, but it sure beats picking cotton and living in a sharecropper's shack.

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Alternate Versions

ABC edited 7 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.

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Connections

Featured in The Blues: Piano Blues (2003)

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Soundtracks

Honkytonk Man
Sung by Marty Robbins and Clint Eastwood

User Reviews

Anti hero.

It took a lot of nerve in the early eighties,in the days of Rocky,Indiana Jones and "fame" to portray such a human wreck.Eastwood's character recalls Hank Williams,one of the few country singers whose songs experimented tragedy ("I'll never get out of this world alive"). The difference lies in the fact that the singer here will remain an obscure artist.

A road movie,it features an interesting boy character who learns the harsh realities of life.In the short space of a couple of days,he will have experimented love (first in a brothel,then probably later with the girl they met along the road) and death (he'll have to cope with a burial).The young female "singer" they -reluctantly-take with them provides the movie with the comic relief it does need:you should hear her sing "My bonnie" in a shrill voice.

The ballads Eastwood sings are moving and tuneful(I don't know if he is dubbed for them,but anyway it's made with taste and respect for the audience).The audition is the highlight of the movie,Eastwood seems to sing as if it were a matter of life and death(and it is anyway).The actor/director avoids pathos and melodrama.Once again,it was a very risky move to play such a character at a time when success story was the golden rule.The movie was bound to be a flop,but it deserves to be restored to favor now.