Ruckus (1980)

A Vietnam veteran passing through a small town is harassed by local bullies but he fights back, using his wartime skills, and triggers a full-scale police manhunt.

Director:

Max Kleven

Writer:

Max Kleven

Stars:

Dirk Benedict, Linda Blair, Richard Farnsworth

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dirk Benedict	...	Kyle Hanson
Linda Blair	...	Jenny Bellows
Richard Farnsworth	...	Sheriff Jethro Pough
Matt Clark	...	Cece
Jon Van Ness	...	Deputy Dave
Taylor Lacher	...	Sarge
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Homer (as Cliff Pellow)
Ben Bates	...	Big Ben
Jerry Gatlin	...	Bubba
Bennie E. Dobbins	...	Joe (as Benny Dobbins)
Bobby Hughes	...	Bobby Bellows
A.J. Blake	...	Sally the Barmaid
Melanie Weeks	...	Counter Girl
Patrick Connolly	...	Gas Station Attendant
Bob Peeler	...	Farmer At Fair

Storyline

Kyle Hanson is a Vietnam veteran whose traumatic war-time experiences have left him unable to rejoin mainstream society. When Kyle, unkempt and in dirty fatigues, stops in a small town for some food, the local bullies can't wait for an opportunity to harass him. After Kyle uses his Special Forces training to escape the bullies, he becomes the subject of a community-wide manhunt. Only Jenny Bellows, a local girl whose husband was declared missing in action in Vietnam, is willing to give Kyle a chance.

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Plot Keywords:

bully | vietnam | missing in action | manhunt | vietnam veteran | 

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Taglines:

A comedy romp across country roads!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Ruckus in a Small Town

Filming Locations:

Knights Landing, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Vision

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A stuntman and stunt coordinator himself, writer/director Max Kleven filled most of the supporting cast with stuntmen.

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Goofs

Shots of Kyle driving red pick-up that he escapes in are shown mirrored back-to-front in several shots - the steering wheel is clearly on the wrong side.

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Quotes

Bubba: Mr. Bellows, the only safe way we can get him off of that island is - go down and get us a pack of bloodhounds.
Sam Bellows: Nah, Bubba. Jenny here tells me he likes that old worthless piece of ground. As far as I'm concerned, he can have this island, for as long as he wants to stay. If I ever saw one man win a war by himself, he sure did.
Sheriff Jethro Pough: [Chuckles]
[They all see the men swim to the river bank]
Sam Bellows: Well, let's help these 'heroes' out of the river.
[laughs]

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Connections

References Giant (1956)

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Soundtracks

YOU COMB HER HAIR
Written by Harlan Howard (as Harland Howard) and Hank Cochran
Tree Publishing Co.

User Reviews

Really overrated ...... really overpriced ...... really not very good ......

"Ruckus" is not "Rambo". Ruckus is a trivial Southern nonsense cartoon. The car chases are all there. The boat chases are all there. The explosions are all there. What's missing is a believable script. The lack of substance in this film is appalling. Well liked actors Richard Farnsworth and Ben Johnson are totally wasted in meaningless roles. Linda Blair is just sort of there, with no effect on the outcome. As the VHS box states "Thanks to the U.S. Army, he can kill a man in 6 seconds with his bare hands". However, in this Southern fried drivel, no "Rednecks" were harmed by bullets, arrows, or dynamite. The only thing missing is Wylie Coyote. - MERK