Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Richard Harris | ... | Martin Steckert | |
Lindsay Wagner | ... | Dr. Mennen | |
James Coburn | ... | Lt. Lardner | |
Justin Henry | ... | Martin | |
Karen Black | ... | Karen | |
John Ireland | ... | Brewer | |
Saul Rubinek | ... | Hitchhiker | |
R.H. Thomson | ... | Paul Mennen (as R.H. Thompson) | |
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Dwayne McLean | ... | Youngman |
Frank Adamson | ... | Garby | |
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Hugh Webster | ... | Gas Station Attendant |
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J. Winston Carroll | ... | Train Driver (as J.W. Carroll) |
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Bob Windsor | ... | Train Engineer |
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Jeff Braunstein | ... | Berglas |
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Dini Petty | ... | Newscaster |
Threatened with recapture after a prison escape, Martin Stechert grabs a twelve-year-old as hostage. He proves to be named Martin, too, a quiet "good little boy" always obeying the rules, whom life has given only dismal loneliness and frustration in return. Soon he begins to admire "Stech" for his cheeky pranks against society and his desperate mission to make dreams come true. In a climactic moment, he chooses to stay with the man even though he could run away. Via hijacks and hijinx, they flee to the idyllic peace of the older Martin's childhood home, a cabin on a lake. But the police are close behind, impatient and trigger-happy. Written by Paul Emmons <pemmons@wcupa.edu>
This movie was one of the last gasps to come from the Canadian tax shelter era of the late '70s to early '80. It has some interest because of its cast; not only are there a number of American stars who had appeared in earlier Canadian tax shelter efforts (Richard Harris, James Coburn, Lindsay Wagner, and Karen Black), but there are also some familiar Canadians who appeared in other such efforts (Saul Rubinek and John Ireland.) As it turns out, the interesting cast is about the only thing of interest about this movie. The generally predictable plot is certainly a problem, but the biggest problem with the movie is with Harris' character. His character commits so many unlikable actions (especially in the first third of the movie) that he's not only a real turn-off, the tender scenes he has with his young co-star Justin Henry are very unconvincing. The only other thing of interest to be found in the movie is seeing how much the Clint Eastwood movie "A Perfect World" stole from this movie eight years later.