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The Straight Story ()


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Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old, learns that his estranged brother, Lyle is critically ill. Unable to drive, Alvin embarks on a journey from Iowa to Mt. Zion, by riding a lawn mower. Will he succeed?

Director:
Awards:
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 18 wins & 39 nominations.
  • See more »
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Cast verified as complete

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...
Rose
Jane Galloway Heitz ...
Dorothy
Joseph A. Carpenter ...
Bud
Donald Wiegert ...
Sig
...
Alvin
Tracey Maloney ...
Nurse
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Doctor Gibbons
Jennifer Edwards-Hughes ...
Brenda
Ed Grennan ...
Pete
Jack Walsh ...
Apple
Max the Wonder Dog ...
Farm Dog
Gil Pearson ...
Bus Driver
Barbara June Patterson ...
Woman on Bus
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Tom the John Deere Dealer
Anastasia Webb ...
Crystal
Matt Guidry ...
Steve
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Rat
...
Deer Woman (as Barbara Robertson)
James Cada ...
Danny Riordan
Sally Wingert ...
Darla Riordan
...
Janet Johnson
Jim Haun ...
Johnny Johnson
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Verlyn Heller
Randy Wiedenhoff ...
Fireman #1
Jerry E. Anderson ...
Fireman #2
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Harald (as Kevin Farley)
...
Thorvald
John Lordan ...
Priest
Garrett Sweeney ...
Boy in Truck
Peter Sweeney ...
Boy in Truck
Tommy Fahey ...
Boy in Truck
Matt Fahey ...
Boy in Truck
Dan Fahey ...
Boy in Truck
Russ Reed ...
Mt. Zion Bartender
Leroy Swadley ...
Bar Patron
Ralph Feldhacker ...
Farmer on Tractor
...
Lyle
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stephen Cinabro ...
Policeman (uncredited)
Gary D'Amico ...
Cyclist #1 (uncredited)
George A. Farr ...
Wendell (uncredited)
...
Andy (uncredited)
Lana Schwab ...
Old Lady #1 (uncredited)

Directed by

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David Lynch

Written by

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John Roach ... (written by) &
Mary Sweeney ... (written by)

Produced by

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Pierre Edelman ... executive producer
Neal Edelstein ... producer (produced by)
Michael Polaire ... executive producer
Mary Sweeney ... producer (produced by)

Music by

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Angelo Badalamenti

Cinematography by

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Freddie Francis ... director of photography

Editing by

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Mary Sweeney

Editorial Department

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Angela Barton ... second assistant editor
Gary Burritt ... negative cutter
Mato ... color timer (as Mato Der Avanessian)
Hugh Ross ... apprentice editor
Hilary Schroeder ... first assistant editor
Tim Wilson ... second assistant editor

Casting By

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Jane Alderman
Lynn Blumenthal

Production Design by

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Jack Fisk

Set Decoration by

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Barbara Haberecht

Costume Design by

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Patricia Norris

Makeup Department

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Crist Ballas ... special makeup effects
Deborah K. Dee ... hair stylist: Harry Dean Stanton (as Deborah Dee)
Bob Harper ... makeup artist: Sissy Spacek
Sally J. Harper ... hair stylist: Sissy Spacek (as Sally Harper)

Production Management

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Billy Higgins ... unit production manager
Spike Allison Hooper ... post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Scott Cameron ... first assistant director
Simone Farber ... second assistant director
Eric Sherman ... second second assistant director

Art Department

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Johnny D. Culley ... assistant property master (as Johnny Culley)
Sean Everett ... property master (as Sean E. Markland)
David Hack ... lead man
Christopher Kennedy ... assistant art director (as Chris Kennedy)
Steven Kerlagon ... lead painter (as Steve Kerlagon)
Timothy W. Lobdell ... carpenter (as Tim Lobdell)
Shane Patrick ... swing gang
Thomas Traugott ... swing gang (as Tom Traugott)
David Wilt ... construction coordinator (as Dave Wilt)
Trini Wilt ... art department assistant

Sound Department

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Bryan Arenas ... second engineer
Thom 'Coach' Ehle ... stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Ronald Eng ... sound effects editor (as Ron Eng) / supervising sound editor (as Ron Eng)
Mary Erstad ... foley recordist
David Lee Fein ... foley artist (as David Fein)
Patrick Giraudi ... additional sound re-recording mixer
Doug Jackson ... sound effects editor
David Lynch ... sound designer
Diane Marshall ... foley artist (as Diana Marshall)
John Neff ... re-recording mixer
Howard Neiman ... foley editor (as Howard Nieman) / foley supervisor (as Howard Nieman)
Earl Sampson ... boom operator
Walter Spencer ... dialogue editor
Lucy Sustar ... foley recordist
Susumu Tokunow ... location sound mixer

Special Effects by

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Gary D'Amico ... special effects
Mike Weesner ... assistant special effects

Stunts

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Rudy J. Calzavara ... stunt double (as Rudy Calzavara)
James Fierro ... stunt coordinator (as Jim Fierro)
Rick LeFevour ... stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department

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Amy Alarian ... electrical lighting technician
Richard Alarian ... chief lighting technician
Kevin Boyd ... 24 frame video operator (as Kevin P. Boyd)
Keith Bunting ... best boy grip
Ron Burchfield ... grip
Brendan David Butler ... aerial first assistant camera
David L. Butler ... aerial director of photography (as David Butler)
Don Cerrone ... key grip
Michael Fedack ... dolly grip
Gordon Hayman ... camera operator
Edgar Martin ... grip
Bill McConnell Jr. ... second assistant camera
William McConnell ... first assistant camera (as Bill McConnell Sr.)
Steven R. Morales ... assistant chief lighting technician (as Steve Morales)
David B. Nowell ... aerial director of photography (as David Nowell)
Scott Andrew Ressler ... assistant camera: "b" camera (as Scott Ressler)
Eric Ritter ... grip
Kathryn Roberts ... camera loader (as Kathryn Mueller)
Joshua E. Smith ... electrical lighting technician (as Josh Smith)
Scott Smith ... aerial first assistant camera
Wilson Webb ... electrical lighting technician
Michael Hoffer ... key grip: additional photography (uncredited)

Casting Department

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Nancy Briggs ... casting associate
Catherine Head ... casting associate
Vicki Jo Hertz ... extras casting assistant (as Vicki Hertz)
Sarah Jane Hill ... casting associate
Joan Philo ... extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Susan Lichtman ... set costumer
W.T. Zacha ... costume supervisor (as William T. Zacha)

Location Management

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Mark Har ... assistant location manager
Bob Medcraft ... location manager
Andrew Peterson ... assistant location manager
Becky Whitehorse ... location assistant

Music Department

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Angelo Badalamenti ... conductor / orchestrator
Smokey Hormel ... musician (as Gregory 'Smokey' Hormel)
John Neff ... score engineer
Walter Spencer ... music editor
Angelo Badalamenti ... score producer (uncredited)
Tom Brown ... music preparation (uncredited)
George Doering ... musician (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Jules Stewart ... script supervisor (as Jules M. Stewart)

Transportation Department

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Pedro Amaya ... driver
Calvin Chin ... transportation captain
Richard Deangelo ... transportation coordinator (as Richard De Angelo)
Floyd Erwin ... driver
George Gowing ... driver
Joni Dee Gowing ... driver
Roy Hancock ... driver
Gracie Klein ... driver
Paul Klein ... driver
Dick McCartney ... driver
Dennis McNamara ... driver
Jerry Meyers ... driver
'D.C.' Ressetar ... driver
Billy Scoles ... driver
Nick Swiatek ... driver
Paul Vecchio ... driver
Mickey Vendafreddo Jr. ... driver
Bruce Ventura ... driver
Ron Wilson ... driver
Gary Zarris ... driver

Additional Crew

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Kent Abbott ... set production assistant
Giovanni Arcangeli ... intern
Chamonix Bosch ... set production assistant
Anita Brongiel ... production secretary
Alexander Bulkley ... set production assistant
Mary Lu Cerny ... assistant: Richard Farnsworth
John T. Churchill ... on-set assistant: David Lynch (as John Churchill)
Sean Coffey ... office production assistant: Asymmetrical Productions
Lisa DiQuollo ... catering assistant (as Lisa Di Quollo)
Michael F. Dunn ... assistant caterer (as Mike Dunn)
Ralph Feldhacker ... stand-in
Geri Paige Filister ... production assistant
Will Gatlin ... craft service
Cheryl Gibson ... assistant accountant
Tony Halsrud ... set medic
Joe Hanna ... chef
Anne Johns ... production coordinator
Brian Justus ... stand-in
Kristi Lake ... post-production accountant
Nancy Lampe ... stand-in
Ann Luster ... assistant: Michael Polaire
Paula P. Manzanedo ... completion guarantor: Film Finances, Inc. (as Paula Manzanedo-Schmit)
Patti Marshall ... payroll accountant
Julia McFerrin ... production assistant
Hitomi Nakase ... office production assistant: Asymmetrical Productions
Cheryl Nelson ... production counsel
David Oberholtzer ... assistant caterer
Gaye Pope ... executive assistant: David Lynch / unit publicist
Luis Racer Rangel ... set production assistant
Peggy Rosson ... production accountant
Jonathan Rutter ... press: international
Richard Schwartz ... assistant: Mary Sweeney
Mark Togni ... key set production assistant
John N. Ward ... assistant production coordinator
John Wentworth ... dailies viewer
John David Wolfe ... production assistant (as John Wolfe)
Robert 'Bobby Z' Zajonc ... helicopter pilot (as Bobby 'Z' Zajonc)

Thanks

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Bill Chaffee ... special thanks
Darlene Chaffee ... special thanks
Scott Klug ... special thanks
Carla Rear ... special thanks
Dennis Rear ... special thanks
Alvin Straight ... in memory of
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Seventy-three year old Alvin Straight is a simple living and stubborn man who lives on his social security. He needs to do things on his own terms. He is in failing health. Both his hips are shot, which requires him to use two canes to walk. He is diabetic. He has emphysema from years of smoking. And he has poor eyesight. Beyond the obvious maladies, he doesn't tell his mentally disabled daughter Rose, who lives with him, of many of these issues. He learns that his brother Lyle Straight, from who he has been estranged for ten years, has just suffered a stroke. Because of both his and Lyle's mortality, Alvin wants to make peace with his brother before it's too late, which means traveling from his home in the rural town of Laurens, Iowa to Lyle's home in rural Mount Zion, Wisconsin. As with other issues in his life, he needs to make the trip on his own terms, which means on his own. As he doesn't possess a driver's license and since his eyesight is bad, he decides to make the trip driving his aged riding lawn mover towing a trailer which will carry his gear and double as his sleeping quarters. After one mis-start, he is on his way. On that trip, he affects and is affected by those he encounters. But he just hopes that he can finish the trip the way he started it, and before either he, Lyle or the lawn mower give out for good. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines In life, what are the things that really matter? See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Une histoire vraie (France)
  • The Straight Story - Eine wahre Geschichte (Germany)
  • Una història de debò (Spain, Catalan title)
  • The Straight Story: Una historia verdadera (Spain)
  • Una historia verdadera (Spain)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 112 min
Official Sites
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $10,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend United Kingdom GBP48,410, 05 Dec 1999

Did You Know?

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Trivia Richard Farnsworth was terminally ill with bone cancer during the shooting of the film, which had caused the paralysis of his legs as shown in the film. He actually took the role out of admiration for Alvin Straight, and astonished his co-workers with his tenacity during production. Because of the pain of his disease, Farnsworth committed suicide the following year, at the age of 80. See more »
Goofs Alvin is shown crossing the Mississippi River on the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing heading westward into Iowa, instead of eastward into Wisconsin. This bridge, in real-life, isn't in the vicinity of Prairie du Chien; rather, it would have been the Marquette-Joliet Bridge that he crossed. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in Instinct/The Loss of Sexual Innocence/Limbo (1999). See more »
Soundtracks The Most Requested Song See more »
Crazy Credits Walt Disney Pictures Presents: A film by David Lynch See more »
Quotes Alvin: I'd give each one of 'em a stick and, one for each one of 'em, then I'd say, 'You break that.' Course they could real easy. Then I'd say, 'Tie them sticks in a bundle and try to break that.' Course they couldn't. Then I'd say, "That bundle... that's family."
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