80 Steps to Jonah
80 Steps to Jonah | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Gerd Oswald |
Screenplay by | Frederick Louis Fox |
Story by | Frederick Louis Fox Gerd Oswald |
Produced by | Gerd Oswald |
Starring | Wayne Newton Jo Van Fleet Keenan Wynn Diana Ewing Mickey Rooney Sal Mineo |
Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle |
Edited by | Anthony DiMarco |
Music by | George Shearing |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 107 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
80 Steps to Jonahis a 1969 Americandrama filmdirected byGerd Oswald,written by Frederick Louis Fox, and starringWayne Newton,Jo Van Fleet,Keenan Wynn,Diana Ewing,Mickey RooneyandSal Mineo.It was released byWarner Bros.in December 1969.[1][2]
Plot
[edit]Mark Jonah Winters is a migrant worker who hitches a ride with Jerry Taggart.[3]A car crash kills Taggert,[4]and when the police arrive on the scene Jonah learns he had been riding in a stolen car. He is accused of car theft and, since he believes he cannot prove his innocence, he flees before he can be arrested.
Jonah spends the night sleeping in a field, and awakes to find four blind children, staying at a nearby blind camp. He meets camp housekeeper Nonna and camp director Tracy, who believe him to be the handyman they were expecting. Jonah begins working at the camp, and gains the trust of the children, whom he can relate to because he had been orphaned as a child. Nonna sees a photo of Jonah in the newspaper and, though she knows he is wanted by the police, does not turn him in.
Eventually the police arrive at the camp, and arrest Jonah. At the police station a drunkard named Wilfred Bashford, who had spoken to Jonah just before he was given a ride by Taggert, is able to corroborate that Jonah had not been the driver of the stolen car. Jonah is freed, and returns to his friends at the camp.[5]
Cast
[edit]- Wayne Newtonas Mark Jonah Winters
- Jo Van Fleetas Nonna
- Keenan Wynnas Barney Glover
- Diana Ewingas Tracy Rutledge
- Mickey Rooneyas Wilfred Bashford
- Sal Mineoas Jerry Taggart
- R. G. Armstrongas Mackray
- Slim Pickensas Scott
- Frank Schuller as Witney
- Dennis Crossas Maxon
- Brandon Cruzas Little Joe Wilson
- Erin Moranas Kim
- Teddy Quinnas Richard
- Michele Tobin as Cathy
- Susan Mathews as Velma
- Ira Angustainas Pepe
- Lilly Martens as Nina
- Butch Patrickas Brian Hofstadter
- Lord Nelson as Ralph the Dog
- Coby Denton as Wilks
- Joe Conleyas Jenkins
- Fred Dale as Sheriff
- Don Familton as Sheriff
- Holger Bendixen as Fisherman
- James Bacon as Hobo
- Jackie Kahaneas himself
References
[edit]- ^"80 Steps to Jonah (1969) - Overview".TCM.com.Retrieved2015-05-16.
- ^Hal Erickson(2014)."Eighty-Steps-to-Jonah - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon 2014-03-05.Retrieved2015-05-16.
- ^Lou Cedrone,Wayne Newton In the Movies,The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD), November 24, 1969, page 30
- ^Michael Gregg Michaud,Sal Mineo: A Biography,page 264, Three Rivers Press, 2011
- ^tcm.com