Directed by:
John FrankenheimerScreenplay:
Alvin SargentCinematography:
David M. WalshComposer:
Johnny CashCast:
Gregory Peck, Tuesday Weld, Estelle Parsons, Ralph Meeker, Lonny Chapman, Charles Durning, Jane Rose, Nora DenneyVOD (1)
Plots(1)
Pursuing a speeding pickup truck, Henry Tawes, middle-aged sheriff in the small town of Sutton, Tennessee, encounters adolescents Buddy and Alma McCain. Alma later appears in his office, claiming to have been stranded in town by another brother, Clay. When Tawes drives her home, she seduces him. As the sheriff is bored by his simple wife, Ellen-Haney, and Alma's moonshiner father, Carl, desires legal protection, a passionate affair ensues. The arrival of Federal agent Bascomb, however, complicates the arrangement, forcing the sheriff to demand destruction of the McCains' still. Meanwhile, sheriff's deputy Hunnicutt becomes suspicious of his supervisor. While investigating the McCains he attacks Alma and is killed by her family. Hoping to start a new life with Alma in California, the lawman disposes of the deputy's corpse in the reservoir. Upon returning, he discovers the McCains departed. Tawes successfully pursues the family, only to discover Alma unwilling to join him. Slashing Tawes with a baling hook, she leaves her wounded lover on the highway. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Gregory Peck
USA
Best movies:
Roman Holiday (1953)
The Big Country (1958)
The Scarlet and the Black (1983) (TV movie)
Tuesday Weld
USA
Best movies:
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Falling Down (1993)
The Wrong Man (1956)
Estelle Parsons
USA
Best movies:
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
Wilde Salomé (2011)
Ralph Meeker
USA
Best movies:
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Lonny Chapman
USA
Best movies:
East of Eden (1955)
Take the Money and Run (1969)
The Birds (1963)
Charles Durning
USA
Best movies:
The Sting (1973)
Tootsie (1982)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Jane Rose
USA
Best movies:
Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (series)
The Monte Carlo Story (1956)
I Walk the Line (1970)
Nora Denney
USA
Best movies:
American Hot Wax (1978)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
I Walk the Line (1970)