Memorably uncomfortable, fairly interesting drama was produced by 70s icon Marjoe Gortner himself, and is notable for its showcasing of his live wire personality. The Gortster plays Teddy, a drug dealing, mangy Vietnam vet traveling with his girlfriend Cheryl (Candy Clark). Forced to stop over in a nowhere New Mexico town, he ends up taking over a diner and holding staff and customers at bay. In long and intense confrontations, he asks some hard questions of his prey and reveals them for what they are. Among those threatened by his presence are big city intellectuals Clarisse and Richard Ethridge (Lee Grant and Hal Linden), sweet waitress Angel (Stephanie Faracy), eager to please, crippled businessman Lyle Striker (Pat Hingle), and wanna be tough guy Stephen Ryder (Peter Firth).
Playwright Mark Medoff wrote the script, based on his play, and turns "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?" into a lengthy examination of what it means to be a macho man. Although the presentation does largely belie the stage origins, director Milton Katselas does give it some cinematic flair when he can. It consists of a number of character vignettes before eventually getting down to business. And when Marjoe is dominating his victims, the result is a similarly captive audience at home. You can't take your eyes off him; he treats Teddy as the role of a lifetime, and gives it everything he's got. But that's not to take away from a sterling supporting cast. Grant is especially fine when she finally tries standing up to this charismatic antagonist. Familiar faces in smaller roles include Anne Ramsey, Bill McKinney, Alex Colon, Audra Lindley, Ron Soble, Robert Easton, and Barry Cahill. Medoff himself plays a faith healer.
Effective location filming, enjoyable rural atmosphere, and a top soundtrack all help to make this a pretty good entertainment.
Seven out of 10.
Playwright Mark Medoff wrote the script, based on his play, and turns "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?" into a lengthy examination of what it means to be a macho man. Although the presentation does largely belie the stage origins, director Milton Katselas does give it some cinematic flair when he can. It consists of a number of character vignettes before eventually getting down to business. And when Marjoe is dominating his victims, the result is a similarly captive audience at home. You can't take your eyes off him; he treats Teddy as the role of a lifetime, and gives it everything he's got. But that's not to take away from a sterling supporting cast. Grant is especially fine when she finally tries standing up to this charismatic antagonist. Familiar faces in smaller roles include Anne Ramsey, Bill McKinney, Alex Colon, Audra Lindley, Ron Soble, Robert Easton, and Barry Cahill. Medoff himself plays a faith healer.
Effective location filming, enjoyable rural atmosphere, and a top soundtrack all help to make this a pretty good entertainment.
Seven out of 10.