Back Roads (1981)

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writer:

Gary DeVore (writer)

Release Date:

13 March 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Running from the past, and backing into love.

Plot:

A prostitute and a drifter find themselves bound together as they make their way through the rural South, doing what they have to do to survive. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Sally Field	...	Amy Post
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Elmore Pratt
David Keith	...	Mason
Miriam Colon	...	Angel
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Tazio
Dan Shor	...	Spivey
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Arthur
Barbara Babcock	...	Rickey's Mom
Nell Carter	...	Waitress
Alex Colon	...	Enrique
Lee de Broux	...	Red
Ralph Seymour	...	Gosler
Royce D. Applegate	...	The Father
Bruce M. Fischer	...	Ezra
John Dennis Johnston	...	Gilly

Also Known As:

Love with a Sinner (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | Peru:18

Filming Locations:

Brownsville, Texas, USA

Company:

CBS Films

Trivia:

Don 'Red' Barry's last movie.

Soundtrack:

Ask Me No Questions (I'll Tell You No Lies)

Sally Field on the glory road

There's nothing more exciting than seeing a slick Hollywood player like Sally Field getting down-and-dirty like she does in "Back Roads". At one point, she and her two male pals (Tommy Lee Jones and David Keith) are at a county fair and have no money. No problem! Sally fixes her hair and says to the guys, "Don't wait up." She knows how to make money (with her body) and nonchalantly sets out to do it. She's proving nothing to no one--it's second-nature to her--and when Keith calls her a 'whore' she tells him, "A whore is a sixteen-year-old with a bad reputation. I...am...a...hustler!" There are many moments to cherish in this rough jewel: Field standing outside the school where the little boy she gave up for adoption attends, running into his angry mother; Field writing a letter to the same child, telling him how sorry she is; Jones and Field getting off their bus after a fight and going their separate ways, each trudging down two dusty streets. It's a top-notch road comedy with Field and Jones overcoming the obvious sentimentality of the overall conception and making a memorable duo. *** from ****