I Saw a Film!

Based on a true story, and with the messiness a true story brings to the screen, we get Beverley Hillbilly alum Max Baer (son of the famous heavyweight boxer so rudely depicted in Cinderella Man), otherwise known as Jethro, in one of his few post Beverly Hillbillies roles (he got so solidly type cast it was tough for him to do anything else), as a Georgia Sheriff who comes home to find his cute wife murdered and off he goes shooting at anyone who moves, with his military son side-kick (a ten year old Leif Garrett! of Tween hearthrob adorbs back in the old days).

Most of this film is spent following the exploits of a couple of Ne’er-do-wells, brothers ripping off hookers and skipping out on diner breakfasts in their classic car. The movie was made in the seventies for a story set in the fifties and we have to listen to Jim Dandy to the Rescue quite a bit.

The story also has Doodles Weaver as a very upset cop having lost his partner to the actual guys who rape and murdered Jethro’s wife. He has them in custody and doens’t know they’ve committed this other horror.

it’s a bit of an odd film, as we’re mostly of the do petty crimes and run from the law in good humor sort of story up to the point of the rape/murder. Suddenly everything takes a sour turn.

There also seems to be a bit of a message in the training of young shooters, perhaps it’s not such a great idea after all.

Free on Prime (usa) for those who’ve been missing Max Baer and maybe need to see Doodles and Leif one more time.