Starring a variety of leading players in various stages of ascent and decline; this is a train that never really leaves the station.Jimmy Stewart plays a 40-year criminal who has amassed $25,000 by steadfastly saving the pittance he has been paid for his life-time's prison labour. A juvenile Kurt Russell is also being released along with reliable Strother Martin ('What we have here is a failure to communicate'). Three friends going free together. George Kennedy plays the inevitable hypocrite guard who is rotten to the core but quotes the gospel. Anne Baxter hides her lines behind a plastering of ghoulish cosmetics as a sympathetic whore.The criminal heroes are put on a train and sent out of state. Unfortunately, Stewart's cheque can only be cashed at the one bank of issue and by him personally. It's a trick played by the banker himself, who knows that his bank will collapse if it has to pay-up. The movie, by the way, is set in depression-time America (which might be about 2010). If Stewart attempts to go back and redeem the cheque, he will be shot.That's the basic premise. It's a weary, plodding effort, that - like a number of movies from this period (Ashanti, Cassandra Crossing) - attempts to trade upon the names of fading Hollywood stars rather than creating a watchable movie.It's a comedy crime thriller, or tries to be. The nearest that come to mind are those created by or starring Clint Eastwood. 'Thunderbolt & Lightfoot' for example, which also stars George Kennedy in a much more believable role, and even the excellent wartime 'Kelly's Heroes'.This is neither. It doesn't come close. The takes seem to drag. The script is inadequate, neither serious nor comic. Stewart's character is simply not believable. The glass-eye stunt is shambolic and amateurish. Still; it is the first screening of a suicide bomber and a simple explanation for the very motives that most politicians now claim to be incomprehensible when they are done in the name of God or freedom. Perhaps Al-Queda should begin demanding money as it's the only thing we in the west seem to understand.Don't be won-over by the cast list. This is a second-rate movie in every other respect. There is absolutely nothing to recommend it unless you're an out-and-out fan of the players. Even then, if you are possessed of the least critical evaluation, you will feel a little ashamed on their behalf of what they allowed themselves to be talked into.

I to wish this movie was available on DVD or VHS.....can't even get it from video stores etc. There is however another excellent movie from this author available, "Night of the Hunter" excellent also. I also lived in Moundsville when they were filming this move (lets not talk about how My BFF and I tried to sneak on set to see Kurt Russell) but I would have loved it at any rate. Excellent story to begin with. The entire cast is in top form. Shooting it in WV was a brilliant move with all of the natural scenery, railroads and old buildings makes the film that much more enjoyable and realistic for this period piece. If you wish to read some of this authors books, they are available online (used) Although, Amazon now has a hard back reprint of this title, for those who wish to read it. Davis Grubb in my opinion was the William Faulkner of West Virginia and I'm so glad that I have dragged those books every time I moved, as now I can share them with the other readers in the house.

If you've found your way to these comments then know that you've found in me a true fan of this film. I got here in an attempt to find a source for buying this film. Alas, it was not to be! The 1971 movie features great dramatic performances by James Stewart, Strother Martin, George Kennedy and Kurt Russell. It's a pretty fair example of a road movie that features, I believe, West Virginia as a backdrop in the mid 1930's. It's great entertainment, fun, exciting and suspenseful, too.Hopefully it will be available someday. I believe it could be productively marketed as a rather important DVD release considering the cast and over all quality of the movie.So it's now 13 months after I've originally posted and the question is, When is this movie going to be released on video/DVD?

Probably the most memorable roles for Jimmy Stewart and George Kennedy respectively. Set in northern Kentucky in the depths of the Great Depression, it is the story of three parolees who are planning to start a new life, and the efforts of town and prison officials to stop them.Contains some of the funniest scenes in motion picture lore, including Stewart using his glass eye to intimidate a god-struck hired killer, and Anne Baxter as a hyper-patriotic riverboat whore who is embittered by the refusal of the DAR to let her join. George Kennedy is implacable and sinister as Stewart's antagonist.The humor doesn't hide the desperation and despair of the times, or the life-and-death struggle the three parolees face as they attempt to start a new life.Does not appear to be in publication at this time. Hopefully Criterion or somebody will re-release this gem.