Bound for Glory (1976)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Hal Ashby

Writers:

Robert Getchell (screenplay)
Woody Guthrie (autobiography)

Release Date:

5 December 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Plot:

This film is an excellent biography of Woody Guthrie, one of America's greatest folk singers. He left his dust-devastated Texas home in the 1930s to find work, and discovered the suffering and strength of America's working class.

Plot Keywords:

1930s | Singer | Texas | Desert | Dust Bowl

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

David Carradine	...	Woody Guthrie
Ronny Cox	...	Ozark Bule
Melinda Dillon	...	Mary (Woody's wife) / Memphis Sue
Gail Strickland	...	Pauline
John Lehne	...	Locke (radio station manager)
Ji-Tu Cumbuka	...	Slim Snedeger (Hobo on train)
Randy Quaid	...	Luther Johnson (migrant worker)
Elizabeth Macey	...	Liz (Johnson's wife)
Susan Vaill	...	Gwen Guthrie
Sarah Vaill	...	Gwen Guthrie
Alexandra Mock	...	Sue Guthrie
Kimberly Mock	...	Sue Guthrie
Miriam Byrd-Nethery	...	Sick woman (water-swallowing scene) (as Miriam Byrd Nethery)
Jane Lambert	...	Other woman (water-swallowing scene)
Jan Burrell	...	Other woman (water-swallowing scene)

Runtime:

147 min | Sweden:120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:PG | Netherlands:12 (2005) (DVD) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:AL | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Trivia:

Mary Kay Place's first movie.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one shot of a railroad yard, a 1960's-1970's era diesel locomotive can clearly be seen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gamera (#4.2)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

I Ain't Got No Home

It Is Glorious. It Made It.

Of all the five best picture nominees of 1976, "Bound for Glory" is the most difficult for most to remember. I mean it was the quiet film in a year which consisted of "Rocky", "Network", "All the President's Men" and "Taxi Driver". Woody Guthrie (David Carradine of "Kung Fu" fame) is suffering through the Dust Bowl of Pampa, Texas in 1936. There are no jobs, no crops and really no hope. Guthrie decides that the best way for him to do his part is to become a folk singer for the poorest peoples of Northern Texas and depression-era Oklahoma. What follows is a genuinely wonderful story which is all based upon the life of America's greatest folk singer. "Bound for Glory" is well-written, well-directed by the wonderful Hal Ashby and well-acted by David Carradine in the role of a lifetime. Melinda Dillon, Randy Quaid and Ronny Cox are among the other players, but this is Carradine's show from the word go. A wonderful, but truthfully somewhat forgotten masterpiece from the 1970s. 4.5 out of 5 stars.