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)
Lee McLaughlin	...	Heavy Chandler ('insane' man)
Ted Gehring	...	Conners (Pampa store owner)
Robert Sorrells	...	Charlie Guthrie (Woody's father)
Guthrie Thomas	...	George Guthrie (Woody's brother)
Wendy Schaal	...	Mary Jo Guthrie (Woody's sister)
Delos V. Smith Jr.	...	Old man Jenkins (gas station owner)
David Clennon	...	Carl (man in gas station)
Larry Luttrell	...	Hank (man in gas station)
Beeson Carroll	...	Collister (gas station customer)
Mary Kay Place	...	Sue Ann (girl in bar)
Tani Guthrie	...	Donna Jo (Woody's California-bound neighbor) (as Tani Phelps Guthrie)
James O'Connell	...	Jesse (Woody's California-bound neighbor)
Bruce Johnson	...	Jimmy (square dance caller and barber)
R.A. Rondell	...	Steve (Hobo on train)
James Jeter	...	Crippled Whitey (Hobo on train)
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Bill (chief railroad harness guard) (as Cliff Pellow)
Tom Howard	...	Railroad harness guard
Chuck Katzakian	...	Railroad harness guard
Harry Holcombe	...	Minister
Evelyn Russell	...	Wife (in trailer automobile)
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Husband (in trailer automobile)
Sondra Blake	...	Judy (waitress)
Brion James	...	Pick-up truck driver at border
James Lough	...	Man at border
Tom Peters	...	Man at border
Raymond Guth	...	Hobo (in hobo camp)
Buddy Joe Hooker	...	Man (shot off train)
James Hong	...	Chili joint owner
Cara Corren	...	Girl singer at migrant camp
Susan Barnes	...	Girl singer at migrant camp
Bobby Bass	...	Head goon at migrant camp
Harvey J. Newmark	...	Musician
Thomas J. Sauber	...	Musician
Lyle Ritz	...	Musician
Johana De Winter	...	Union organizer (as Johana deWinter)
Gary Downey	...	Union organizer
Jama Tegeler	...	Girl at union meeting
G. Marie Haller	...	Field school teacher
Leanna Johnson Heath	...	Girl at stream
Robert Ginty	...	Artichoke picker
Tony Becker	...	Tough boy on train
Kip Addota	...	Cocoanut Grove audition singer (as Kip Addotta)
Burke Byrnes	...	Mr. Graham (conducting Cocoanut Grove auditions)
Samantha Harper	...	Amy Martin (conducting Cocoanut Grove auditions)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
E.M. Fredric	...	Migrant Camp Kid (uncredited)
Bernie Kopell	...	Baker - Woody's Agent (uncredited)
Carl D. Parker	...	Blindman (uncredited)

Directed by
Hal Ashby

Writing credits
Robert Getchell		(screenplay)
Woody Guthrie		(autobiography)

Produced by
Robert F. Blumofe	....	producer
Harold Leventhal	....	producer
Charles Mulvehill	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Haskell Wexler

Film Editing by
Pembroke J. Herring
Robert C. Jones

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Michael D. Haller		(as Michael Haller)

Art Direction by
James H. Spencer
Bill Sully		(as William Sully)

Set Decoration by
James L. Berkey		(as James Berkey)

Costume Design by
William Ware Theiss		(as William Theiss)

Makeup Department
Virginia Jones	....	hair stylist
Bob Westmoreland	....	makeup artist (as Robert A. Westmoreland)

Production Management
Charles Mulvehill	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jim Bloom	....	second assistant director (as James Bloom)
Catherine McCabe	....	second assistant director (as Catherine C. McCabe)
Charles Myers	....	first assistant director (as Charles A. Myers)
Bill Venegas	....	second assistant director (as William B. Venegas)
Stanley E. Foster	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
William Maldonado	....	construction coordinator
James L. Schoppe	....	assistant art director
Sal Sommatino	....	property master
Rick Carter	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert Glass	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Oswald	....	sound effects editor (as Richard L. Oswald)
Don Parker	....	production sound mixer (as Donald E. Parker)
Dan Wallin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Frank E. Warner	....	sound effects editor (as Frank Warner)
Jeff Wexler	....	sound consultant
Lee Alexander	....	sound mixer: documentary (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sass Bedig	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	special visual effects

Stunts
Denny Arnold	....	stunts
Bobby Bass	....	stunts
Steve Boyum	....	stunts
Fred Brookfield	....	stunts
Jophery C. Brown	....	stunts (as Jophery Brown)
Cheré Bryson	....	stunts (as Chere Bryson)
Dottie Catching	....	stunts
Steven Chambers	....	stunts (as Steve Chambers)
Gary Combs	....	stunts
Kerrie Cullen	....	stunts
Barry Davis	....	stunts
Gary Downey	....	stunts
Pete Dunn	....	stunts
David R. Ellis	....	stunts (as David Ellis)
Andy Epper	....	stunts
Gary Epper	....	stunts
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts
Stephanie Epper	....	stunts
Tony Epper	....	stunts
Al Geatano	....	stunts
Leonard P. Geer	....	stunts (as Lenny Geer)
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts
Duffy Hambleton	....	stunts
Bill Hart	....	stunts
Lorie Hice	....	stunts
Marcia Holley	....	stunts
Billy Hank Hooker	....	stunts (as William Harrison Hooker)
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt coordinator
Hugh Hooker	....	stunts (as Hugh M. Hooker)
Tommy J. Huff	....	stunts (as Thomas J. Huff)
Richard James	....	stunts
Taylor Lacher	....	stunts
Fred Lerner	....	stunts
Tom Lupo	....	stunts
Bob Orrison	....	stunts (as Robert Orrison)
Chuck Parkison Jr.	....	stunts
J.N. Roberts	....	stunts
Danny Rogers	....	stunts
R.A. Rondell	....	stunts
Alex Sharp	....	stunts
Tom Steele	....	stunts
Ron Stein	....	stunts
Steve Vandeman	....	stunts
Al Wyatt Jr.	....	stunts
Al Wyatt Sr.	....	stunts
Dick Ziker	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Héctor R. Figueroa	....	camera operator (as Hector R. Figueroa)
Wynn Hammer	....	unit still photographer
Gary Holt	....	gaffer (as Gary H. Holt)
Leonard Lookabaugh	....	key grip (as Leonard L. Lookabaugh)
Paul M. Pollard	....	camera technician
Donald E. Thorin	....	camera operator
Garrett Brown	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
David Myers	....	cinematographer: documentary (uncredited)
Randall Robinson	....	Steadicam assistant (uncredited)
Randall Robinson	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sally Dennison	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
James Linn	....	wardrobe department head (as James I. Linn)
Madeline Sylos	....	wardrobe: women (as Madeline J. Sylos)
Bill Blackburn	....	set costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Elyane Bretherton	....	assistant editor
Scott Burrow	....	apprentice editor
Mike Hill	....	apprentice editor
Don Zimmerman	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Joan Biel	....	music editor
George Brand	....	music editor
Ralph Ferraro	....	orchestrator
Leonard Rosenman	....	conductor
Leonard Rosenman	....	music adaptor
Guthrie Thomas	....	music coordinator
Daniel J. Johnson	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Tom Marshall	....	transportation captain (as Thomas F. Marshall)
Gerald R. Molen	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Ted Ashton	....	unit publicist
Wendell Baggett	....	assistant auditor (as Wendell D. Baggett)
Sudy Dostal	....	researcher: de Forest Research Inc.
Ronald Y. Ortega	....	location caterer
Spencer Quinn	....	location manager
Elise Rohden	....	production secretary
June Samson	....	script supervisor
William Smith	....	production auditor (as William P. Smith)
Pablo Ferro	....	title designer (uncredited)
James W. Gavin	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)
Janet Healy	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Judy Collins	....	thanks
Will Geer	....	thanks
Arlo Guthrie	....	thanks
Country Joe McDonald	....	thanks
Odetta	....	thanks
The Weavers	....	thanks

Distributors

• United Artists (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1980) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• United Artists (1977) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• DeForest Research  research (as de Forest Research)
• De Pablo De Pablo  title design
• Pacific Title  main and end credits
• Todd-AO Studios  sound re-recording
• Exeter / Persky-Bright  production services
• Bureau of Land Management  cooperation (as United States Bureau of Land Management, Bakersfield District Office)
• Richmond Organization, The (TRO)  Woody Guthrie music published by
• Hollis Music Inc.  Woody Guthrie music published by
• Ludlow Music  Woody Guthrie music published by
• Folkways Music Publishers Inc.  Woody Guthrie music published by
• Woody Guthrie Publications  "This Train Is Bound for Glory" and "The Sinking of the Reuben James" published by
• Michael H. Goldsen  "Oklahoma Hills" published by
• MCA Music Pub.  "The Sinking of the Reuben James" published by
• TRO-Ludlow Music  "Roll On, Columbia" published by
• Unart Music  "California Water Tastes Like Cherry Wine" and "Woody and Memphis Sue" published by
• Fall River Music  "Hobo's Lullaby" published by
• Robbins Music Corporation  "I'm in the Mood for Love" published by
• Vanguard Recording Society  The Weavers and Country Joe McDonald courtesy of

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:

Altamont, California, USA

Trivia:

The first film to use a long Steadicam tracking shot.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Guthrie's singing partner on KFVD radio in Los Angeles was not named Memphis Sue. Her real name was Maxine Crissman, and she was known as "Lefty Lou," because she shared Guthrie's politics and was just as outspoken. In fact, Guthrie was never pressed to stop singing union-organizing songs; the station owner, Frank Burke, was a populist New Dealer who agreed with Guthrie. The reason Woody was fired was because after the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany in 1939, he started singing songs that, mirroring the Communist Party line, denounced the war as a capitalist fraud.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Soundtrack:

Oklahoma Hills

High apple pie in the sky: this film isn't a lie!

In one of his many masterpieces throughout the '70s, Hal Ashby tells the story of Woody Guthrie (David Carradine) during the folk singer's Depression-era travels, and how he got politicized. We see the plight of working families moving to California, and everything such. One of the best scenes is when a rich family picks up Woody. While they talk about their wealth and stuff, Woody says something that I'm probably not allowed to write here.

All in all, this is a magnificent look into one man's life, and into history in general. If only one thing's for certain, it's that Woody Guthrie will remain an important part of Americana. A great movie. Also starring Ronny Cox and Melinda Dillon.