Three friends (Ronny Cox, Art Hindle, and Tim Maier) leave their families behind and go on a 72-mile run through the desert of New Mexico. They’re marathon runners and they are trying to survive the ultimate challenge. Instead, they run into a right-wing militia led by “Colonel” Crouse (M. Emmet Walsh) and Sonny (William Russ). Soon, the joggers are being chased through the desert. Their survival depends on if they have the raw courage to make it back to civilization.
RawCourage was written and produced by Ronny Cox and I like to think that he made this movie as his way to get back at everyone who typecast him as a victim after Deliverance. Cox’s jogger never gives up in RawCourage, even while being chased through the broiling desert by a bunch of madmen on motorcycles. Cox and Art Hindle both give good performances and their well-matched by Walsh and Russ. (Unfortunately, Walsh’s role in pretty small. Most of the actual villainy is committed by William Russ.) Cox and Hindle both play intelligent men who just happened to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. That the victims are sympathetic and you actually care about whether or not they make it back to their families elevates the film.
The film does start to run out of gas towards the end. The scenes of our heroes running through the desert start to get repetitive. Raw Courage is still an exciting action film and it’s flat, made-for-TV look is probably less of a problem when viewed on YouTube than it was when the movie was initially released. The film provides a rare starring role for Ronny Cox, four years before Robocop typecast him as everyone’s favorite corporate villain. Cox delivers. It’s a shame he didn’t get to play more heroes.
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!
Things get weird in California.
Episode 3.14 “Wheeling”
(Dir by Barry Crane, originally aired on December 8th, 1979)
This is one of those weird episodes where Ponch and Jon just keep running into the same people over and over again.
Artie (Paul Gale), Don (Ray Vittie), and Alan (Ron Lombard) are all in wheelchairs but they’re not going to let that stop them from enjoying life and, far more dangerously, playing tag while driving on the highway. Artie’s van taps Alan’s car. Alan taps Don’s car. Don tries to tap Artie’s van. It’s dangerous and Ponch and Jon, when they see it, promptly pull the three men over. Ponch is impressed with Artie’s joie d’vivre. As usual, Baker is less impresses and is like, “You — of all people! — should understand the danger!” (I swear, poor Larry Wilcox. While Erik Estrada got to smile through each episode, it always fell on Wilcox to be the killjoy.)
That said, both Jon and Ponch came to admire Artie and his determination to make sure that all of his wheelchair-bound friends get the most out of life. They even help Artie present a fancy new wheelchair to Brent (David Gilliam), a surfer who has not been able to bring himself to leave the hospital ever since he learned that he will never walk again.
Artie and the gang help out Jon and Ponch as well. Jon and Ponch are searching for a blue car that was involved in a street race that left one teenager with a broken leg. The teenager’s father, Harry (Taylor Lacher), has been speeding up and down the freeway, searching for the car. Harry even made a citizens arrest, though Delgado (Fil Formicola) had an alibi for the time that Harry’s son was injured. While Delgado makes plans to sue Harry for false arrest. Artie happens to spot the blue car that Jon and Ponch are looking for. Way to go, Artie!
But then, after all of this, Artie and his friends decide to race on Harry’s street. Harry goes crazy. He jumps in his car and takes off after Artie’s van, not realizing that Artie was the one who helped the police catch the guy who hit Harry’s son. It leads to a huge accident at a construction site. The van flips over. Harry’s car flips over. Harry breaks his leg. Artie’s breaks both of his arms. The judge sentences Harry to serve as Artie’s manservant until Artie’s arms heal. Everyone has a good laugh, including Harry.
What a weird episode! I mean, its heart was definitely in the right place. The whole point of the episode was that Artie and his friends were just as capable as anyone who could walk. That’s a good message. But, then, out of nowhere, Artie is suddenly involved in a street race and Harry is trying to crash into his van. And then, at the end of it, everyone finds it all to be terrifically amusing. And somehow, Ponch and Jon manage to be at the scene of every incident involved Harry, Artie, and Artie’s friends. Like, seriously, what are the odds? There are other highway patrolmen in California.
Again, a strange episode. As always, the scenery was nice. It’s always fun to see what the world looked like in 1979. And I appreciated that this episode made a strong case for people not taking it upon themselves to make a citizens arrest because, seriously, people who do that tend to be so obnoxious.
Anyway, I enjoyed it. It was just weird enough to be fun. Drive safely out there!
Monsters will not be reviewed tonight so that we may bring you this very special presentation of 1983’s Have You Ever Been Ashamed Of Your Parents?
Yes, my retro television reviews will return next week but, until then, enjoy this blast from the past. In this hour-long presentation, Fran Davies (Kari Michaelson) is upset when her mother (Marion Ross) takes a summer job working as a maid for a rich family. At first, Fran thinks that Andrea (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the daughter of her mother’s employer, is a stuck-up snob but she soon learns that Andrea is instead painfully shy and that she has parents who are rich but unloving. Meanwhile, Fran’s parents are …. well, I wouldn’t call them poor. The film acts as if they’re poor but, from all indications, they appear to be comfortably middle class. The point is that they’re not rich but they are loving.
This is worth watching for Jennifer Jason Leigh’s performance as Andrea, a character to whom I could relate. It’s not easy being both shy and beautiful. Fans of great character actors will also be happy to see James Karen, playing Andrea’s father.
Now, without further ado, here is Have You Ever Been Ashamed Of Your Parents?
Three friends (Ronny Cox, Art Hindle, and Tim Maier) leave their families behind and go on a 72-mile run through the desert of New Mexico. They’re marathon runners and they are trying to survive the ultimate challenge. Instead, they run into a right-wing militia led by “Colonel” Crouse (M. Emmet Walsh) and Sonny (William Russ). Soon, the joggers are being chased through the desert. Their survival depends on if they have the raw courage to make it back to civilization.
Through the Shattered Lens 