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Macon County Line
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| Macon County Line | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Compton |
| Written by | Max Baer Jr. Richard Compton |
| Produced by | Max Baer Jr. Roger Camras (executive producer) Richard Franchot (associate producer) |
| Starring | Alan Vint Jesse Vint Cheryl Waters Max Baer Jr. Geoffrey Lewis Joan Blackman Leif Garrett James Gammon Timothy Scott Sam Gilman |
| Cinematography | Daniel Lacambre |
| Edited by | Tina Hirsch |
| Music by | Stu Phillips |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $225,000 |
| Box office | $30 million[1] $9.1 million[2] |
Macon County Line is a 1974 American independent film directed by Richard Compton and produced by Max Baer Jr. Baer and Compton also co-wrote the film, in which Baer stars as a vengeful county sheriff in Georgia out for blood after his wife is brutally killed by a pair of drifters.
The $225,000 film reportedly became the most profitable film of 1974 (in cost-to-gross ratio), earning $18.8 million in North America[3] and over $30 million worldwide.[1]
The film is docudrama in tone. Though it was presented as "a true story" to attract a wider audience, the plot and characters are entirely fictional.[4]
Plot
[edit]In 1954 Macon County, Georgia, brothers Chris (Alan Vint) and Wayne Dixon (Jesse Vint) from Chicago are on a two-week spree of cheap thrills throughout the South before their upcoming stint in the Air Force. Wayne entered the service when Chris was given the option of military duty in lieu of prison as the result of an earlier episode with the law. Driving through Louisiana, the brothers pick up hitchhiker Jenny Scott (Cheryl Waters), a pretty blond with a shady backstory that she would rather not discuss.
Meanwhile, local backwater town sheriff Reed Morgan (Baer) is preparing to bring his son Luke (Leif Garrett) home from military school. Hunting season begins the next day and he buys Luke a new shotgun. When Chris, Jenny and Wayne experience car trouble, they must wait in Sheriff Morgan's town. Unable to repair the car themselves, they scrape together enough money to get it patched up by garage owner Hamp (Geoffrey Lewis).
Waiting at the garage, they are informally threatened by Morgan, who says they could be picked up for vagrancy if they decide to stick around. Not interested in trouble, the brothers and Jenny head out once their car is running, but after another breakdown, they take refuge in Morgan's barn. Inside the house, Morgan's wife is brutally raped and murdered by two men who then kill a cop when pulled over. When Morgan returns home to find his wife dead, he pursues Chris, Wayne and Jenny, believing they must have been responsible. There is a running firefight during the chase.
With Wayne and Jenny holed up in a boat hiding from Morgan, Chris sneaks out to try to start the boat's motor. A gunshot is heard, and Wayne and Jenny fear that Chris has been killed. Young Luke Morgan then enters the boat's cabin and shoots Wayne and Jenny. It is revealed that Morgan was killed during the firefight. Afterwards, a wounded Chris comes back to the boat to find his friends killed, and Luke being held by another policeman. The last scene is Chris in his car, finally repaired by Hamp, with the locals and police then watching him leave. The epilogue shows that Chris became a master sergeant in the Air Force, with a wife and three children. Luke spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital.
Production notes
[edit]While the poster advertising the film included the tagline "It shouldn't have happened. It couldn't have happened. But it did," and the title card states that it is a true story (and several reviewers have stated the same), director Richard Compton and producer Max Baer have said that they wrote the original story without any basis in historic events.[4][5] The film is one of several so-called "drive-in" films that were presented as true stories (à la 1972's The Legend of Boggy Creek, 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and 1976's Jackson County Jail and The Town That Dreaded Sundown). In each case, most, if not all, of what was portrayed on screen was fictional (with the exception of The Town That Dreaded Sundown, which was inspired by the Texarkana Moonlight Murders of 1946).
Alan Vint and Jesse Vint, who played brothers Chris and Wayne Dixon onscreen, are brothers.
Reception
[edit]The film earned $10 million in rentals in North America.[6]
The film's critical reception was mixed. Macon County Line holds a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews.[7]
Home video releases
[edit]Anchor Bay released the film on both VHS and DVD in February 2000. The Anchor Bay DVD release included an audio commentary with director Richard Compton and the featurette, Macon County Line – 25 Years Down the Road. Both the VHS and DVD have been out of print since 2007.
The Warner Home Video DVD was issued on May 6, 2008. It uses the same transfer from the 2000 DVD release and is single-layered including subtitles - with no extra features.[5][8]
The film was released on Blu-ray disc by Shout! Factory on January 16, 2018.[9]
Legacy
[edit]Richard Compton directed the film Return to Macon County, released theatrically in 1975. Despite its title, the film is not a sequel, although it loosely follows a similar plot of mistaken identity.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Mavis, Paul (6 May 2008). "DVDTalk.com Macon County Line Review". Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 300. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
- ^ Macon County Line, Box Office Information. Archived 2012-04-13 at the Wayback Machine The Numbers. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ^ a b Richard Compton (2000). Macon County Line (1973) (DVD). Anchor Bay.
- ^ a b James Newman. "Macon County Line Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine ", imagesjournal.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-29.
- ^ "All-time Film Rental Champs", Variety, 7 January 1976 p 44
- ^ "Macon County Line". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ Mavis, Paul (May 6, 2008). "Macon County Line: Review". dvdtalk.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ Macon County Line Blu-ray, archived from the original on 2018-05-22, retrieved 2018-05-21
External links
[edit]- Macon County Line at IMDb
- Screen: Macon County Line Arrives by Vincent Canby, The New York Times (January 16, 1975)
Macon County Line
View on GrokipediaOverview
Plot
Macon County Line is presented in a docudrama style, with an opening title card claiming the events are based on a true story, though the narrative is fictional.[1] Set in 1954 in rural Georgia (or Louisiana according to some accounts), the film follows brothers Chris Dixon and Wayne Dixon, young men from Chicago embarking on a carefree road trip through the South prior to enlisting in the U.S. Air Force.[9][1] The brothers, seeking one last adventure, engage in minor mischief, including visiting prostitutes and fleeing from the women's pimp after a brawl, as well as skipping out on a diner bill, which prompts a brief pursuit by local police.[1] Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker named Jenny Scott, a free-spirited young woman who joins their journey, forming an unlikely trio of outsiders navigating the backroads.[1][9] Their lighthearted escapades turn perilous when their car breaks down in Macon County, where they encounter Deputy Reed Morgan, a stern local lawman preparing to reunite with his young son, Luke, who is returning from military school.[1] Morgan, portrayed as a devoted family man buying a hunting rifle for his boy to mark the start of the season, initially interacts with the trio sternly, warning them against vagrancy and urging them to leave the area promptly.[1] Tragedy strikes when Morgan's wife, Carol, is savagely murdered in their home by two actual drifters, Lon Hawkins and Elisha Gibbons, who break in during the couple's absence.[1] Overcome by grief and rage, Morgan wrongly identifies the Dixon brothers and Jenny as the culprits—based on their earlier presence as Northern outsiders—and launches a relentless manhunt, enlisting the aid of the tight-knit, suspicious local community.[9][1] The pursuit escalates into a tense cat-and-mouse chase across the countryside, with the trio desperately trying to evade capture while pleading their innocence. Jenny sustains a gunshot wound during an early confrontation, heightening the stakes as Chris and Wayne protect her.[1] Morgan's vendetta blinds him to the truth, transforming the once-familial lawman into a single-minded avenger, while his son Luke, eager to emulate his father, becomes inadvertently involved.[1] The climax unfolds in a chaotic shootout at an abandoned site, where Luke, armed with the rifle, fatally shoots Wayne, Jenny, and his own father Deputy Morgan in a tragic bid for his father's approval; Chris narrowly escapes the fray, wounded but alive.[10][11] In the resolution, an epilogue reveals the real killers, Hawkins and Gibbons, are captured and executed by electric chair in 1961 for the murder, after one retrial and two stays of execution. Luke is revealed to have spent the rest of his life in a mental institution. Chris, having survived, goes on to serve honorably in the Air Force, attaining the rank of master sergeant by the time of the film's framing narrative.[1][12]Cast
Alan Vint portrayed Chris Dixon, the level-headed older brother and lead role in the film. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Vint had established himself in the 1970s with supporting roles in notable films such as The Panic in Needle Park (1971) and Badlands (1973), showcasing his versatility in dramatic and character-driven parts.[13][14] Jesse Vint played Wayne Dixon, the younger brother to Chris. In real life, Jesse was the brother of Alan Vint, and the siblings had previously collaborated in projects, bringing authenticity to their on-screen dynamic.[15][14] Cheryl Waters starred as Jenny Scott, the hitchhiker who becomes entangled with the Dixon brothers. This role marked one of Waters' early feature film appearances, following her work in the 1973 low-budget film Schoolgirls in Chains, and she maintained a limited filmography with sporadic credits through the 1980s, including Messenger of Death (1988).[16] Max Baer Jr. took on the role of Deputy Reed Morgan, a central antagonistic figure, while also serving as producer and co-writer. Best known for his iconic portrayal of Jethro Bodine on the long-running sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971), Baer used Macon County Line to transition into more serious dramatic roles behind and in front of the camera.[1][2] Supporting cast included Geoffrey Lewis as Hamp, a local figure involved in the story's tensions; Leif Garrett as Luke Morgan, the deputy sheriff's young son in an early child role that preceded his rise as a 1970s teen idol; and Joan Blackman as Carol Morgan, the sheriff's wife.[2] For completeness, a selection of the credited cast is listed below:| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Alan Vint | Chris Dixon |
| Cheryl Waters | Jenny Scott |
| Max Baer Jr. | Deputy Reed Morgan |
| Joan Blackman | Carol Morgan |
| Jesse Vint | Wayne Dixon |
| Geoffrey Lewis | Hamp |
| Leif Garrett | Luke Morgan |
| James Gammon | Elisha Gibbons |
| R. G. Armstrong | Tom |
| Timothy Scott | Lon Hawkins |
| Jeff Morris | Larry Pritchard |
| Sam Gilman | Deputy Bill |
| Avil Williams | Public Defender |
| Jay Adler | Impound Yard Man |
| Roger Camras | Man in Car |
| David Orange | 1st Highway Patrolman |
| Roger Pancake | 2nd Highway Patrolman |
| Carolyn Judd | Waitress |
| Von Deming | Policeman |
| Linda Atnip | Police Dispatcher |
| Ross Hildebrand | Man in Truck |
| Annie Compton | Policewoman |
| Jan Green | Whore |
| Emile Meyer | Gurney |
| Doodles Weaver | Augie |
