Happy Mother's Day, Love George

Following the previous year's "You'll Like My Mother," starring the equally All-American Richard Thomas, this film plays off the boyishness of the lead for added effect. The location filming is great, if only a bit tedious, and we are entertained by Patricia Neal's scenery-chewing. Cloris Leachman actually underplays her role. Bobby Darin is wasted as a throw-away supporting character.

The plot is a bit interesting, although the killer's identity is telegraphed within the first fifteen minutes.

Ron Howard is directed well by Darren McGavin, revealing that the former could have been a much more serious actor, but was instead saddled with the horrendous "Happy Days" series the next year. McGavin sandwiched this between the "The Night Stalker" TV movie in 72, and the subsequent series (as an actor, of course).

Tessa Dahl is tolerable as the disturbed young woman.

Worth a watch, but don't expect, well, "You'll Like My Mother."

Like PEYTON PLACE, this film brings murder, mystery, and scandal to a small New England community. Ron Howard is the new boy in town, an adopted teen who is trying to track down his natural parents. Even after a genuinely touching reunion with his mother(Cloris Leachman), she is still adament about revealing his father's name. As he continues to search for clues to his father's identity, the community is ravaged by a series of bloody knife and cleaver murders which are unfortunately closely connected to Howard's past. Patricia Neal co-stars as Howard's eccentric aunt who has her hands full trying to keep her very disturbed daughter from discovering the bizarre truth about her father's death. Neal's daughter is played by Tessa Dahl, her daughter in real life as well. Former singing idol Bobby Darin also does fine work as Leachman's cook and live-in-lover who wants Howard to leave town and go back to where he came from. The film was the directorial debut of the brilliant character actor Darren McGavin who seems to be just at home behind the camera as he is in front of it. Although there are several scary and suspenseful scenes, the character development, acting, and direction are the three top elements that make this movie click. - CHAD EDWARDS

This effectively staged shocker was the directorial debut of veteran character actor Darren McGavin who gained some familiarity with the genre having starred in the brilliant horror teleseries KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER, which he occasionally directed episodes of. McGavin's film is definitely not your typical slasher flick. This chilling little number concentrates more on plot and character instead of piling on old-fashioned buckets of blood and is all the better for it. Walter Lassally's striking photography of the Nova Scotia locations is another one of the film's chief assets. But what separates the film most of all from others of its day is the superb all-star cast. Ron Howard(THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, HAPPY DAYS) plays the desperate teen searching for his parents, Cloris Leachman(THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW) plays his estranged mother, and the great Patricia Neal(HUD, THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES) plays his eccentric aunt. Also featured in the star-studded cast is director McGavin's former KOLCHAK co-star Simon Oakland as a nosy sheriff, and Bobby Darin(CAPTAIN NEWMAN M.D.) as Leachman's live-in lover. Everyone is excellent, but the most memorable performance is given by Neal's daughter, Tessa Dahl, who plays her daughter in the film as well. Those who wish to seek out this sadly overlooked gem should note that it's available on video under a completely different title: RUN, STRANGER, RUN. It's a little hard to find these days, but should you be fortunate enough to come across it, don't miss it!

Three Oscar winners-Patricia Neal, Cloris Leachman and Ron Howard are stuck in this strange mishmash of a movie.

What starts out as a drama about a young man searching for his roots takes an extreme wrong turn about 3/4 of the way through and becomes a slasher flick for no discernible reason. Up until then it's not a bad little film but that severe shift in tone scuttles the movie completely. How did this ever attach a cast like this to such a messy enterprise? Perhaps old trouper Darren McGavin in the director chair was able to convince his actor friends to join the project but it does none of them any favors.

S-L-O-W, poorly scripted 70s junk What a disappointment! Patricia Neal acts like she's Bette Davis in WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? The pace is deadly slow--even for a 70s movie--and the Ron Howard character spends scene after scene just wandering through the town. Staring at a house. Wandering some more. Just awful.

NOTHING happens the first hour. And the Bobby Darin character suddenly is "gone" and the end is too little too late.

Skip it.

Runaway, Video viewer, runaway!