The Pride of Jesse Hallam

I was much moved by The Pride Of Jesse Hallam and with the performance of Johnny Cash as the prtagonist. Having known at least one illiterate person in m life I know what a trap that is to the mind.

Cash who didn't need reading skill to work in the coal mines of Kentucky's Mecklenburg County is a fish out of water when he moves to Cincinnati because his crippled daughter Chrystal Smith needs an operation on her spine. Just about every cent he's earned goes to pay for surgery and he has to find work.

An assistant principal at his son Ben Marley's new school played by Brenda Vaccaro hekps considerably even with getting him a job at her father's produce warehouse. Eli Wallach as the immigrant owner from Italy and Cash the man from the Kentucky hills form quite a friendship. Cash and Wallach have some great scenes together.

Whether you are a Puerto Rican kid raised in a group home whom I knew or a miner from rural Kentucky illiteracy is a terrible affliction. Roy Gomez whom I knew loved comic books and a very sharp woman who worked at an attorney's office was the first one who observed he loved those comics because the pictures told the story for him. I only wish he had lived long enough to remedy the situation as Johnny Cash does in The Pride Of Jesse Hallam.

The last scene is an unforgettable one. This is one really good film and a soundtrack with some Johnny Cash songs don't hurt either.

This movie is on Amazon Prime for those who want to watch it. I only gave it an 8 because of the dated production and poor sound. As far as the storyline, you won't find many in its class. Inspirational and wholesome family movie.

I saw this DVD as a double-feature with "Five Minutes to Live," another B-movie made by Johnny Cash, in the impulse-buy section at Wal-Mart. It was only $1, and I had never heard of either of these movies, but I said, "Why not? It's only $1, and I love Johnny Cash." I brought it home, and immediately put it in the DVD player. From the very beginning, I was so captured by it! Cash did an excellent job at this character, and I even found myself getting teary-eyed during his job-searching scenes. I recommend EVERYONE see this movie! It can really hit close to home, and make you consider what life would be like in his position.

I was 22 when this movie came out. I really enjoyed it. This was the first movie that I really ever saw Johnny Cash act in. He was truly as gifted as an actor as he was a singer. He did a good job portraying people from the area he is supposed to be from. I'm from Kentucky and on a side note, contrary to popular belief, not everybody from Kentucky is illiterate. Also, while there are plenty of coal mines in western Kentucky, there are way more in the Eastern part of the state and probably a lot more illiteracy problems too. Not sure why the writers of the movie chose for Jesse Hallam to be western Kentucky instead of eastern.

Mr Cash has always been a champion for the down trodden who is more disadvantaged in this world than the illiterate. I have seen many movies and this one hits home not for me but for my grandfather he was illiterate but he had a heart of gold no one did more to form my views of right and wrong more than he. When he passed I felt like an orphan ever since even though I have both parents today at 42. He passed in 76 he never learned to read and was dependent on the aid of his wife as the character in this movie was. This movie inspires you to go and help people learn to read I could not imagine a life not able to read it removes most of the con men out our way.Yet so many today know how to read they still follow the pied piper just like the fairy tale makes you wonder because the illiterate would see right through these politicians we have today. I remember my grandfather yelling "you crook" at the television when President Nixon resigned 8-09-1974 I was 6 rarely did he get upset hardly ever did he talk negative of another.