Happy Mother's Day, Love George

At first I only wanted to watch "Happy Mother's Day, Love George" because it was in my personal top three of 70s movies with the coolest sounding titles (alongside "Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things" and "Whoever Slew Aunte Roo?"), but as soon as I got a good look at the names involved in the cast & crew I got even more intrigued by this curious mixture between mystery, melodrama and raw horror! The film was directed (and produced) by none other than Darren McGavin; the one and only lead star of the cult series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and several other TV hits. This was the only long-feature film that Carl Kolchak directed, which is a bit of a shame since he doesn't do such a bad job at all. The script was penned down by Robert Clouse, who made a few legendary Kung-Fu classics starring Bruce Lee ("Enter the Dragon", "Game of Death") but also a handful of severely underrated horror and thriller flicks like "The Pack", "The Ultimate Warrior" and "Deadly Eyes". The cast is possibly even more dazzling, with the pairing of movie queens Cloris Leachman and Patricia Neal, but also Simon Oakland, writer Roald Dahl's daughter Tessa, pop-singer Bobby Darin (in one of his last appearances before his untimely death) and a still very young Ron Howard (decades before he became one of Hollywood's most acclaimed directors himself). So, in case you're even just remotely interested in versatile ensemble casts, this film is worth tracking down! But there's more, as "Happy Mother's Day, Love George" is also a compelling and pleasantly deranged '70s shocker. Admittedly the first full hour is slow-paced and rather uneventful, but I guarantee that your patience will be rewarded with a virulent – albeit easy to predict – finale. Ron Howard plays the timid young stranger Johnny Hanson who arrives at a small fisherman's town in search of his long lost parents. From the very first moment he sets foot into Ronda Carlson's diner restaurant, she knows that Johnny is her son but she keeps her mouth shut. For you see, Johnny's conception led to a giant family feud, as the father was the husband of Ronda's sister Cara and he – George – died shortly after in mysterious circumstances. Whilst wandering around town, Johnny also meets Cara's daughter Celia and she promptly gets a crush on him, not knowing he's her half-brother. Meanwhile, the little town is also plagued by several mysterious disappearances of male inhabitants. Is there a connection? Well, sure there is! As far as I was concerned, the totally bonkers finale more than enough compensated for the slow and dullish start. Besides, the slow start gives you the opportunity to enjoy the acting performances. It's too bad that Bobby Darin's role is small and insignificant, because a more outrageous role so close before his death would have made him even more immortal. The denouement (as in: the revelation of the killer's identity) is fairly obvious and not at all surprising, but don't let this ruin the fun.

Darren McGavin enjoyed a lengthy career as one of Hollywood's most likable and dependable performers, best remembered as intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak in the film and TV series of THE NIGHT STALKER. It may be a surprise to learn that he, like Larry Hagman, directed a single horror film in his heyday, and never did a second (in Hagman's case it was "Son of Blob"). 1973's "Happy Mother's Day, Love George" was of course a torturous title, soon reissued as "Run Stranger Run," under which it was seen far more often. McGavin proves to have a fine visual sense, and allows his powerhouse cast to bring their characters to vivid life, from a script by Robert Clouse, who had previously written McGavin's 1972 Steven Spielberg telefeature "Something Evil," soon to graduate to director himself with Bruce Lee's final film "Enter the Dragon." Fifth billed Ron Howard, after "American Graffiti" but before HAPPY DAYS (his name now shortened from 'Ronny'), actually stars as drifter Johnny Hanson, journeying from Los Angeles to the New England town of Malone Bay (location filming in Nova Scotia in October 1972) to discover the truth about his parents, who gave him up for adoption right after he was born. Cloris Leachman's café owner, Ronda Carlson, recognizes the young man as her son the moment he walks in, driving her cook, Eddie Malone (Bobby Darin), into fits of jealousy. From there, Johnny locates the home of Ronda's estranged sister, Cara Perry (Patricia Neal), and especially Cara's nubile teenage daughter Celia (played by Neal's real life daughter Tessa Dahl), who admits to her cousin her instant attraction and unbearable loneliness. The film moves at a leisurely pace, McGavin happy to indulge his cast in maintaining intrigue despite the more familiar elements. As things escalate into full on horror during the final half hour, only the final encounter between Johnny and the killer rings false, the director seemingly losing interest in a clear denouement. Still, the atmosphere, the banjo-led folksy music score, and the believable performances make up for any shortcomings in the script. Simon Oakland, soon to join McGavin in the KOLCHAK series, makes his final screen appearance as the sheriff, who seems to know everything about everyone, even the identity of Johnny's father, while Bobby Darin would pass away only months after the picture's sparse release. The director's comely wife, Kathie Browne, shows up briefly to become a murder victim, while Gale Garnett, nearly 10 years after her big hit "We'll Sing in the Sunshine," also comes to a bad end by pushing the desperate culprit into a corner (she had another horror film still ahead, 1980's "The Children"). The greatest impression is left by the lovely Tessa Dahl, only 16 at the time, making it a shame that she forsook her mother's profession of acting to follow that of her father, author Roald Dahl (her daughter is gorgeous model Sophie Dahl). After 30 years of performing in Hollywood, Darren McGavin had what it took to be a director of great promise, but like so many before him left audiences wondering what kind of impact he might have had behind the camera had this initial film found proper distribution, admittedly a tough film to market. Lastly, he does make an uncredited appearance on screen, unrecognizable wearing a mustache in photographs depicting the title character of George Perry, Cara's long dead husband.

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!

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."