80 Steps to Jonah

This movie really DID exist. For the longest time, I thought this movie was synthesized from my collective unconscious. I remember seeing this movie on some impossibly late program about 25 years ago and being genuinely moved by it. Unashamedly sentimental, yet not too saccharine treatment of a man on the lam who finds refuge at a summer camp for blind children. A surprisingly well-casted movie with a decent soundtrack that would definitely appeal to the "Grab-a-hanky" set. Not a movie I would go out of my way to see - except for the purpose of reminiscing about the first (and only) time I saw it - but, I would definitely watch it if it appeared on my television while channel-surfing.

I remember this as a dog of a movie that played on a late-evening flight from O'Hare to San Francisco in January, 1969. Wayne Newton was awful. I saw that he was in a car accident and that he ran away from the police, for some reason. After a bit, I went to sleep, only waking up when Mickey Rooney wandered through to save Newton and a happy ending.

This afternoon, something itched in my brain, so I went looking on IMDB for a Mickey Rooney movie. This is it. I almost never walk out of movies, I would have walked out of this if the exit had not been about 30,000 feet up.

I saw this on Cable years and years ago, and I think of it so often. It's like losing a good friend by moving away. I hate that I can't play it any time I want. I think I will write to the cable companies and find out how to request that it play. Every other movie plays over and over. This one should too. I take offense to the writer who said this was a bad Elvis-type movie. Wayne Newton was young then, and probably hadn't even been compared to Elvis at that time. This is a cute little family movie that makes you feel like there may be a little good in the world after all. Nowadays, you don't get too much of that. I sure hope I am able to get a copy of this movie. I would love to sit and watch it with my Grandson. Thank you for your time.

About twice a year they'd pack us into the gym on folding chairs and show us a movie. The only one that stuck in my mind was "80 Steps to Jonah." Every kid loved it, and universally declared it to be the best movie we'd ever seen.

Was it really that good? Who knows? I've not seen it since then. But if you're looking for something to watch with kids in the middle-school age range, this one's a good bet.

I watched this movie when I was so young that I can hardly remember what it is called. I went to my local video stores and they all had books and said that if it was not in their books it was not a movie. All the books you could look up the actors name. It said nothing about this movie when I looked under Wayne Newton. I just have to say I think a lot of people are missing out by not seeing this movie. I was very compelled when I saw it as a young boy and now hope to be compelled again. I just want to thank the people at IMDB.com for being so extensive in their movie selection.