''All the Kind Strangers'', also known as ''Evil in the Swamp'', is a 1974 American television film directed by

Burt Kennedy Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever." Biography Kennedy was born in 1922 i ...

. It originally aired as an ''

ABC Movie of the Week ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

'' on November 12, 1974.

Plot summary

Children of a bootlegger in an extremely remote area of the U.S. have been

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed when their mother died giving birth to the seventh of them at home and the distraught father fell off the roof of the house in a drunken stupor (information disseminated in the body of the film). The oldest child, desperate to keep the remainder of his family together, has managed to keep the fate of his parents secret from the surrounding community due to the nearly inaccessible locale, resources available to keep the farm running smoothly and well trained, vicious watchdogs. However, the minors feel need for guidance and are looking for replacement guardians going about it by sending the smaller, irresistibly cute moppets on errands requiring them to travel along local roads. The youngsters cajole people considerate enough to pick them up into taking them home. Guests are then maneuvered into staying so they can be put through an evaluation process at the end of which the children decide whether or not the candidates fit their idea of good parents. Those who do not cut muster are free to go, so says the oldest sibling and his word has never been doubted amongst the rest of the family. The new candidates for parenthood put up determined resistance and begin to exasperate the quietly tyrannical older child; but affection for the new couple and maturation are making the other children wonder about their method of choosing parental guidance and just where "all the kind strangers" are going when they leave.

Cast

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fictiona ...

as Jimmy Wheeler *

Samantha Eggar Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (born 5 March 1939) is a retired British-American actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller ''The Collect ...

as Carol Ann * John Savage as Peter *

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the sports films '' One on One'' (1977) and ''Ice Castles'' (1978). He subsequently ...

as John * Arlene Farber as Martha * Tim Parkison as Gilbert *

Patti Parkison Patti may refer to: People * Patti (name) * Patti caste, a group of people Places * Patti, Iran (disambiguation) * Patti, Punjab, India * Patti, Punjab Assembly constituency, India * Patti, Sicily * Patti, Uttar Pradesh, India * Patti, Uttar Prad ...

as Rita *

Brent Campbell Brent may refer to: * Brent (name), an English given and surname Place name ;In the United States * Brent, Alabama *Brent, Florida * Brent, Georgia * Brent, Missouri, a ghost town *Brent, Oklahoma ;In the United Kingdom * Brent, Cornwall *Br ...

as James *John Connell as Baby

Soundtrack

- "All The Kind Strangers" (Music and lyrics by

Regis Mull Regis or Régis may refer to: People * Regis (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (musician), full name Karl O'Connor, an English ...

) * Regis Mull - "What Are You Living For" (Music and lyrics by Regis Mull)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:All The Kind Strangers 1974 television films 1974 films 1970s thriller films ABC Movie of the Week Films about orphans Films directed by Burt Kennedy Films shot in Tennessee American thriller television films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films

Plot summary

Cast

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links