''Cry for the Strangers'' is a 1982 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

based on the book of the same name by

John Saul John Saul (born February 25, 1942) is an American author of suspense and horror novels. Most of his books have appeared on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller List. . Biography Born in Pasadena, Saul grew up in Whittier, California, and grad ...

. It was directed by

Peter Medak Peter Medak (born Medák Péter, 23 December 1937) is a Hungarian-born film director and television director of British and American productions. Early life Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamoun ...

and stars

Patrick Duffy Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American actor and director widely known for his role on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas'', where he played Bobby Ewing, the youngest son of Miss Ellie, and the nicest brother of J.R. Ewing (pla ...

. It was originally broadcast on CBS on December 11, 1982.

Plot

In 1937, a young boy wakes up in the middle of the night and sees apparitions of Native Americans dancing on the beach before discovering his grandparents' bodies buried up to their heads in sand. He later grows up to become the head of the police. The townspeople call him Chief Whalen. Flash forward to 1982. Dr. Brad Russell (

), a Seattle psychiatrist, and his wife Elaine (

Cindy Pickett Cindy Pickett is an American actress. She is known for her 1970s role as Jackie Marler-Spaulding on the CBS soap ''Guiding Light'' and Dr. Carol Novino on the television drama '' St. Elsewhere'' in the 1980s. Pickett, however, is best known to au ...

) move to a fishing town on the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

. There, they learn of a local legend that thunderstorms in the area are accompanied by apparitions of Native-Americans dancing on the beach. A local fisherman, Riley (

Jeff Corey Jeff Corey (born Arthur Zwerling; August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s. Life and career Corey attended New Utrecht High ...

), believes they are ghosts of the "storm dancers," a tribal sect that once performed executions by burying victims up to their necks in beach sand so that when the tide came in, they drowned. Riley believes these visions are connected to a series of mysterious deaths occurring in the community. Chief Whalen (

Brian Keith Brian Keith (born Robert Alba Keith, November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family film '' The Parent T ...

) scoffs at the stories. As far as he's concerned, legends don't kill people. People kill people. By coincidence, Robby Palmer (Shawn Carson), a hyperactive child Dr. Russell treated years before, is now normal and living with his family in the same town. One night during a thunderstorm, Robby goes into a trance on the beach. Nearby, his mother Rebecca (

Claire Malis Claire Malis (February 17, 1943 – August 24, 2012) was an American actress. In later years she was often credited as Claire Malis Callaway. Malis was perhaps best known as the second actress to play Dr. Dorian Lord on the ABC daytime soa ...

) has fallen into a pit and is screaming for Robby to help her. Robby doesn't move a muscle. She is finally rescued when her husband (

Lawrence Pressman Lawrence Pressman (born David M. Pressman; July 10, 1939) is an American actor, probably best known for roles on ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Ladies' Man'', a recurring role on '' Profiler'', the title character on ''Mulligan's Stew'' and as a f ...

) appears. Yet later, when queried about the incident, Robby claims he can't recall a thing. The next night, Robby sneaks out to the beach, and his sister Missy ( Robin Ignico) follows him. While searching for them, Dr. Russell and others find Riley's corpse. Not only that, they spot Chief Whalen covered in fake war paint, trying to kill Missy. He is shot dead by his own deputy. Dr. Russell theorizes the storms triggered Whalen's traumatic childhood memories, leading him to re-enact their deaths by killing others. Elaine wonders who killed Whalen's grandparents in the first place. Dissolve to a night shot of Robby, observing the apparitions dancing to another storm.

Cast

as Dr. Brad Russell *

as Elaine Russell *

as Glen Palmer *

as Chief Whalen *

as Rebecca Palmer * Robin Ignico as Missy Palmer * Shawn Carson as Robby Palmer *

as Riley * Taylor Lacher as Connor *

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

as Doc Phelps * Anita Dangler as Miriam Shelling *

Martin Kove Martin Kove () (born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of ''The Karate Kid'' (1984). He reprised the role in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), ''The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989), and the ...

as Jeff * J.V. Bradley as Merle * Josef James as Young Whalen * Jerry-Mac Johnston as Max Horton

References

External links

*
Cry for the Strangers at Internet Archive
1982 television films 1982 films 1982 horror films 1980s horror thriller films 1980s mystery films 1982 thriller films 1980s English-language films American horror thriller films American mystery films CBS network films Films based on American novels Films directed by Peter Medak Films set in 1937 Films set in 1982 Films shot in Oregon Films shot in Washington (state) American thriller television films American horror television films 1980s American films {{US-tv-horror-film-stub