''On the Right Track'' is a 1981 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film with the feature film debut of

Gary Coleman Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. He was rated first on a list of VH1's "100 Greatest Kid S ...

.Blowen, Michael (21 April 1981)
Review - Movie - Right Track, Wrong Direction - On the Right Track
''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' ("On the Right Track marks Coleman's feature film debut He plays Lester, a 10-year-old orphan who lives in luggage lockers in Chicago's Union Station") It was directed by

Lee Philips Lee Philips (born Leon Friedman; January 10, 1927 – March 3, 1999) was an American actor, film director and television director. Life and career Philips was born in New York. His acting career started on Broadway, and peaked with a starring ...

, produced by Ronald Jacobs, and released to theaters by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in Spring 1981.

Production

After his first introduction of the NBC sitcom ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...

'' in November 1978, Gary Coleman quickly gained popularity. Zephyr Productions was created to promote Coleman's star potential, and the year's ''On the Right Track'' was the first film developed from that initiative.Parish, James Robert
The Hollywood Book of Extravagance
(2007) ()(27 November 198
Blacks on TV
''

Jet (magazine) ''Jet'' is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Founded in November 1951 by John H. Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, the magazi ...

'', p.54 It was filmed in 1980, primarily in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.Coleman Family & Davidson, Bill
Gary Coleman: Medical Miracle
(1982) () ("It was Saturday, June 28, near the end of filming ''On the Right Track'', Coleman's first big-screen film for the 20th Century Fox distribution. It was about a young orphan, a horse-race-betting genius, who lives in a baggage locker in...") ''New York Loves Lester'' was an early working title for the project, when the film was going to be set in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, but moved to Chicago.Ebony Interview: Gary Coleman
''

Ebony (magazine) ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...

'' (June 1980), p.33, Retrieved December 9, 2010(7 February 1980)
Gary Coleman to do Two Feature Movies
''

'', p.61 (retrieved December 9, 2010) The subsequent working title was ''A Guy Could Get Killed Out There''.(31 July 1980)
Making a Film
''

'', p.41 (retrieved December 9, 2010)Film Bulletin
(1980), p. 10, 18 ("A Guy Could Get Killed Out There (Gary Coleman): Formerly titled "New York Loves Lester." Zephyr Productions presentation")

Plot

A young, homeless shoeshine black boy named Lester is living in a locker at Union Station, Chicago. Already a beloved figure among the staff at the station who look after him, and avoiding attempts to move him to an orphanage, he finds great popularity after it is revealed that he has an amazing talent for picking winning horses at the racetrack.(11 July 1981)
At the movies
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' ("Gary Coleman makes his movie debut as a high spirited orphan in "On the Right Track." 20th Century-Fox")Movie Review: On the Right Track
''Cineman Syndicate'' (January 1984)

Cast

as Lester *

Maureen Stapleton Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...

as Mary the Bag Lady *

Norman Fell Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off, ''The Ropers'', and his fi ...

as the Mayor *

Michael Lembeck Michael Lembeck (born June 25, 1948) is an American actor and television and film director. Best known as Max Horvath in '' One Day at a Time'' (1979-1984). Life and career Lembeck was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Caroline Dubs and ...

as Frank Biscardi *

Lisa Eilbacher Lisa Marie Eilbacher (born May 5, 1956) is a retired American actress. Early life Lisa Marie Eilbacher was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the daughter of an American oil company executive. She was raised in France. Her two siblings are also act ...

as Jill Klein *

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most V ...

as Robert *

Herb Edelman Herbert Edelman (November 5, 1933 – July 21, 1996) was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best-known roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of ...

as Sam * Nathan Davis as Mario *

Fern Persons Fern Gwendolyn Persons (née Ball; July 27, 1910 – July 22, 2012) was an American film and television actress and a member of the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists from 1937 until her death. Her fil ...

as Flower Lady *

Mike Genovese Mike Genovese (born Peter Michael Genovese on April 26, 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American actor. Career Genovese was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri to an Italian American family. Genovese earned a master's degree in drama at ...

as Louis *

Harry Gorsuch Harry Gorsuch is a stage and film actor who appeared in films from the late 1970s through to the mid-1980s. Film Two films that he appeared in he played policemen. One was as Sgt. Murphy in '' Stingray'' with Christopher Mitchum and the other ...

as Harry *

Page Hannah Patricia Alberta "Page" Adler (née Hannah) is an American philanthropist and former actress. Life and career Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois. She is married to producer Lou Adler, and the couple have four sons. She is the younger siste ...

as Sally *

Jami Gertz Jami Beth Gertz (born October 28, 1965) is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films ''Crossroads'', ''The Lost Boys'', '' Less than Zero'' and '' Quicksilver'', the 1980s TV series ''Square Pegs'' and 1996's ''Twister ...

as Big Girl *

Chelcie Ross Chelcie Claude RossAccording to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records ...

as Customer

Reception

Though it received a number of reviews concluding that it was overly sappy or simply capitalizing on Coleman's TV following,Labonte, Richard (11 July 1981)
Young TV Favorite Stars in Real Movie
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'' Maslin, Janet (18 July 1981)
'Track', Vehicle for Middle-Aged Child Star
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' ("''On the Right Track'' is a vehicle for Mr. Coleman that depends entirely on the premise that he is lovable. Only his most ardent television fans are likely to accept this.")Freedman, Richard (9 October 1981)
'On the Right Track' derailed by thin plot that goes nowhere
''Times-News'' (Idaho)(Newhouse News Service copy)

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

of the ''

'',

Siskel, Gene Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

(13 July 1981)
'On the Right Track' is just that--a truly charming Chicago movie
''

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'',

Ebert, Roger Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

On the Right Track
''

'' (1981 review) and Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''Thomas, Kevin (28 August 1981)
"On the Right Track", is Generally
''

'' gave it somewhat more positive reviews. Gary Coleman earned a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

nomination for Worst Actor for his performance in the film, but lost to

Klinton Spilsbury Glenn Klinton Spilsbury (born March 4, 1950) is an American former actor. His sole major acting credit is the film ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'' (1981), in which he played the title role. Biography Spilsbury, descended from Latter-Day Sain ...

for ''

The Legend of the Lone Ranger ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'' is a 1981 American Western film that was directed by William A. Fraker and stars Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd. It is based on the story of The Lone Ranger, a Western character created ...

''. The film was released on VHS in the 1980s, but it has never seen an official release on DVD. The movie has not received much attention in latter years, though a short article in ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' in 2004 compared the film to the then newly released

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

film ''

The Terminal ''The Terminal'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. The film is about an Eastern European man who is stuck in New York's John F. Kennedy ...

'', where Hanks' character lives for months in an airport terminal.Katz, Paul (25 June 2004)
Planes, Trains, And...
''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:On The Right Track 1981 films 1981 romantic comedy films 20th Century Fox films Films shot in Chicago Films set in Chicago Films directed by Lee Philips Films scored by Arthur B. Rubinstein Films about homelessness Films about orphans 1980s English-language films