''Runaway Daughters'' is a 1994

television film 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 ...

directed by

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

that originally aired on the cable television network

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

as part of the anthology series ''

Rebel Highway ''Rebel Highway'' was a short-lived revival of American International Pictures created and produced by Lou Arkoff, the son of Samuel Z. Arkoff, and Debra Hill for the Showtime network in 1994. The concept was a 10-week series of 1950s "drive-in c ...

''. It is a loose remake of '' Runaway Daughters'', an

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

production from 1956, the year in which both the original and the remake are set. Much of the cast of Dante's ''

The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner. It was the inspiration for the movie ''The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the movie was only vaguely similar to that of the book. Brandner published two sequels to the novel, '' T ...

'' is reunited on this film, including Christopher Stone,

Dee Wallace Deanna Wallace (née Bowers; born December 14, 1948), also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mary Taylor, the mother in the 1982 blockbuster film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. She is ...

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in ''Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on ''The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' Star ...

Dick Miller Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corm ...

, and

Belinda Balaski Belinda Balaski (born December 8, 1947 in Inglewood, California) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her large supporting role as Terri Fisher in Joe Dante's ''The Howling'' (1981), and has continued to appear in most of Dan ...

Plot

The title characters are Angie Gordon, Mary Nicholson, and Laura Cahn. Their

picaresque The picaresque novel (Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for " rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrup ...

adventure begins in 1956 when Mary has a pregnancy scare after letting Bob Randolph go too far with her. Mr. Russoff, named for Lou Rusoff who wrote the screenplay of the original version, is a

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

from the wrong side of the tracks, and he seeks to cover his tracks by enlisting in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Angie and Laura accompany Mary in a flight from the suburbs as she decides what to do about her pregnancy. Along the way, they meet bully cops and

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...

survivalists with rifles.

Cast

Julie Bowen Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Primetim ...

as Angie Gordon * Holly Fields as Mary Nicholson *

Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child a ...

as Laura Cahn *

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...

as Jimmy Rusoff * Chris Young as Bob Randolph *

as Roy Farrell

Production

The Gordons are played by the Stones, the Nicholsons by Balaski and ''

Innerspace ''Innerspace'' is a 1987 American science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. It was inspired by the 1966 science fiction film ''Fantastic Voyage''. It sta ...

Joe Flaherty Joseph Flaherty (born June 21, 1941) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy '' SCTV'' from 1976 to 1984 (on which he also served as a writer), and as Harold Weir on ''Freaks and G ...

, and the Cahns played by Picardo and

Wendy Schaal Wendy Schaal (born July 2, 1954) is an American actress known for her work in Joe Dante films such as '' Innerspace'', ''The 'Burbs'', and '' Small Soldiers''. Her other film credits include starring in films such as ''Where the Boys Are '84'', ...

, also both late of ''Innerspace''. Dick Miller plays Roy Farrell, a private detective hired to find the girls. Also in small roles are Dante regular Mark McCraken and the producer of the original version, Samuel Z. Arkoff.

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

, along with his wife, Julie Corman, play the parents of the boyfriend of one of the title characters. The script was written by

Charles S. Haas Charles Stephen Haas (born October 22, 1952), also known as Charles Haas or Charlie Haas, is an American screenwriter, actor, and novelist. Biography Haas was born in Brooklyn, the son of Eunice ( née Dillon) and Philip Haas, who was an atto ...

and in many ways is a companion piece to his previous collaboration with Dante, '' Matinee''. Fabian Forte, who was under contract to AIP in the sixties, has a small role.

Release

The film originally aired on Showtime on August 12, 1994.

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in March 2005.

References

External links

* {{Joe Dante 1994 television films 1994 films 1990s English-language films 1990s comedy road movies American comedy road movies Remakes of American films American television films Films directed by Joe Dante Films scored by Hummie Mann Films set in 1956 Films set in San Diego Films produced by Debra Hill Rebel Highway 1990s American films