''The Billion Dollar Hobo'' is a 1977 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

starring

Tim Conway Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. From 1966 to 2012 he appeared in more than 100 TV shows, TV series and films. Among his more notable roles, he portrayed the ...

and

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In Ca ...

(in his last role).

Plot

Conway is Vernon Praiseworthy, only heir to his uncle's fortune, who faced poverty and misfortune during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

but managed to build up his riches despite these hardships. To become eligible for the inheritance, Vernon must suffer as his uncle did by becoming a migrant

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works. E ...

for a time. Soon after, Vernon and the dog sent to protect him are caught up in a dognapping scheme.

Cast

as Vernon Praiseworthy *

as Choo Choo Trayne * Eric Weston as Steve *

Sydney Lassick Sydney Lassick (July 23, 1922 – April 12, 2003) was an American character actor perhaps best known for his role as Charlie Cheswick in the feature film '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest''. Lassick's first name was sometimes spelled ''Sidney' ...

as Mitchell *

John Myhers John Benjamin Myhers (December 18, 1921 – May 27, 1992) was an American stage and screen actor. His film roles included playing Mr. Bratt in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (1967 ...

as Leonard Cox *

Frank Sivero Frank Sivero (born Francesco Lo Giudice; January 6, 1952) is an Italian-American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the roles of Genco Abbandando in Francis Ford Coppola's ''The Godfather Part II,'' and Frankie Carbone (based on Angelo S ...

as Ernie *

Sharon Clark Sharon Clark (born October 15, 1943, in Seminole, Oklahoma) is an American model and actress. She was ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month for August 1970. Her centerfold was photographed by William Figge and Ed DeLong. Career In 1971, at age 27, ...

as Jen *

Victoria Carroll Victoria Carroll (or Victoria Carrol-Bell; born Mary Carol Lee Ford on January 21, 1941) is an American actress and artist. Best known as Marie Massey in '' Alice'' (1978-1984). Early life Born Mary Carol Lee Ford on January 21, 1941 in Los Angel ...

as Barbara Henderson *

Sheela Tessler Sheela Ravichandran (Born 22 March 1945) is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as he ...

as Rita *

Mickey Morton Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

as Kotch *

Roger Barkley Roger Barkley (September 11, 1936, Odebolt, Iowa, USA – December 21, 1997, Duarte, California) was an American radio personality, based in Los Angeles, California, best remembered for his work with Al Lohman as part of ''The Lohman and Barkley Sh ...

as Guard#2 *

Al Lohman Al Lohman (January 15, 1933, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa – October 14, 2002, Rancho Mirage, California) was a personality and comedian with a long career in American radio from the 1950s through the 1980s and into the 1990s. Among his early career sto ...

as Guard#1 (as Al Loehman) *

Kaye Elhardt Kaye Elhardt (August 28, 1935 – September 1, 2004) was an American actress with dozens of television appearances in a career spanning from 1956 to 1977. She was perhaps best known for her comedic role as Josephine St. Cloud opposite James Garn ...

as Miss Evans * London the Wonder Dog as Bo

Production notes

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

sang the song in the film entitled "Half Sung Song". * London the Wonder Dog would later star in the TV series ''

The Littlest Hobo ''The Littlest Hobo'' is a Canadian television series (French title: ''Le Vagabond'') based upon a 1958 well-known film of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived for ...

''.

External links

* * * * 1977 comedy films 1977 films American comedy films Fictional hoboes 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{1970s-comedy-film-stub