''The Farmer'' is a 1977 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by David Berlatsky and starring Lewell Akins,

Gary Conway Gary Conway (born February 4, 1936) is an American actor and screenwriter. His notable credits include a co-starring role with Gene Barry in the detective series '' Burke's Law'' from 1963 to 1965. In addition, he starred in the Irwin Allen sci ...

Michael Dante Michael Dante (born Ralph Vitti; September 2, 1931) is an American actor and former professional minor league baseball player. Early life Dante was born Ralph Vitti in Stamford, Connecticut. Growing up, he would sneak into a local movie theater ...

, Dave Graig,

Stratton Leopold Stratton Leopold (born 1943)"100 Years of Delicious Memories"
- ''South Mag'' ...

, Ray McIver, and

George Memmoli George Memmoli (August 3, 1938 – May 20, 1985) was a founding member of the Improvisational comedy, improv troupe Ace Trucking Company and an actor. He was known for his corpulent presence in his roles, weighing as much as 450 pounds. He ...

. The film was released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

on March 9, 1977. The revenge thriller is probably best remembered for its lack of a home media release, as the film never had a release on VHS, Beta, Laserdisc, DVD, or any other release outside of theaters for years until a limited edition Blu-Ray was released by ''Scorpion Releasing'' in early 2022.

Plot

Decorated

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran Kyle Martin returns homes with a

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

to start a farm, but realizes running a one-man farm isn't profitable, and the bank needs to foreclose, despite his being a veteran. At that point a gambler named Johnny has an auto crash close to the farm, in which Kyle spares his life. Johnny offers him $1,500, which actually isn't sufficient to spare the homestead. At this time, Johnny past-posts mobster Passini on a horse race for $50,000. This angers Passini who along with his three colleagues, murders Johnny's bodyguard, and blinds Johnny's eyes with corrosive acid to "make a example out of him". Johnny asks his mistress Betty to hire Kyle so he can kill to Passini and his men individually for $50,000, which he needs to save his farm. Kyle is initially reluctant to do so. However, one of Passini's men by the name of Weasel rapes Betty at Kyle's farm. Weasel then kills the farmhand Gumshoe while trying to save Betty, then burns down the farm. After arriving in time to save Betty from the burning farm and surveying through the burnt wreckage the next day, Kyle finally accepts Johnny's offer which sets the path for revenge.

Cast

*Lewell Akins as Conductor *

as Kyle Martin *

as Johnny O. *Dave Graig as 2nd Soldier *

Stratton Leopold Stratton Leopold (born 1943)"100 Years of Delicious Memories"
- ''South Mag'' ...

as Laundry Sam *Ray McIver as Train Bartender *

as Passini *Bill Moses as Bank Representative *Judge Parker as Banjo Player *Don Payne as Mr. Moore *Louis C. Pessolano as Bartender *Johnny Popwell as Conners *

Ken Renard Ken Renard (1905-1993) was an actor in the United States. He had roles in '' Strange Fruit'' on stage in 1945, the film ''True Grit'' (1969) and the television series ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' (1950–1957). He was born on November 19, 1905 i ...

as Gumshoe * Timothy Scott as Weasel *

Sonny Shroyer Otis Burt "Sonny" Shroyer Jr. (born August 28, 1935) is an American actor and singer who has appeared in various television and movie roles. He is known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate in the television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. ...

as Corrigan *Wayne Stewart as Sergeant *Roy Tatum as Soldier *

Angel Tompkins Angel Tompkins is an American actress. She appeared in several films and television shows, and is a Golden Globe nominee. Career Angel Tompkins was a model in the Chicago area before being discovered by Woody Allen, who sent her to Universal Pic ...

as Betty *Jack Waltzer as Doc Valentine *Eric Weston as Lopie *Laura Whyte as Waitress

Release

Theatrical release

The film was theatrically released on March 9, 1977, by

DVD

In 2006, Code Red announced a release of the film 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 ...

, posting 10 screenshots on their blog, but this never happened.

Blue Ray

Distributor ''Scorpion Releasing'' released the film on

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...

in February 2022.

References

External links

* 1977 films 1977 action films 1977 directorial debut films 1970s crime action films 1970s English-language films American crime action films Columbia Pictures films American rape and revenge films Films scored by Hugo Montenegro Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films set in the 1940s Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state) Rediscovered American films 1970s rediscovered films 1970s American films {{1970s-action-film-stub