''Thunder Alley'' is a 1985 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by J. S. Cardone and starring

Leif Garrett Leif Garrett (born Leif Per Nervik; November 8, 1961) is an American singer, actor, and television personality. He worked as a child actor, then in the 1970s became famous as a teen idol in music. He later received much publicity for his drug ...

, Roger Wilson,

Jill Schoelen Jill Marie Schoelen (born March 21, 1963) is an American former actress. She is best known for ''Chiller'' (1985), '' The Stepfather'' (1987), '' Cutting Class'' (1989), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (1989), '' Popcorn'' (1991), '' Rich Girl'' (1 ...

, Scott McGinnis, Cindy Eilbacher and

Clancy Brown Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...

. The film was released on August 1, 1985, by The Cannon Group, Inc.

Plot

Arizona youth Richie, lives on his dad's farm helping him with his cotton crops. When in town running an errand for his father, he runs into Lorraine the girlfriend of his long time best friend Donnie. She tells him that Donnie's band is currently auditioning to play at a club in town. Richie goes to the club to hear them as they just brought in a new guitar player as Richie is a guitar player as well. The club owner gives them two nights the following week. Donnie tells Richie that he should be playing for them. Richie and Donnie go out that night to THE club in town, The Palace, to check out the band playing there "Surgical Steel", an actual

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

metal band featuring future Racer X singer Jeff Martin and

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...

bassist

Greg Chaisson Greg Chaisson (born August 9, 1958 in Toronto, Canada) is a bass guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer who has played in various bands, most notably Badlands, which featured former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee, vocalist Ray Gillen, an ...

. Unbeknownst to Richie, Lorraine has set him up to meet her fellow worker, Beth. Richie and she enjoy spending the rest of the evening together until her father, very much intoxicated, yells at both of them as they are saying goodnight. Richie goes to see the band perform that next week. When the crowd gets restless waiting for them to come on stage, Richie goes backstage to find out the new guitar player is passed out in the bathroom. Despite objection from the band's lead singer Skip, Richie agrees to sit in with the band as the owner of The Palace, known as the Fatman, had agreed to see the show for future consideration to play at his club. The Fatman agrees to send them on a short tour of out of town clubs to see how audiences react with a man named Weasel managing them. The tour goes well, and the band gets to start performing at the Palace. Richie and Beth grow closer while Donnie begins to alienate Richie, Lorraine and the rest of the band by doing drugs causing him to be late for performances and playing off key. Richie finally confronts him about the situation. Donnie promises Richie it will never happen only for Richie to be awakened later that night by his mother telling him that Donnie has died from an overdose. Richie quickly discovers it was ultimately the Fatman who supplied Donnie with the drugs that led to his overdose prompting him to confront the Fatman and smash his car up with a hammer. Richie then completely loses his desire to play in the band. He remains isolated at his home. With an important concert approaching in which record promoters and producers are attending, he remains adamant about not playing even after hearing convincing pleas from Beth and Weasel. Butch and Wolf, the bass player and drummer for the band, show up to the concert and begin playing in hopes that Richie had a change of heart. When all hope seems lost, a guitar is heard playing. To everyone's happiness, Richie had changed his mind after all. They play a song dedicated to Donnie to the crowd's rousing cheers and applause and Skip rejoins Richie and the band onstage for one final song.

Cast

* Roger Wilson as Richie *

as Beth * Scott McGinnis as Donnie * Cindy Eilbacher as Lorraine *

as "Weasel" *

as Skip * Phil Brock as Butch * Brian Cole as Wolf *

Bert Kramer Bert Kramer (October 10, 1934 – June 20, 2001) was an American actor, who was born in San Diego. He appeared in many different television shows including ''Kojak'', ''The Bionic Woman'', ''The Rockford Files'', ''Dallas'', ''Dynasty'', ''Fu ...

as Richie's Father * Elizabeth Huddle as Richie's Mother * John A. Dragon as Brad * Randy Polk as "Fatman" * Carol Kottenbrook as Candy *

Melanie Kinnaman Melanie Kinnaman (born December 18, 1953) is an American dancer, film and stage actress. She is best known for her role as Pam in the 1985 horror film '' Friday the 13th: A New Beginning''. She later co-starred with Eric Roberts in ''Best of the ...

as Star * Robert Curtin as Beth's Father * Henry Kendrick as Jake * Frederick Flynn as "Ace" * Richard Rubio as Joey * Jeff Martin as Jeff * Wink Sargent as Preppy * Cheryl Waters as Cowgirl

References

External links

* {{J. S. Cardone 1985 films American drama films 1985 drama films Films directed by J. S. Cardone Films scored by Robert Folk 1980s English-language films 1980s American films