''Outlaw Blues'' is a 1977 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- ...

directed by Richard T. Heffron and starring

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

and Susan Saint James. Written by Bill L. Norton, the film is about an ex-convict and songwriter trying to break into the music business in Austin, Texas. The soundtrack of the film includes a title song written by

John Oates John William Oates (born April 7, 1948) is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates, with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, acting as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record produ ...

and three songs by

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

, with some of the songs sung by Peter Fonda.Classic Movies: Outlaw Blues (1977)
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Plot

Nearing release, convict Bobby Ogden (Peter Fonda) is trying to get his life straight and his career going as a country and western singer. Bobby shows off some of his tunes to Nashville star Garland Dupree (James Callahan). However, Dupree uses one of his songs "Outlaw Blues" for himself with no credit to Bobby. Bobby confronts Dupree and when Dupree pulls a gun on him, he accidentally shoots himself in the ensuing struggle. Of course, Dupree tells everyone that Bobby shot him. Now Bobby's on the run, with only Dupree's recently fired back up singer Tina Waters (Susan Saint James) believing him. The pair flee together, as Bobby becomes an underground hero who is accepted as the man who actually wrote the hit, while being put on the law enforcement's most wanted list.

Cast

as Bobby Ogden * Susan Saint James as Tina Waters * John Crawford as Chief Buzz Cavenaugh * James T. Callahan as Garland Dupree * Michael Lerner as Hatch *

Steve Fromholz Steven John Fromholz (June 8, 1945 – January 19, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter who was selected as the Poet Laureate of Texas for 2007. Biography Steven Fromholz was born in Temple, Texas, United States, and graduated from high sch ...

as Elroy * Richard Lockmiller as Associate Warden * Matt Clark as Billy Bob * Jan Rita Cobler as Cathy Moss * Gene Rader as Leon Warback * Curtis Harris as Big Guy * Jerry Greene as Disc Jockey * Dave Helfert as Anchorman *

Jeffrey Friedman (politician) Jeffrey Mark "Jeff" Friedman (1945-2007) was an American politician in the state of Texas. Friedman was a campus political activist who became the youngest person ever elected to the City Council of Austin, Texas in 1971. He is best remembered ...

as Newsman * James N. Harrell as Cop Chauffeur

Production

Filming locations

''Outlaw Blues'' was filmed on location in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas. The population was 45,941 as of the 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area. Huntsville is in the East Texas Piney Woods on Interstate 45 and home ...

Reception

In his review in ''

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 ...

'', film critic A. H. Weiler found the film to be "pleasantly palatable it not especially nutritious" and "an amiable, lilting, if lightweight, diversion." Weiler acknowledges that the cast "make the most of a musical genre that has millions of devoted fans." On the aggregate reviewer web site ''Rotten Tomatoes'', the film received a 63% positive viewer rating based on 86 user ratings.

References

External links

* * * * {{Richard T. Heffron 1977 films Films directed by Richard T. Heffron American drama films Warner Bros. films Films scored by Charles Bernstein Films set in Austin, Texas Films shot in Austin, Texas 1970s English-language films 1970s American films