''Delta County, U.S.A.'' is a 1977 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Glenn Jordan Glenn Jordan (born April 5, 1936) is a retired American television director and producer. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Jordan directed multiple episodes of ''Family'' and numerous television movies, several based on real persons as diverse as B ...

and starring

Peter Donat Peter Donat (born Pierre Collingwood Donat; January 20, 1928 – September 10, 2018) was a Canadian-American actor. Early life Pierre Collingwood Donat was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Marie (née Bardet) and Philip Ernst ...

Jeff Conaway Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway (October 5, 1950 – May 27, 2011) was an American actor. He portrayed Kenickie in the film ''Grease (film), Grease'' and had roles in three television series: struggling actor Bobby Wheeler in ''Taxi (TV ...

Robert Hays Robert Blakely Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom ''Angie (TV series), Angie'', and ...

Joanna Miles Joanna Miles is an American actress. She received two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Laura Wingfield in the 1973 film production of Tennessee Williams's '' The Glass Menagerie''. Early life and education Miles was born in Nice, France, the da ...

Lola Albright Lola Jean Albright (July 20, 1924 – March 23, 2017) was an American singer and actress, best known for playing the sultry singer Edie Hart, the girlfriend of private eye Peter Gunn, on all three seasons of the TV series ''Peter Gunn''. Early ...

Peter Masterson Peter Masterson (born Carlos Bee Masterson Jr.; June 1, 1934 – December 18, 2018) was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. He made his Broadway theater, Broadway debut in November 1967 in ''The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (play), ...

, Michele Carey and

Morgan Brittany Morgan Brittany (born Suzanne Cupito; December 5, 1951) is an American actress. She began her career as a child appearing in films ''Gypsy'' (1962), '' Stage to Thunder Rock'' (1964) and '' Yours, Mine and Ours''. In 1970s, Brittany began work as ...

. The film originally served as a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

for a proposed

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

that never materialized. It was broadcast as ''The ABC Friday Night Movie'' on May 20, 1977.''Delta County, U.S.A.''
at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, retrieved May 6, 2017.

Synopsis

Delta County is a staid Southern community caught between the old traditions and a rapidly changing way of life. For teenagers Terry Nicholas, his sister McCain, and Joe Ed, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks that she's attracted to, the old traditions have little meaning in their lives. Their elders, struggling to preserve values of an older day, have personal problems that are sometimes overwhelming, such as the one facing John McCain Jr. an alcoholic whose wife Kate is having a hidden and torrid romance that sets her husband off on a vengeance-seeking spree.

Cast

as John McCain Jr. *

as Terry Nicholas *

as Bo *

as Kate McCain Nicholas *

as Dossie Wilson *Jim Antonio as Jack the Bear *

as Billy Wingate * Doney Oatman as McCain Nicholas *

Joe Penny Joseph Edward Penny Jr. (born June 24, 1956) is a retired American actor best known for his roles as Nick Ryder on the detective series '' Riptide'' from 1984 to 1986, and as Jake Styles in the CBS television series ''Jake and the Fatman'' from ...

as Joe Ed * Tisch Raye as Robbie Jean *

as Doris Ann *

Sandy McPeak Sandy McPeak (February 21, 1936 – December 31, 1997) was an American actor best known for such films and television series as '' Winnetka Road'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Centennial'', ''Ode to Billy Joe'', '' Patton'', '' The Osterman Weekend'', ''Kell ...

as Chief Doughly * Michele Carey as Jonsie Wilson

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delta County, U.S.A. 1977 television films 1977 films 1977 drama films 1970s English-language films Films set in Texas Films directed by Glenn Jordan Films scored by Jack Elliott (composer) Paramount Pictures films American Broadcasting Company original films Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series American drama television films 1970s American films English-language drama films