Bound for Glory
Encyclopedia
Bound for Glory is a 1976 American biographical film directed by Hal Ashby
and adapted by Robert Getchell
from Woody Guthrie
's 1943 autobiography Bound for Glory
. The film stars David Carradine
as folk singer
Woody Guthrie
and Ronny Cox
, Melinda Dillon
, Gail Strickland
, John Lehne, Ji-Tu Cumbuka
and Randy Quaid
.
Bound for Glory was the first motion picture in which inventor Garrett Brown
used his Steadicam
invention for filming moving scenes. Director of Photography Haskell Wexler
won an Oscar for Best Cinematography (1976).
refugees in California during the Great Depression. Many of the scenes were filmed in and around Bakersfield and Kern County, actual places of Dust Bowl strife and settlement. Most of the Texas town of Pampa was filmed in Isleton, CA, a small Delta town with an old main street. Guthrie is best known for his very popular folk songs, most notably, "This Land Is Your Land
".
Nominated
Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby was an American film director and film editor.-Birth and early years:Born William Hal Ashby in Ogden, Utah, Ashby grew up in a Mormon household and had a tumultuous childhood as part of a dysfunctional family which included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide and his...
and adapted by Robert Getchell
Robert Getchell
Robert Getchell is an American screenwriter. He is probably best known for writing Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and creating the Sitcom Alice.-Filmography:* Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore * Bound for Glory...
from Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
's 1943 autobiography Bound for Glory
Bound for Glory (book)
Bound for Glory is the partially fictionalized autobiography of folk singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie. The book describes Guthrie's childhood, his travels across the United States as a hobo on the railroad, and towards the end his beginning to get recognition as a singer...
. The film stars David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
as folk singer
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
and Ronny Cox
Ronny Cox
Daniel Ronald "Ronny" Cox is an American character actor, singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Personal life:Cox, the third of five children, was born in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, the son of Lounette and Bob P. Cox, a carpenter who also worked at a dairy. He grew up in Portales, New Mexico...
, Melinda Dillon
Melinda Dillon
Melinda Rose Dillon is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the holiday classic A Christmas Story.-Early life and career:...
, Gail Strickland
Gail Strickland
Gail Strickland is an American character actress.Strickland was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Theodosia and Lynn Strickland, who owned a tire shop...
, John Lehne, Ji-Tu Cumbuka
Ji-Tu Cumbuka
Ji-Tu Cumbuka is an American veteran stage and screen actor.-Career Biography:...
and Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid
Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
.
Bound for Glory was the first motion picture in which inventor Garrett Brown
Garrett Brown
Garrett Brown is an American cinematographer, best known as the inventor of the Steadicam. Brown's invention allows cameramen to film while walking without the normal shaking and jostles of a handheld camera...
used his Steadicam
Steadicam
A Steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement, allowing a smooth shot even when moving quickly over an uneven surface...
invention for filming moving scenes. Director of Photography Haskell Wexler
Haskell Wexler
Haskell Wexler, A.S.C. is an American cinematographer, film producer, and director. Wexler was judged to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild.-Early life and education:Wexler was born to a Jewish...
won an Oscar for Best Cinematography (1976).
Plot
Much of the film is based on Guthrie's attempt to humanize the desperate Okie Dust BowlDust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
refugees in California during the Great Depression. Many of the scenes were filmed in and around Bakersfield and Kern County, actual places of Dust Bowl strife and settlement. Most of the Texas town of Pampa was filmed in Isleton, CA, a small Delta town with an old main street. Guthrie is best known for his very popular folk songs, most notably, "This Land Is Your Land
This Land Is Your Land
"This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on...
".
Cast
- David CarradineDavid CarradineDavid Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
as Woody Guthrie - Ronny CoxRonny CoxDaniel Ronald "Ronny" Cox is an American character actor, singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Personal life:Cox, the third of five children, was born in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, the son of Lounette and Bob P. Cox, a carpenter who also worked at a dairy. He grew up in Portales, New Mexico...
as Ozark Bule - Melinda DillonMelinda DillonMelinda Rose Dillon is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the holiday classic A Christmas Story.-Early life and career:...
as Mary / Memphis Sue - Gail StricklandGail StricklandGail Strickland is an American character actress.Strickland was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Theodosia and Lynn Strickland, who owned a tire shop...
as Pauline - John Lehne as Locke
- Ji-Tu CumbukaJi-Tu CumbukaJi-Tu Cumbuka is an American veteran stage and screen actor.-Career Biography:...
as Slim Snedeger - Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
as Luther Johnson - Elizabeth Macey as Liz Johnson
- Susan Vaill as Gwen Guthrie
- Alexandra Mock as Sue Guthrie
- Kimberly Mock as Sue Guthrie
- Bernie KopellBernie KopellBernard Morton "Bernie" Kopell is an American television character actor who is probably best known for his roles as Dr. Adam Bricker in The Love Boat and KAOS agent Siegfried in Get Smart...
as Woody's Agent - Mary Kay PlaceMary Kay PlaceMary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977...
as Sue Ann, Girl in Bar
Academy Awards
Wins- 1977: Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
- 1977: Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation ScoreAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
Nominated
- 1977:Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
- 1977:Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another MediumAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
- 1977:Best Costume DesignAcademy Award for Costume DesignThe Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
- 1977:Best Film EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
External links
- Hal Ashby article at Senses of Cinema
- Bound for Glory trailer at You Tube