Corre, Simón, corre

Continuing my plan to watch every Burt Reynolds movie in his filmography in order, I come to "Run Simon Run"

Playing an Indian (Again) Burt Reynolds (Without a hair on his chest) plays the lead character, and is the only reason to watch this.

Plot In A Paragraph: Simon Zuniga (Burt Reynolds) returns home from a sentence in prison (for a crime he didn't commit) to find his brothers killer.

I think the quality of the DVD I was watching this on seriously hampered my enjoyment of it, as I never really got on to it, despite a good performance from Reynolds, Inger Stevens final performance and Solid support from James Best.

Throughout this film, Simon and his people are called the Papago Indians. Well, I looked them up and apparently the correct term is the Tohono O'odham people--the name the tribe use to describe themselves. Odd that the film never mentions this as it's supposed to be a film that elevates them and their status.

When the story begins, Simon (Burt Reynolds) is being released from prison after serving a long sentence for murdering his brother. He was innocent and railroaded...but there's not much he can do about it now, as the man responsible is apparently dead. He's met by a do-gooder social worker, Carroll (Inger Stevens)--a rich lady who appears to be trying to save the poor Papago.

Later, Simon learns that the man responsible for the murder is actually NOT dead...but is hiding because he expects Simon to come looking for him. So, Carroll inexplicably agrees to pay some private investigators to find him...knowing that Simon plans on murdering him. Why would she do this? Did they teach her this in her social work training program?!

Subtle, this film is not! Too often the sound track consists of Indian drums and when Simon goes to a party, folks start asking him to do a rain dance! This comes off as pretty stupid and almost cartoony. The IDEA of the film, with the conflict between contemporary society and the Papago/Tohono O'odham is a good one...but the way it's handled could have been so much better.

And my crush continued for long after.

The story was rather typical of the era in which it was shot, and Reynolds' dark hair, intense brown eyes, and lithe frame all lent themselves to his ideal casting as the wrongfully accused "redskin."

It was rather a formula movie-he's on a mission to avenge his brother's murder- and the production values were quite obviously small screen. Reynolds' performance was a preview of what he was capable of as his career progressed.

Many others among the cast went on to healthy careers as well, and even the casual movie fan will appreciate the familiar faces.

On its own terms, in its context, Run Simon Run is meant to tell the story of an unrepentently angry loner seeking dignity for himself and his tribe. But, he has so alienated is fellow tribesmen, the white authorities, and well-meaning social workers, small victories exact terribly high consequences.

The dialogue is rather Spartan, so Reynolds's performance must carry the film for it to work. he stretches his acting muscles to deliver a brooding portrait of a committed, volatile, and tortured soul. Inger Stevens, on the other hand, for the most part, is just brooding -- a rather one-note performance that doesn't qualify high in her gallery -- a more hopeful counterpoint to Reynolds' virtuoso angst would have served this TV movie better. I'm not saying her performance is bad, but it leaves Run Simon Run as a very good made-for-TV movie in lieu of a great one.

This is also slow at spots, but the overall running time is so short, it's not that problematic. Certainly worth seeing once.

I also saw it only the one time when it was broadcast and have remembered ever since, especially whenever I hear Buffy St. Marie sing "Until It's Time For You To Go".

The Reynolds and Stevens characters each have strong principles, that initially bring them into conflict, then eventually allow them to learn from each other. In fact, I think it is strength of character that pervades the film, and makes it so memorable.

It would be great to find that someone has a print available. I'd like to get a more detailed understanding of the Reynolds character. It's hard to analyze at this distance, since on first viewing I was watching for story and performances. Does Simon qualify as a tragic hero - that is, does a flaw in his character bring him to his fate?

Stevens has one of my all-time favorite final lines - and as I recall, it's not even spoken, just an action.