Norwood

This movie from Charles Portis' novel starts out ok with Glenn Campbell's return to his hometown and some amusing stuff with his obnoxious brother in law and the always oleaginously wonderful Pat Hingle as a con artist. But, paradoxically, as soon as this road picture goes on the road things start to get drained of interest and it is hard to pick a Most Boring among the three girls with whom the title character gets involved; Carol Lynley as a bad tempered, small town floozie, Tisha Stirling as a cynical hippie or Kim Darby's good natured country gal. Campbell's performance is serviceable at best and throughout the film director Jack Haley Jr and screenwriter Marguerite Roberts, the later of whom did such a good job adapting Portis' "True Grit", lays the hick schtick on thicker than congealed Crisco so that you feel at times like you're watching "Petticoat Junction: The Movie". Bottom line: Read the novel and get Portis' quirky insights without all the stupid Hollywood crap, like Central California standing in for Tennessee and being asked to buy Dom De Louise, with his Brooklyn accent, as a Nebraskan. Give it a C.