Herbert B. Leonard directed Going Home, a dull father-son melodrama, starring Robert Mitchum, Brenda Vaccaro and Jan-Michael Vincent.
Grade: C- (* out of *****)
| Going Home | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
Harry Graham (Mitchum), a lonely and beaten-down man. has recently been released from prison after serving time for murdering his wife years earlier.
His son, Jimmy (Vincent), who witnessed the slaying as a child, is still haunted by the crime and wants to confront his father.
Jimmy tracks Harry to run-down seashore community and finds him living in a trailer park with girlfriend Jenny (Vaccaro).
Jimmy himself suffers from serious psychological problems. The father-son reunion leads to grim complications and utterly implausible reconciliation.
Robert Mitchum doesn’t act so much as inhabit the role with his sheer screen presence; he could have dialed his part over the phone. Handsomer Jan-Michael Vincent, then early on in his career, is tasked with the impossible role of playing a youngster who’s both appealing and psychotic. He would become a major star in the early 1970s.
Cast:
Robert Mitchum Harry K. Graham
Brenda Vaccaro Jenny Benson
Jan-Michael Vincent Jimmy Graham
Sally Kirkland Ann
Josh Mostel Mr. Bonelli
George Mathews Mr. Malloy
Mary Louise Wilson Mrs. Green
Credits:
Directed by Herbert B. Leonard
Screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus
Produced by Herbert B. Leonard
Cinematography Fred Jackman Jr.
Edited by Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
Music by Bill Walker
Production company: MGM
Release date: December 1, 1971
Running time: 97 minutes
