Hard Country *** (1981, Jan-Michael Vincent, Kim Basinger, Michael Parks) – Classic Movie Review 10,211

Hard Country (1981) stars Jan-Michael Vincent.

Director David Greene’s 1981 Hard Country stars Jan-Michael Vincent as a shiftless small town Texas drifter Kyle, a factory worker who falls for ambitious young Jodie (Kim Basinger) and becomes her boyfriend. But he just wants to have fun and stay in Texas, while she wants to pursue her dreams, so she decides to leave Texas to become an air hostess in California.

Director David Greene’s well made and capably acted but virtually unknown 1981 slice-of-life drama is fashioned in the style of Urban Cowboy, and chases along there involvingly just behind it. Former Jesus Christ Superstar, Ted Neeley, and future mermaid Daryl Hannah have support parts as Wesley and Loretta.

In real life, Basinger fell for her makeup artist Ron Snyder [billed as Ron Britton] and they married that year. It is her cinema début, though she had appeared in several TV movies since her first, Dog and Cat, in 1977. Snyder wrote a book called Kim Basinger: Longer Than Forever: The True Story of Our Strange Marriage. They were married from 12 October 1980 to 20 December 1989, then divorced. Basinger was then married to Alec Baldwin from 19 August 1993 to 3 September 2002, then divorced.

Also in the cast are Michael Parks, Tanya Tucker, Gailard Sartain, Richard Moll, Sierra Pecheur, Lewis Van Bergen, John Chappell, Curtis Credel, Scotch Byerley and Richard Lineback.

Michael Kane writes the screenplay from the story by Michael Kane and Michael Martin Murphey. Murphey is better known as a singer-songwriter and has a cameo in the film.

Hard Country is made for Lord Grade’s Incorporated Television Company and released by Associated Film Distribution (1981) (US).

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,211

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