Main Cast: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, John Heard, Ray Sharkey, Anne Dusenberry
Release Year: 1980
Country: US
Run Time: 109 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
John Byrum wrote and directed this loosely based biographical tale of Beat author Jack Kerouac and Neal and Carolyn Cassady. John Heard stars as Jack Kerouac, and the film chronicles the Beat lifestyle that shaped the literary and social forces brewing and overflowing in Kerouac's imagination, resulting in the publication of Kerouac's seminal novel On the Road. Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek play the Cassadys, enmeshed in a love-hate relationship that forms the backbone of the film. Kerouac drifts in and out of their lives as the Cassadys take up residence in San Francisco. Ray Sharkey is also on hand as the manic Ira, a thinly veiled character based on Alan Ginsberg. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Margaret Fairchild - Mrs. Kerouac; Tony Bill - Dick; Kent Williams - Ogden; Stephen Davies - Bob Bendix; Jenny O'Hara - Betty Bendix; Ray Vitte - Undercover Agent; Steve Allen - Himself; Mary Margaret Amato - Waitress; Don Brodie - Dispatcher; Candy Ann Brown - Claudia; Luis Contreras - Mexican Junkie; Bill Cross; John Hostetter - Poet; Mickey Kelly - Receptionist; John Larroquette - Tv talk show host; Sharon Lee - Blonde in Car; Susan Niven - Ogden's Secretary; Sunshine Parker; Tom Runyon - Seaman; Gary Baxley; Karen Landry; Marcia Nasatir - Receptionist
Credit
Pat Norris - Costume Designer, Bill Scott - First Assistant Director, John Byrum - Director, Eric Jenkins - Editor, William Tepper - Executive Producer, Edward R. Pressman - Executive Producer, Jack Nitzsche - Composer (Music Score), Jack Fisk - Production Designer, Laszlo Kovacs - Cinematographer, Ivan Strasburg - Cinematographer, William Tepper - Producer, Alan Greisman - Producer, Edward R. Pressman - Producer, Michael Shamberg - Producer, Peter Samish - Set Designer, Bill Kaplan - Sound/Sound Designer, Carolyn Cassady - Screen Story, John Byrum - Screenwriter