Sonny Boy (1989 film)

1989 American film

Sonny Boy

Directed by| Robert Martin Carroll[1]
Written by| Graeme Whifler
Produced by| Ovidio G. Assonitis
Starring| Paul L. Smith
David Carradine
Brad Dourif
Conrad Janis
Sydney Lassick
Alexandra Powers
Steve Carlisle
Robert Broyles
Christopher Bradley[2]
Cinematography| Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli
Edited by| Claudio M. Cutry
Music by| Carlo Maria Cordio

Production
company

Trans World Entertainment (TWE)

Distributed by| Triumph Releasing Corporation

Release date

* 22 March 1989 (1989-03-22)

Running time

| 96 min.
Countries| United States
Italy
Language| English

Sonny Boy (Italian: Il dono del silenzio) is a 1989 black comedy-drama thriller film directed by Robert Martin Carroll.[3] The musical score was composed by Carlo Maria Cordio. It stars Paul L. Smith, David Carradine, Brad Dourif, Conrad Janis, Sydney Lassick, Alexandra Powers, and Steve Carlisle.[4][5] David Carradine wrote the film's theme song, "Paint", which he performs in the film.

## Plot summary

[edit]

In 1970, Harmony, a small town in New Mexico, is run by a small-time crime boss named Slue, who accepts the delivery of a Lincoln Continental car stolen by his henchmen Weasel, who brings it after killing a couple who was travelling with their child. When the crime boss finds the couple's baby in the backseat he wants to kill him, but he is stopped by his transvestite “wife”, Pearl. Slue decides to keep the baby - which Pearl names “Sonny Boy” - but he cuts out the boy’s tongue and raises him as a mute accomplice in their crimes, training and treating him like a wild dog, and sending Sonny Boy to kill anyone who wants to steal from or opposes Slue's grip over the town. When the grown Sonny Boy escapes and tries to make contact with the outside world, the attention he draws to his warped family results in darkly-humored mayhem.

## Production and music

[edit]

The opening song, "Paint" a.k.a "Maybe It Ain’t" was written and performed by David Carradine.[6][7]

## Cast

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* David Carradine ... Pearl[8][9]
* Paul L. Smith ... Slue
* Brad Dourif ... Weasel[10]
* Conrad Janis ... Doc Bender
* Sydney Lassick ... Charlie P.[11]
* Savina Gersak ... Sandy
* Alexandra Powers ... Rose[12]
* Michael Boston ... Sonny Boy (as Michael Griffin)
* Steve Carlisle ... Sheriff[13][14]
* Steve Ingrassia ... Deputy
* Stephen Lee Davis ... Bart
* Robert Broyles ... Mayor[15]
* Jeff Bergquist ... Father Owen
* Dalene Young ... Doc Wallace
* Christopher Bradley ... Husband[16]

## Legacy

[edit]

Grave of David Carradine at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, with the quote from "Paint": “I'm lookin' for a place where the dogs don't bite, and children don't cry and everything always goes just right. And brothers don't fight.”

Carradine wrote and performed the theme songs for several movies that he either directed or starred in, like You and Me, Americana and Sonny Boy. The first verse from the Sonny Boy theme, "Paint" (which he wrote while filming Americana in Drury, Kansas, in 1973), is engraved on his headstone, as an epitaph.[17]

## Home media

[edit]

This movie was released in Blu-ray format in January 2016, with English audio and subtitles, by Shout! Factory. Special features include audio commentaries with director Robert Martin Carroll, and with screenwriter Graeme Whifler.[18]

## References

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1. ^ "Sonny Boy 1990 Directed by Robert Martin Carroll". letterboxd.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
2. ^ "Sonny Boy (1989) DVD (VHS VIDEO PAL)". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
3. ^ "Films directed by Robert Martin Carroll". letterboxd.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
4. ^ "Film Review: Sonny Boy (1989)". horrornews.net. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
5. ^ "Sonny Boy movie". filmaffinity.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
6. ^ Hi-Def Digest, February 2nd, 2016 - Sonny Boy Review by Matthew Hartman
7. ^ Genius - Paint a.k.a Maybe It Ain’t (1989 Film Version - Opening), David Carradine
8. ^ "Sonny Boy (1989 film". horrorview.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
9. ^ "Sonny Boy". csfd.cz. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
10. ^ "Sonny Boy (1989)". moviemeter.nl. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
11. ^ "Synalek (1989)". filmweb.pl. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
12. ^ "Sonny Boy (1989)". cinemagia.ro. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
13. ^ "Sonny Boy casting". allocine.fr. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
14. ^ "Sonny Boy (Blu-ray) reviews". dreadcentral.com. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
15. ^ "THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECT – SONNY BOY (1989)". dailygrindhouse.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
16. ^ "Sonny Boy (1989) Movie Review". horrorphilia.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
17. ^ David Carradine Grave Marker December 7, 2009 Radar online
18. ^ "Sonny Boy Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. January 26, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Sonny Boy at IMDb