''Runaway Daughters'' is a 1994

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by Joe Dante that originally aired on the cable television network Showtime as part of the anthology series ''

Rebel Highway ''Rebel Highway'' was a short-lived revival of American International Pictures created and produced by Lou Arkoff, the son of Samuel Z. Arkoff, and Debra Hill for the Showtime network in 1994. The concept was a 10-week series of 1950s "drive-in ...

''. It is a loose remake of '' Runaway Daughters'', an

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

production from 1956, the year in which both the original and the remake are set. Much of the cast of Dante's '' The Howling'' is reunited on this film, including Christopher Stone, Dee Wallace,

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on '' The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' S ...

, Dick Miller, and Belinda Balaski.

Plot

The title characters are Angie Gordon, Mary Nicholson, and Laura Cahn. Their

picaresque The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corru ...

adventure begins in 1956 when Mary has a pregnancy scare after letting Bob Randolph go too far with her. Mr. Russoff, named for Lou Rusoff who wrote the screenplay of the original version, is a

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can s ...

from the wrong side of the tracks, and he seeks to cover his tracks by enlisting in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Angie and Laura accompany Mary in a flight from the suburbs as she decides what to do about her pregnancy. Along the way, they meet bully cops and

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, ' ...

survivalists with rifles.

Cast

Julie Bowen Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Prime ...

as Angie Gordon * Holly Fields as Mary Nicholson *

Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child a ...

as Laura Cahn *

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...

as Jimmy Rusoff * Chris Young as Bob Randolph * Dick Miller as Roy Farrell

Production

The Gordons are played by the Stones, the Nicholsons by Balaski and '' Innerspaces Joe Flaherty, and the Cahns played by Picardo and Wendy Schaal, also both late of ''Innerspace''. Dick Miller plays Roy Farrell, a private detective hired to find the girls. Also in small roles are Dante regular Mark McCraken and the producer of the original version, Samuel Z. Arkoff.

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

, along with his wife, Julie Corman, play the parents of the boyfriend of one of the title characters. The script was written by Charles S. Haas and in many ways is a companion piece to his previous collaboration with Dante, '' Matinee''. Fabian Forte, who was under contract to AIP in the sixties, has a small role.

Release

The film originally aired on Showtime on August 12, 1994.

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in March 2005.

References

External links

* {{Joe Dante 1994 television films 1994 films 1990s English-language films 1990s comedy road movies American comedy road movies Remakes of American films American television films Films directed by Joe Dante Films scored by Hummie Mann Films set in 1956 Films set in San Diego Films produced by Debra Hill Rebel Highway 1990s American films