''Tracks'' is a 1976 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by

Henry Jaglom Henry David Jaglom (born January 26, 1938) is an English-born American actor, film director and playwright. Life and career Jaglom was born to a Jewish family in London, England, the son of Marie (née Stadthagen) and Simon M. Jaglom, who w ...

and starring Dennis Hopper,

Taryn Power Taryn Stephanie Power (September 13, 1953 – June 26, 2020) was an American actress. Biography Early life Taryn was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1953, to actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian.Deutsch, Linda (Associated Press)(2 Janua ...

and

Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...

. The story involves a returned

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and ot ...

escorting a fellow soldier's coffin across the United States for burial.

Plot

In 1973, 1st Sgt. Jack Falen (Hopper) returns from the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

to the United States to escort a friend's body for a hometown burial. Once in the US, Jack travels across the country via

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

(hence the film's title), where he meets the mysterious Mark (Stockwell) and the alluring

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

student Stephanie (Power). During the trip, Jack falls in love with Stephanie, but destroys the relationship through constant flashbacks to combat.

Cast

* Dennis Hopper as 1st Sgt. Jack Falen *

as Stephanie *

as Mark *

Topo Swope Mary Hackett "Topo" Swope (born February 14, 1949) is an American actress and talent agent. She is the daughter of actress Dorothy McGuire and still photographer John Swope. Early life and family Mary Hackett Swope was born on February 14, 194 ...

as Chloe *

Alfred Ryder Alfred Ryder (born Alfred Jacob Corn; January 5, 1916 – April 16, 1995) was an American television, stage, radio, and film actor and director, who appeared in over one hundred television shows. Career Ryder began to act at age eight and later ...

as The Man *

Zack Norman Zack Norman (born ''Howard Jerrold Zuker''; May 27, 1940) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, comedian, musician, film financier, painter, art collector and real estate developer. Born in Boston and raised in nearby Revere, at the ...

as Gene *Michael Emil as Emile *Barbara Flood as The Lady * Frank McRae as Train Coachman *

James Frawley James Joseph Frawley (September 29, 1936 – January 22, 2019) was an American director and actor. He was a member of the Actors Studio since around 1961. He was best known for directing ''The Muppet Movie'' (1979) and ''The Monkees'' television ...

as Train Passenger *

Sally Kirkland Sally Kirkland (born October 31, 1941) is an American film, television and stage actress and producer. A former member of Andy Warhol's The Factory and an active member in 1960s New York avant-garde theater, she has appeared in more than 250 fi ...

as Train Passenger

Production

Following the production of '' A Safe Place'', Jaglom spent five years putting together $1 million to shoot ''Tracks''.

References

External links

* * * 1976 films 1976 drama films American drama films Films about veterans Films set on trains Vietnam War films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Henry Jaglom 1970s American films {{1970s-drama-film-stub