When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?

In this abysmal pseudo-psychodrama, Gortner plays a crazed Vietnam veteran who takes over a small Texas diner that contains the usual slice-of-life characters. Assisted by his hippie girl friend Clark, Gortner screams, yells, threatens, and intimidates the customers until at last someone finally shuts up the lout. In adapting his play to film, Medoff changed much of the original concept. Characters here are introduced so we know exactly who these nice people are who are being threatened by big, bad Gortner. Grant and Linden, looking hopelessly lost, are the stereotypical rich folks with a marriage on the rocks. Equally lost as the diner's short order cook is Firth,...