Movies - Ode to Billy Joe

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	Movies - Ode to Billy Joe

Ode to Billy Joe is a 1976 film. It is based on the 1967 hit song by Bobbie Gentry, also titled "Ode to Billy Joe". It is based on the novel by Herman Raucher (who also wrote the screenplay) and stars Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor.

Gentry's song recounts the night of June 3 1953, when Billy Joe McAllister committed suicide by jumping off the Tallahatchie Bridge on Choctaw Ridge, Mississippi. Though Gentry said her song was based on a true story, she said she didn't have a reason in mind for McAllister's act when she wrote the song. Therefore, the reason put forth by the film can only be considered speculation on Raucher's part.

The film was directed and produced by Max Baer, Jr. (of The Beverly Hillbillies fame as Jethro Bodine).

Plot

Set in the early 1950s, the film explores the budding relationship between Bobbie Lee Hartley (O'Connor) and Billy Joe McAllister (Benson).

Hartley and McAllister struggle to form a relationship despite resistance from Hartley's family, who contend she is too young to date. They develop the relationship, despite the odds in their way. One night at a party, however, McAllister gets drunk. In his inebriated state, he makes love to another man dressed in drag, though later he reveals he knew what he was doing. He bids an enigmatical goodbye to Hartley. Overcome with guilt, McAllister subsequently kills himself by jumping off the bridge spanning the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi.

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