Miscasting?

It's not the actors' fault, of course, but anyone having read the book by Will Henry would see right away that the cast is way too old to play the seven main characters. The oldest one of the seven in his novel is Miller Nalls at twenty. And most important, Buck Burnet is only seventeen. The others include Little Bit (15), Todo (16), Eubie Buell (17), Willie Bill (17) and J.C. (18). In typical Hollywood fashion, the characters were all aged into their middle to late twenties, but I guess we should be thankful that they weren't played by thirty-something actors, which has happened many times in the past.

All the actors do well in their roles, with the exception of Paul Peterson who is just not fierce or sinister enough to play J.C. He comes across as an actor trying hard to act like a hothead kid. Someone who would have done better in the role would have been Robert F. Lyons, as evidenced by his work in Shoot Out And Pendulum. Harrison Ford, Don Stroud and Michael Burns have little to do, here, and Jan-Michael Vincent doesn't fair much better. It's really Michael Sarrazin and James Caan who carry the film, most of the time, and they do a fine job, despite being too old for the parts.

We should give the writers credit for sticking very closely to the book in most ways, right down to the dialog used in the novel. If you get the chance to read the book, do so, it's a quick read, and well-written, IMHO. The book is extremely heart-breaking, but especially so because the characters are so young. Conversely, the movie is not as moving or heart-breaking because the actors are much older.

Just my opinion.

Johnboy