On the Right Track
Encyclopedia
On the Right Track is a 1981
comedy
film that was the first feature film starring Gary Coleman
. It was directed by Lee Philips, produced by Ronald Jacobs, and released to theaters by 20th Century Fox
in the spring of 1981.
in November 1978, Gary Coleman quickly gained popularity. Zephyr Productions was created to promote Coleman's star potential, and 1981's On the Right Track was the first movie developed from that initiative. It was filmed in 1980, primarily in Chicago. New York Loves Lester was an early working title for the project, when the film was planned to be set in New York City
. The subsequent working title was A Guy Could Get Killed Out There.
in Chicago
, to be exact.) Already a beloved figure among the staff at the station who look after him, and suffering attempts to move him to an orphanage, he finds great popularity after it is revealed that he has an amazing talent for picking winning horses at the racetrack.
of the Chicago Tribune
, Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
, and Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
gave it somewhat more positive reviews.
The film was released on VHS
in the 1980s, but it has never seen an official release on DVD. The movie has not received much attention in latter years, though a short amusing article in Entertainment Weekly
in 2004 did a comparison of the film to the then newly-released Tom Hanks
film The Terminal
, where Hanks' character lives for months in an airport terminal.
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film that was the first feature film starring Gary Coleman
Gary Coleman
Gary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
. It was directed by Lee Philips, produced by Ronald Jacobs, and released to theaters by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in the spring of 1981.
Background
After the debut of the sitcom Diff'rent StrokesDiff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
in November 1978, Gary Coleman quickly gained popularity. Zephyr Productions was created to promote Coleman's star potential, and 1981's On the Right Track was the first movie developed from that initiative. It was filmed in 1980, primarily in Chicago. New York Loves Lester was an early working title for the project, when the film was planned to be set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The subsequent working title was A Guy Could Get Killed Out There.
Plot
Gary Coleman stars as a homeless shoeshine boy named Lester who is living in a locker in a train station. (Union StationUnion Station (Chicago)
Union Station is a major train station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, replacing an earlier 1881 station. It is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the city's primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between Adams...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, to be exact.) Already a beloved figure among the staff at the station who look after him, and suffering attempts to move him to an orphanage, he finds great popularity after it is revealed that he has an amazing talent for picking winning horses at the racetrack.
Primary Cast
- Gary ColemanGary ColemanGary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
- Lester - Michael LembeckMichael LembeckMichael Lembeck is an actor, television and film director.Lembeck was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Caroline and Harvey Lembeck, an actor and comedian. He began acting in the late-1960s and directing in the 1970s. His most notable acting role was as Julie Cooper's husband, Max Horvath, on...
- Frank - Lisa EilbacherLisa EilbacherLisa Eilbacher is an American television and motion picture actress.-Personal life:Eilbacher was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the daughter of an American oil company executive. She was raised in France...
- Jill - Maureen StapletonMaureen StapletonMaureen Stapleton was an American actress in film, theater and television.-Early life:Stapleton was born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, the daughter of Irene and John P. Stapleton, and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family...
- Mary/Bag Lady - Norman FellNorman FellNorman Fell , born Norman Noah Feld, was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.-Early life:...
- Mayor - Herb EdelmanHerb EdelmanHerbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
- Sam - Bill RussellBill RussellWilliam Felton "Bill" Russell is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association...
- Robert
Reception
Though it received a number of reviews concluding that it was overly sappy or simply capitalizing on Coleman's TV following (which it was), Gene SiskelGene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, and Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
gave it somewhat more positive reviews.
The film was released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in the 1980s, but it has never seen an official release on DVD. The movie has not received much attention in latter years, though a short amusing article in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
in 2004 did a comparison of the film to the then newly-released Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
film The Terminal
The Terminal
The Terminal is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot...
, where Hanks' character lives for months in an airport terminal.