Wizard-8
Singer Elvis Presley made some real bad movies during the period of his life when he was appearing in movies, but those bad movies come across as great when compared to "80 Steps to Jonah", a failed attempt to make singer Wayne Newton a movie star. In fact, this movie often comes across as if it were a (bad) parody of a Presley movie. Though Newton did manage to show some acting chops years later with various small parts in movies, in his big screen debut he comes across as extremely underwhelming, with no flair or color to his performance. However, he isn't really to blame for the movie's failure. The script is pretty awful, extremely padded out and is filled with various clichés and plot turns you have seen many times before in other movies and television shows. And the songs are so sugary sweet that you'll be washing out your mouth with a strong drink. It's no wonder that its distributor, Warner Brothers, has pretty much buried this movie.
clcain
I watched this movie when I was so young that I can hardly remember what it is called. I went to my local video stores and they all had books and said that if it was not in their books it was not a movie. All the books you could look up the actors name. It said nothing about this movie when I looked under Wayne Newton. I just have to say I think a lot of people are missing out by not seeing this movie. I was very compelled when I saw it as a young boy and now hope to be compelled again. I just want to thank the people at IMDB.com for being so extensive in their movie selection.
rhinokev
This movie really DID exist. For the longest time, I thought this movie was synthesized from my collective unconscious. I remember seeing this movie on some impossibly late program about 25 years ago and being genuinely moved by it. Unashamedly sentimental, yet not too saccharine treatment of a man on the lam who finds refuge at a summer camp for blind children. A surprisingly well-casted movie with a decent soundtrack that would definitely appeal to the "Grab-a-hanky" set. Not a movie I would go out of my way to see - except for the purpose of reminiscing about the first (and only) time I saw it - but, I would definitely watch it if it appeared on my television while channel-surfing.
Cal-16
I feel that there was excellent casting in this picture. Wayne Newton handled the lead quite well - he played it with heart, but resisted the temptation to make it overly sentimental. Not afraid of being upstaged by animals or children, he worked well with them to tell us a beautiful story. Brought to the foreground was how independent people with disabilities can really be. The music, too, was a definite plus!