When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?

4/2/2020

Having left his past as a fraudulent child evangelist behind, Marjoe Gortner decided that his talents would be put to better use as an actor. After years of television work and roles in mostly second-tier (or worse) theatrical releases, he went for broke with a self-produced adaptation of playwright Mark Medoff's WHEN YOU COMIN' BACK, RED RYDER (1979). Backed by a solid cast and with major studio distribution, Gortner set out to launch himself into A-lister territory. He does display a filthy charisma while verbally and mentally torturing his roadside captives, but that wasn't enough to keep his vanity project from sinking like the Titanic when it hit theaters. And that's a shame, since its cast makes it more than watchable, even if its tone is bleak and unpleasant from start to finish. On