| 80 Steps to Jonah | |
| Director: | Gerd Oswald |
| Producer: | Gerd Oswald |
| Screenplay: | Frederick Louis Fox |
| Story: | Frederick Louis Fox Gerd Oswald |
| Starring: | Wayne Newton Jo Van Fleet Keenan Wynn Diana Ewing Mickey Rooney Sal Mineo |
| Music: | George Shearing |
| Cinematography: | Joseph LaShelle |
| Editing: | Anthony DiMarco |
| Studio: | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. |
| Runtime: | 107 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
80 Steps to Jonah is a 1969 American drama film directed by Gerd Oswald, written by Frederick Louis Fox, and starring Wayne Newton, Jo Van Fleet, Keenan Wynn, Diana Ewing, Mickey Rooney and Sal Mineo. It was released by Warner Bros. in December 1969.[1] [2]
Mark Jonah Winters is a migrant worker who hitches a ride with Jerry Taggart.[3] A car crash kills Taggert,[4] and when the police arrive on the scene Jonah learns he had been riding in a stolen car. He is accused of car theft and, since he believes he cannot prove his innocence, he flees before he can be arrested.
Jonah spends the night sleeping in a field, and awakes to find four blind children, staying at a nearby blind camp. He meets camp housekeeper Nonna and camp director Tracy, who believe him to be the handyman they were expecting. Jonah begins working at the camp, and gains the trust of the children, whom he can relate to because he had been orphaned as a child. Nonna sees a photo of Jonah in the newspaper and, though she knows he is wanted by the police, does not turn him in.
Eventually the police arrive at the camp, and arrest Jonah. At the police station a drunkard named Wilfred Bashford, who had spoken to Jonah just before he was given a ride by Taggert, is able to corroborate that Jonah had not been the driver of the stolen car. Jonah is freed, and returns to his friends at the camp.[5]