All the Kind Strangers (1974)

★ 5.8 1h 13m IMDb

Drama Horror Thriller

An LA photographer, driving through backwoods country, spots a young boy walking on the side of the road and offers him a ride home. After reaching the isolated house, he discovers that the boy and his siblings are keeping a woman prisoner as their "mom" and now he is expected to be their "dad"...or else.

Where to Watch

Checking 300+ streaming services for this title. Check back soon.

Rent / Buy

No rental or purchase options available yet.

Cast

Stacy Keach as James "Jimmy" Wheeler Age 84 · Savannah, Georgia, USA Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a pro...

Samantha Eggar as Carol Ann Died 2025 · Hampstead, London, England, UK Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (March 5, 1939 — October 15, 2025) was an Oscar nominated English film, television and voice actress who appeared in Doctor Dolittle..

John Savage as Peter Age 76 · Old Bethpage, New York, USA John Savage (born John Youngs; August 25, 1949) is an American film actor, producer, production manager, and composer. Savage has appeared in more than 200 feature films, short films, recurring roles...

Robby Benson as John Age 70 · Dallas, Texas, USA Robby Benson (born January 21, 1956) is an American film and television actor, television director, educator and singer. He is best known for the films he's in Including Ice Castles 1978, Beauty and t...

Arlene Farber as Martha Age 79 · New York, USA Arlene Farber was an actress who appeared in a handful of exploitation pictures that were primarily made in the New York state area throughout the 1960's and 1970's..

Director Burt Kennedy

Cast Stacy Keach, Samantha Eggar, John Savage, Robby Benson, Arlene Farber, Tim Parkison, Patti Parkison, Brent Campbell, John Connell

talisencrw 8/10 Apr 11, 2016

Growing up, my introduction to the great hard-boiled work of Mickey Spillane was the TV series 'Mike Hammer', in which Stacy Keach was the ninth of the 11--so far--to portray the private eye. I was sad when the series was cancelled because he had been jailed for smuggling cocaine, but I always kept an eye out for his fine acting in the realm of cinema. This led to my great enjoyment of his work in 'The Ninth Configuration', 'W.', and 'Escape from L.A.', and when I saw that he was in this TV-movie, found in my 50-film Mill Creek pack, 'Nightmare Worlds', I was extremely enthused, though I had never seen any films by director Burt Kennedy, though I had heard of him. Keach is definitely one of my favourite character actors in contemporary or recent (post-1970) cinema.

Though on a very low budget, with seven children and two adults, a car and a farmhouse, this 'Children of the Corn'-meets-'Deliverance'-meets-'Lord of the Flies' is really worth your time. It brings mood, despair and desperation together in a bewitching concoction, and is suspenseful, without resorting to gore or other gimmickry (judging from the lurid glances Keach's Jimmy got from the oldest girl, Martha, I think I can assume any modern-day remakes wouldn't pass up that plot-possibility, or possible incest between the coming-of-age characters), and at the same time, without resorting to cheesy, Hallmark-movie-of-the-week pat easy solutions to the crisis that not only the two kidnapped adults face, but the seven children, in their bleak, desperate, no-future situations do as well.

Heartily recommended for the whole family. This is one film that parents and their children could watch together and talk about afterwards, for such questions as, 'Why did the children feel it was necessary for parent-type people to be around?' I wish more self-obsessed teenagers and young adults of today could watch this and think about how blessed they really are to have the parents and family that they do have. It might make an important difference in their lives. THAT is one of the beautiful and compelling mysteries of cinema.