Whisperin’ Bill Anderson looks back at the 1967 western ‘Stranger on the Run’

Henry Fonda surveys “Stranger on the Run,” a 93-minute NBC movie-of-the-week that aired on October 31, 1967. The AFI Life Achievement Award alum was a “tightly wound spring” on and off camera who communicated “anger over affirmation…he is almost always more convincing, attractive, and memorable when at odds with something — the situation, the community, himself.” Image Credit: Allstar Collection / Universal Television

Stranger on the Run was previously gauged in this Jeremy’s Classic Western Roundup column. Henry Fonda’s frequently forgotten sagebrush saga was a Halloween 1967 made-for-NBC-movie with James Dean’s costar Sal Mineo, director Don Siegel, and screenwriter Dean Riesner [both repeat Clint Eastwood collaborators] among the talented personnel. Aside from actors Michael Burns and Rex Holman, few survivors remain from the dusty Most Dangerous Game homage that won its Tuesday Night at the Movies timeslot.

Whisperin’ Bill Anderson cut the theme song. Spontaneously emailed, the Country Music Hall of Fame lyricist, whose latest LP is The Hits Re-Imagined, shockingly sent a detailed remembrance the next afternoon. “Thank you for dredging up some old memories,” began the Brad Paisley collaborator’s sincere message. Turns out he corresponded with Academy Award victor Anne Baxter and sat side by side with Jane Fonda at an Atlanta Braves ballgame. Co-written with Kay Scott, the ballad has never been remastered or reissued. No dice either for Stranger on the Run being officially available in digital format. Patience can reap victory. An official Blu-ray 2K master, containing commentary by film buff Gary Gerani and additional sizzling extras, was dropped by Kino Lorber in July 2021.