The Return ** (1980, Jan-Michael Vincent, Cybill Shepherd, Martin Landau, Raymond Burr, Neville Brand, Vincent Schiavelli) – Classic Movie Review 13,463

The super cast of Jan-Michael Vincent, Cybill Shepherd, Martin Landau and Raymond Burr help out the limping 1980 American sci-fi mystery thriller film The Return, directed by Greydon Clark.

Jan-Michael Vincent stars as Wayne, the deputy marshal of a small New Mexico town called Little Creek, who is investigating a strange case of cattle mutilations with few clues and a bickering scientist from California, Jennifer (Cybill Shepherd), to get in the way.

In Little Creek 25 years earlier, an alien spacecraft has abducted a young girl, her father and a local boy in a column of light from above, and now in 1980 the children have returned as adults Wayne and Jennifer to the town with the cattle mutilations.

It was low budget at $750,000, and released directly to TV and video.

Cybill Shepherd recalled in her autobiography: ‘Not quite the worst movie ever made but close. We were a rather sad group of actors, all trying to resurrect our diminished careers. Raymond Burr read his lines off a TelePrompter.’ Burr plays Shepherd’s father, Dr Kramer.

Jan-Michael Vincent was having problems with alcoholism. He failed to show up for work one day, forcing Greydon Clark to convince Cybill Shepherd and Martin Landau to work that day even though they weren’t scheduled. Nevertheless, it was shot in three weeks and Vincent did his own stunts when he is attacked by a dog, and did most of his own motorcycle riding.

One explosion turned out to be much bigger than planned. The fire burned out the electrical wires in the town where the movie was shot, causing a two hour power outage.

It was shot in Piru, California; the Paramount Ranch, Agoura, California; and Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

Zachary Vincent, who plays the hero Wayne as a young boy, was Jan-Michael Vincent’s nephew.

Martin Landau’s character of Niles Buchanan is after two US Midwest towns Greydon Clark grew up in.

Jan-Michael Vincent in his prime.

The cast

The cast are Jan-Michael Vincent as Wayne, Cybill Shepherd as Jennifer, Martin Landau as Niles Buchanan, Raymond Burr as Dr Kramer, Neville Brand as Walt, Brad Rearden as Eddie, Vincent Schiavelli as Prospector, Darby Hinton as Darren, Susan Kiger as Joyce, and Hilary Labow as Lee Ann.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,463

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