An Old Man and a Boy
When Doug's (Scott Jacoby) adoptive parents died in accident his adoptive 73 year old grandfather Hyam (Herschel Bernardi) took him in with Doug helping out at his little store. But the social system doesn't see how a 73 year old man can care for a young boy and so social worker Bonnie Howard (Stefanie Powers) sets about putting Doug back in to the care system. With Hyam's lawyer friend Jay Fox (Larry Hagman) unable to help Hyam and Doug take matters in to their own hands and head for the hills or at least make it to Canada. But it leads to Bonnie and Jay trying to track them down whilst Hyam tries to hide his failing health from his young friend.
There is something which is basically charming about "No Place to Run" with its storyline of an old man caring for this adopted grandson so much that he takes him on a road trip to Canada to get away from the social system despite having health issues. And I know what that something is as the soundtrack to "No Place to Run" has that bubbly sweetness which embellishes this simple story of a plucky old man who stands up to others; be it a developer who wants to buy his shop to knock it down or the social worker who can't see how much love there is between Hyam and Doug.
The thing is that whilst "No Place to Run" has drama with Hyam suffering from arm shakes and chest pains plus Bonnie and Jay trying to catch up to them there isn't anything overly memorable about it. Okay so there is Stephanie Powers as a social worker and Larry Hagman as a lawyer but whilst they play their parts well they don't really add much to the movie. It is a simple case that the storyline to "No Place to Run" is far too simple and it can't work purely on the charm of an old man and young boy on the road and the few mishaps and close shaves they had along the way.
What this all boils down to is that "No Place to Run" is a sweet little movie which is a pleasant distraction. But it isn't anything special with the sweet music being the most memorable thing about it.
