Eddie Macon (John Schneider) escapes from the Huntsville Prison and heads for the border to reunite with his wife (Leah Ayres) and son (Matthew Meece), who are waiting for him in Mexico.
Unfortunately for Eddie, he has a bloodhound on his trail in the form of Detective Carl Marzack (Kirk Douglas), who won’t rest until Eddie is once again behind bars.
Eddie Macon’s Run tells a standard “innocent guy busts out from jail” story, with John Schneider, fresh off his run as one of the Duke boys in The Dukes of Hazzard, delivering a solid performance as the likable Eddie, whose only crime was standing up to his low-life boss (played by the great John Goodman, making his big-screen debut!).
Eddie’s escape goes off without a hitch (he jumps into a cattle car after competing in the prison rodeo), though he does run into some trouble along the way (the Potts brothers, played by Tom Noonan and Jay O. Sanders, accuse Eddie of being a cattle rustler and threaten to hang him).
Eddie’s story is what gives the movie its heart, yet it's Kirk Douglas who steals the show as the quick-thinking Marzack, who always seems one step behind Eddie (though in his late 60s at the time, Douglas holds his own in the action scenes). And while car chases usually leave me cold (save, of course, the famous sequences in Bullitt and The French Connection), Eddie Macon’s Run features one hell of a nerve-racking chase at the end!
Also appearing in a key supporting role is Lee Purcell as Jilly Buck, the Governor’s niece who lends Eddie a helping hand.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
