Billy is sweeping the street and is hit and killed by a truck, to the complete indifference of local townsmen. The next morning, Sonny sees Duane off on the bus. The two go to the picture show, its very final screening (the Western, Red River, set in Texas and starring John Wayne). Sonny shows up at his home, extending an olive branch that Duane had held back. The marriage is promptly annulled.ĭuane returns to town on leave from the Army before shipping out for Korea. Sonny rides back with Jacy's mother, Lois, who reveals she was Sam's youthful lover and chides Sonny that he was much better off with Ruth Popper than with Jacy. The Farrows have them held in custody until they arrive, her father dismissing Sonny completely and taking Jacy home. Jacy had left a note telling her parents about their plan, secretly hoping they would stop her. On their way to their honeymoon on Lake Texoma they are stopped by an Oklahoma state trooper. Jacy suggests to Sonny that they elope to Oklahoma. Duane then joins the Army to fight in Korea. Duane quarrels with Sonny over Jacy, "his" girl, smashing a bottle into Sonny's left eye that leaves him badly injured and disqualified for military service. Jacy then sets her sights on Sonny, who drops Ruth without a word. Out of boredom she has sex with Abilene, a roughneck foreman who works for her father, who is also her mother's lover. When Bobby marries another girl, Jacy is disappointed. She loses her virginity to Duane on their second attempt and then breaks up with him by telephone.
In his will he left the movie theater to the woman who ran the concession stand the café to Genevieve $1,000 to the preacher's son, Joe Bob Blanton and the pool hall to Sonny.īecause Bobby has told Jacy that he doesn't date virgins, she invites Duane to a motel for sex, but Duane is unable to get an erection. They return from the trip hung over and tired, to learn that Sam died suddenly of a stroke on New Year's Eve. Before they drive off, Sam, who has forgiven Sonny, wistfully wishes he still had the stamina to join them, and gives them some extra money. At the café, Genevieve, the waitress, tells Sonny she knows that Duane was with the group but agrees not to tell Sam.ĭuring the weekend of New Year's Eve Duane and Sonny go on a road trip to Mexico. Duane successfully hides in the back seat. He owns, all centerpieces of the town's social life. When Duane and Sonny take Billy back home, local businessman Sam tells them that since they cannot even take care of a friend, he is barring them from the pool hall, movie theater, and café At a Christmas dance, Jacy is invited by Lester Marlow to a skinny dipping party at the home of Bobby Sheen, a wealthy young man who seems to be a better prospect than Duane.Ī group of boys take their young, mentally disabled friend, Billy, to a prostitute to lose his virginity, but she hits Billy in the face when he ejaculates prematurely. Sonny breaks up with his girlfriend Charlene Duggs.Īt Christmas time, Sonny begins an affair with Ruth Popper, the depressed middle-aged wife of his high-school coach. Duane is dating Jacy Farrow, the richest and prettiest girl in town. In 1951, Sonny Crawford and Duane Jackson are high-school seniors and friends in tiny Anarene, a declining oil town in northern Texas. In 1998, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $29 million on a $1.3 million budget, and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Johnson and Bridges, and Best Supporting Actress for Burstyn and Leachman, with Johnson and Leachman winning. The Last Picture Show was theatrically released on October 22, 1971, by Columbia Pictures. Set in a small town in north Texas from November 1951 to October 1952, it is a story of two high-school seniors and long-time friends, Sonny Crawford (Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Bridges). The film's ensemble cast includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, and Cybill Shepherd. The Last Picture Show is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry.