@northcoast said:

A month or two back, I caught part of a movie on the "Grit" channel.

It appeared to have been made in the 1970s, it was in color, and it took place in the Deep South during the 1950s.

There are a couple of drifters going through a small town.

There is a local Sheriff not too keen on these drifters; he has a young son, 10 or 12, who wears a military-style uniform with lieutenant's bars on the collars (his father makes mention of them); apparently the kid is part of some JROTC-type program.

There is a scene where a young housewife is watching television footage of Joe McCarthy in the news. At that point, thieves break into her house (this is as far as I saw the movie) (these thieves, if I recall correctly, are not the same drifters we see earlier; the movie appears to be following at least two storylines).

Can anyone please tell me the name of this movie?

Thanks in advance!

Do you remember any of the actors, what they looked like, etc.?

No, bratface, sorry I don't.

I usually can place at least one actor from virtually any movie I see, but not this time. They were all unknowns to me. There was some harsh language, bleeped out (Grit is a "broadcast", non-premium cable channel).

The first pair of drifters-- not the burglars --also take an interest in a town girl (not necessarily in a sinister way), which is one of the reasons the Sheriff doesn't seem to like them. Production values for this film were decent, and there was a certain brooding tone, but I saw neither the beginning nor the end, so I'm not exactly sure where the story was heading.

@northcoast said:

No, bratface, sorry I don't.

I usually can place at least one actor from virtually any movie I see, but not this time. They were all unknowns to me. There was some harsh language, bleeped out (Grit is a "broadcast", non-premium cable channel).

The first pair of drifters-- not the burglars --also take an interest in a town girl (not necessarily in a sinister way), which is one of the reasons the Sheriff doesn't seem to like them. Production values for this film were decent, and there was a certain brooding tone, but I saw neither the beginning nor the end, so I'm not exactly sure where the story was heading.

If you remember when you saw it maybe contact Grit with the approximate day & they can help you figure it out?

mech--

I only mentioned the "in color" part because "In Cold Blood" -- which admittedly is a film I haven't seen --is black & white. Its storyline seems to share some similarities with the movie I am looking for, and I didn't want anyone suggesting "In Cold Blood" was the movie in question. I did watch the trailer for "In Cold Blood", and that movie is not the one I saw on Grit.

@northcoast said:

A month or two back, I caught part of a movie on the "Grit" channel.

It appeared to have been made in the 1970s, it was in color, and it took place in the Deep South during the 1950s.

There are a couple of drifters going through a small town.

There is a local Sheriff not too keen on these drifters; he has a young son, 10 or 12, who wears a military-style uniform with lieutenant's bars on the collars (his father makes mention of them); apparently the kid is part of some JROTC-type program.

There is a scene where a young housewife is watching television footage of Joe McCarthy in the news. At that point, thieves break into her house (this is as far as I saw the movie) (these thieves, if I recall correctly, are not the same drifters we see earlier; the movie appears to be following at least two storylines).

Can anyone please tell me the name of this movie?

Thanks in advance!

"Macon County Line (1974)".

Link to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macon_County_Line

This is a link to the movie on YouTube, but I haven't verified it as you need to sign in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-Bj4pvyEVU

wonder2wonder--

That's it! That's it!

Thank you, wonder2wonder!

You're welcome.