The Buddy Holly Story (1978)

15 Pictures

7	Rating (55 ratings)
7.2	IMDB rating

Add to favorites

Edit page

Search at Amazon

Directed by

Steve Rash

Starring (View all)

Gary Busey
Buddy

Don Stroud
Jesse

Charles Martin Smith
Ray Bob

Conrad Janis
Ross Turner

Maria Richwine
Maria Elena

Amy Johnston
Cindy Lou

Dick O'Neill
Sol Gittler

Fred Travalena
Madman Mancuso

Lists

68 votes

The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (1003 items)
list by jaytoast

Published 14 years, 7 months ago

28 comments

46 votes

Actors Who Played Singers (35 items)
list by Kandi

Published 10 years, 1 month ago

11 comments

39 votes

100 & 99 Of My Favorite Films From The 1970's (199 items)
list by The Mighty Celestial

Published 15 years ago

1 comment

39 votes

Favorite Music Biopics (25 items)
list by kathy

Published 11 years, 6 months ago

3 comments

38 votes

Cello - Movies (37 items)
list by Kandi

Published 10 years, 2 months ago

11 comments

View all The Buddy Holly Story lists

The Buddy Holly Story Videos

The Buddy Holly Story (Complete)

77 Views

Added 11 years ago

The Buddy Holly Story(1978)_Trailer

72 Views

Added 16 years ago

Gary Busey - The Buddy Holly Story - Rave On

44 Views

Added 9 years ago

View all The Buddy Holly Story videos

Cover art, photos and screenshots

9 votes

6 votes

5 votes

1 vote

View all The Buddy Holly Story pictures (12 more)

Description: He was a gawky, shy Texas kid with glasses who had rock 'n' roll quicksilver in his soul. In the mid 1950's, Buddy Holly (Gary Busey) and his two high school chums — Jesse Clarence (Don Stroud) and Ray Bob Simms (Charlie Martin Smith) are playing traditional c&w fare in their home town of Lubbock. But word spreads like wildfire when Buddy premiers "That'll Be the Day" at the roller rink. The kids can feel in their bones that somethin' exciting is coming alive. An executive at Decca Records who hears the three-some's music on the radio invites them down to Nashivlle but then scorns their "nigger sounding m He was a gawky, shy Texas kid with glasses who had rock 'n' roll quicksilver in his soul. In the mid 1950's, Buddy Holly (Gary Busey) and his two high school chums — Jesse Clarence (Don Stroud) and Ray Bob Simms (Charlie Martin Smith) are playing traditional c&w fare in their home town of Lubbock. But word spreads like wildfire when Buddy premiers "That'll Be the Day" at the roller rink. The kids can feel in their bones that somethin' exciting is coming alive.

An executive at Decca Records who hears the three-some's music on the radio invites them down to Nashivlle but then scorns their "nigger sounding music." Back home again, Buddy learns one of his tapes has gotten around the East and is very popular. Holly and "the Crickets" (Clarence & Smith) shake the dust from their feet and head off for New York City. Having learned a valuable lesson in Nashville, Holly talks Coral Records into allowing him to produce his own records. The executive balks but gives in to the shrewd country boy.

Buddy Holly rides a streak of good fortune. His creative juices are flowing with new numbers and he falls in love with a Puerto Rican girl (Maria Richwine). One of the best scenes in the film shows a frightened Holly and the Crickets standing in front of an all black audience at Harlem's Apollo Theatre. But once they begin to play, the Esperanto of rock 'n' roll sets the place a rockin' and a reelin'.

Gary Busey's performance as Buddy Holly is a tour de force — one of the year's best screen portraits. He radiates the singer/songwriter's sincerity and, best of all, communicates the genuine vitality that has been plasticized this year in all of John Travolta's impersonations of individuals affected by popular music. Busey's strongest moments on screen come when he marries and undergoes a dry period in his career. He is especially pained by a separation from the Crickets. All of this makes the ending doubly sad. We learn that just before an expected reunion with his old group Holly was killed with three others in an airplane crash.

Director Steve Rash and screenplay writer Robert Gittler are to be commended for keeping this bio-drama on an intimate level throughout. We are moved by the joyfulness of the music (all three lead characters can really rock 'n' roll) and we are touched by the honest sentiment of the plot. The Buddy Holly Story should be experienced by the whole family. It is possibly the only rock film release of the year that could be enjoyed by youth and adults alike. ... (more)

Release date: 6 September 1978

Tags: Biography (8), Drama (7), Music (6), 1978 (5), Musical (3), Singer (3), 1970s (3), Comedy (2), Rock (2), Tragedy (2), Biopic (2), Rags To Riches (2), Rock And Roll (2), Pregnant Wife (1), HQ (1), Pregnant (1), Rock Star (1), Affection (1), Song (1), Dramas (1)

My tags:

Add tags

Update feed

piash128 added this to have watched list 1 week ago

Vismund Cygnus rated this 6/10 2 weeks, 3 days ago

joseph73 rated this 10/10 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Texal added this to a list 11 months, 2 weeks ago

The only good film by its director (25 movies items)

moviebuff added this to a list 1 year, 1 month ago

101 Show Biz Films You Must See Before You Die (101 movies items)

JxSxPx added this to a list 1 year, 7 months ago

The B List (59 movies items)

diabolical dr voodoo added this to a list 1 year, 7 months ago

Acervo Versátil Home Video (2440 movies items)

cteddiesgirl added this to a list 1 year, 11 months ago

Movies/Titles I Have (7076 movies items)

Constangreen added this to have watched list 2 years ago

djprojexion added this to a list 2 years, 5 months ago

DVD Pickups Fall/Winter 2022 (45 movies items)

"I'm eager to see this since it's an early Gary Busey performance but unfortunately I realized after I bought it that it's a lousy fullscreen version. I must be slipping because I'm always watching out for these. I'll still watch it but man, what a bummer (note - a widescreen version DVD does exist, so I will keep an eye out for it!)."

SA-512 posted 2 images 3 years, 2 months ago

crazymetalhead added this to a list 3 years, 3 months ago

10,001 MOVIES YOU NEED TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE (2447 movies items)

teofilomoraes added this to wanted list 3 years, 5 months ago

diabolical dr voodoo voted for an image 4 years, 1 month ago

samira added this to a list 4 years, 1 month ago

B (557 movies items)

Joreth added this to a list 4 years, 2 months ago

Marathon Movies (1230 movies items)

mrtamboril added this to have watched list 4 years, 3 months ago

the thin man rated this 9/10 4 years, 5 months ago

westly rated this 8/10 4 years, 7 months ago

Watchman added this to have watched list 4 years, 8 months ago

Meta_Ridley voted for an image 5 years, 3 months ago

Joey Jojo Jr Shabidu rated this 8/10 5 years, 8 months ago

ekimo72 added this to a list 5 years, 9 months ago

My Movie Collection (5158 movies items)

r8erdave50 rated this 6/10 6 years ago

Georgini voted for 4 images 6 years, 1 month ago

wrenster rated this 8/10 6 years, 10 months ago

wrenster added this to a list 6 years, 10 months ago

Movies Viewed in 2018 (361 movies items)

"A decent, straight-forward biopic of the rise to fame of Buddy Holly, from country singer to rock n' roll king. Gary Busey won an Oscar nomination for his performance, in which he sings all the songs himself and live. Solid support too from Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith as his friends who made up The Crickets. While the direction isn't flashy and it looks more like a TV movie, it still has plenty to enjoy and the music is terrific."