Heart Beat (1980)
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, (more)
- Director(s):
- John Byrum
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
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Synopsis of Heart Beat
John Byrum wrote and directed this loosely based biographical tale of Beat author Jack Kerouac and Neal and Carolyn Cassady. John Heard stars as Jack Kerouac, and the film chronicles the Beat lifestyle that shaped the literary and social forces brewing and overflowing in Kerouac's imagination, resulting in the publication of Kerouac's seminal novel On the Road. Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek play the Cassadys, enmeshed in a love-hate relationship that forms the backbone of the film. Kerouac drifts in and out of their lives as the Cassadys take up residence in San Francisco. Ray Sharkey is also on hand as the manic Ira, a thinly veiled character based on Alan Ginsberg. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast of Heart Beat
- Nick Nolte - Neal Cassady
- John Heard - Jack Kerouac
- Anne Dusenberry - Stevie
- Tony Bill - Dick
- Stephen Davies - Bob Bendix
- Ray Vitte - Undercover Agent
- Mary Margaret Amato - Waitress
- Mickey Kelly - Receptionist
- Tom Runyon - Seaman
- Karen Landry
- Sunshine Parker
- John Larroquette - Tv talk show host
- Candy Ann Brown - Claudia
- Bill Cross
- Sissy Spacek - Carolyn Cassady
- Ray Sharkey - Ira
- Margaret Fairchild - Mrs. Kerouac
- Kent Williams - Ogden
- Jenny O'Hara - Betty Bendix
- Steve Allen - Himself
- Don Brodie - Dispatcher
- Sharon Lee - Blonde in Car
- Marcia Nasatir - Receptionist
- Gary Baxley
- Susan Niven - Ogden's Secretary
- John Hostetter - Poet
- Luis Contreras - Mexican Junkie
- Director(s):
- John Byrum
- Writer(s):
- John Byrum
- Producer(s):
- Michael Shamberg, Edward R. Pressman, William Tepper
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Adult Language, Adult Situations, Nudity, Not For Children)
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