Bad Ronald

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Bad Ronald
Directed by	Buzz Kulik
Produced by	Philip Capice
Written by	John Holbrook Vance (novel) Andrew Peter Marin (teleplay)
Starring	Scott Jacoby Pippa Scott Dabney Coleman Kim Hunter
Music by	Fred Karlin
Cinematography	Charles F. Wheeler
Editing by	Samuel E. Beetley
Distributed by	American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
Release date(s)	1974 (TV)
Running time	74 min
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Bad Ronald is a television movie that aired in 1974 starring Scott Jacoby, Dabney Coleman and sisters Lisa and Cindy Eilbacher. It is based on the book of the same title by Jack Vance.

Plot description

Ronald Wilby (Scott Jacoby) is a nerdy high school youth with budding artistic talent and a predilection for fantasy. His mother (Kim Hunter of Planet of the Apes fame) is an over-bearing motherly type, of a similar stripe to those featured in Carrie and the creation of Norman Bates. He is often shamed and mocked for his behavior and mannerisms.

One afternoon he accidentally kills a neighbor's young daughter after being subjected to repeated ridicule. He hides the body and confesses to his mother. Fearing the police will not believe that it was an accident, Ronald and his mother fill in the doorframe to the downstairs bathroom and convert the closed off space to a small studio-like room for Ronald. The plan is for him to hide in the room when anyone visits and he can only come out while his mother is home. The story will be that Ronald went to live with his father.

Ronald's mother keeps paying attention to what the neighbors and others are saying about the young girl's disappearance and tells Ronald that when it's safe, he can return to a normal life. One afternoon while away from home, however, she falls ill. Taken to a hospital, she dies during surgery. In the meantime, Ronald has created a fantasy world in his own head consisting of a prince and a princess that live happily until a devil appears and a struggle begins.

Shortly after her death, the house is sold to a new family. After they move in, the second act of the movie begins.

As Ronald needs food to eat, and begins to crave human interaction, mysterious disappearances of food and odd noises are experienced by the new family. The older daughter of the family becomes identified with Ronald's princess and he identifies himself as the prince. The daughter's boyfriend becomes identified with the monster that threatens their happiness. Ronald's goal is to "regain" his princess and remove anything, including the members of her family, that stops that dream from becoming reality.

The scene is set for a showdown between the mysterious guest and the terrified family.

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