Ode to Billy Joe (film)

Plot

Set in 1953, the film explores the budding relationship between teenagers Billy Joe McAllister (Benson) and Bobbie Lee Hartley (O'Connor) (who corresponds to the unnamed narrator of the original song), despite resistance from Hartley's family, who contend she is too young to date. One night at a jamboree, McAllister gets drunk and seems nauseated and confused when entering a makeshift brothel behind the gathering. It turns out that in his inebriated state, he had sex with another man, later revealed to be his sawmill boss, Dewey Barksdale (James Best).

After his intimate encounter with Barksdale, Billy Joe disappears for several days. He then returns, and Bobbie Lee finally submits to her passions at a secluded spot near the bridge, and she encourages him to make love to her. Billy Joe, however, is unable to consummate their relationship due to his guilt. He tells Bobbie Lee that he has been with a man, bids her an enigmatic goodbye, and subsequently kills himself by jumping off the bridge spanning the Tallahatchie River. The local preacher, who had seen Billy Joe and Bobbie Lee together, and other townsfolk spread the false story that Billy Joe had impregnated Bobbie Lee out of wedlock and had committed suicide for that reason. For the sake of the family, Bobbie Lee's brother insists that she either quietly pursue an abortion or, if she insists upon having the baby, leave town.

Knowing that no one will ever believe that she and Billy Joe had not had sex and that she was never pregnant, Bobbie Lee decides to leave home. Very early one morning, with suitcase in hand, she walks to town to get a bus. On the way she meets Barksdale on the bridge, where he tells her that he is headed to her house to confess to her father and clear her name. She advises him against doing so, noting that revealing the truth would forever tarnish Billy Joe's reputation. He initially holds fast to his desire to confess, but Bobbie Lee calmly stresses that the news would further devastate Billy Joe's family and leave Barksdale himself subject to criminal prosecution. She also assures him that she does not mind her fate and then adds, "Oh, I'll be back before long; I'm only 15. What do I know of the world?" Finally agreeing with the girl's logic, he offers Bobbie Lee a ride to the bus station, which she graciously accepts. The film ends with the two of them walking off the bridge together.

Cast

On the set

Scenes at the old sawmill were filmed at Cross Lumber Company in Vaiden, Mississippi. The bridge featured in the film crossed the Yazoo River on County Road 512 near Sidon, Mississippi. It has since been demolished and replaced by a modern concrete span in 1987, with plaques at both the eastern and western ends commemorating the film.

Release date

The film was scheduled for release on June 3, 1976 to coincide with the opening lyrics of the song ("It was the third of June..."); however, since most new motion picture releases in the United States do not occur on Thursday, the date was moved back to Friday, June 4.