Cry for the Strangers (film)

In 1937, a young boy wakes up in the middle of the night and sees apparitions of Native Americans dancing on the beach before discovering his grandparents' bodies buried up to their heads in the sand. He later grows up to be Chief Whalen, the chief of police for that town.

In the present, Dr. Brad Russell (a psychiatrist) and his wife Elaine move to a fishing town on the Pacific coast. They learn about a local legend which says that thunderstorms in the area are accompanied by apparitions of Native Americans dancing on the beach. A local fisherman named Riley believes these to be ghosts of the "storm dancers" of a local native tribe who once performed executions on the beach by burying victims up to the necks in the sand and allowing them to drown as the tide came in. He furthermore believes these apparitions to be connected to a series of mysterious deaths occurring in the community. Chief Whalen suspects Riley.

Robby Palmer, a hyperactive child whom Dr. Russell treated years before, is significantly calmer when he is in the town. During a thunderstorm in the night, he is found outside on the beach where his mother Rebecca has fallen into a pit. She is rescued, but Robby cannot remember anything. The next night, Robby feels compelled to sneak out to the beach, and his sister Missy follows him. While searching for them, Dr. Russell and others find the dead body of Riley. They find Chief Whalen covered in fake Native American war paint, attempting to kill Missy. Whalen is shot dead. Dr. Russell theorizes that the storms triggered Whalen's traumatic childhood memories, leading him to re-enact their deaths by killing others. Elaine wonders who killed the Whalens in the first place. Robby is later shown approaching the apparitions on a stormy night.

• Patrick Duffy as Dr. Brad Russell
• Cindy Pickett as Elaine Russell
• Lawrence Pressman as Glen Palmer
• Brian Keith as Chief Whalen
• Claire Malis as Rebecca Palmer
• Robin Ignico as Missy Palmer
• Shawn Carson as Robby Palmer
• Jeff Corey as Riley
• Taylor Lacher as Connor
• Parley Baer as Doc Phelps
• Anita Dangler as Miriam Shelling
• Martin Kove as Jeff
• J.V. Bradley as Merle
• Josef James as Young Whalen
• Jerry-Mac Johnston as Max Horton

• Cry for the Strangers at IMDb
• Cry for the Strangers at Internet Archive