# Second-Hand Hearts > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Second-Hand_Hearts > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Second-Hand_Hearts.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-Hand_Hearts > Source revision: 1352878145 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1981 film by Hal Ashby This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Second-Hand Hearts" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Second-Hand Hearts Theatrical release poster Directed by Hal Ashby Written by Charles Eastman Produced by James William Guercio Charles Mulvehill Starring Robert Blake Barbara Harris Bert Remsen Cinematography Haskell Wexler Edited by Amy Holden Jones Music by Willis Alan Ramsey Production company Lorimar Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date May 8, 1981 (1981-05-08) Running time 102 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $7 million[1] Box office $19,450[2] ***Second-Hand Hearts*** is a 1981 American [comedy film](/source/Comedy_film) directed by [Hal Ashby](/source/Hal_Ashby) from a screenplay by [Charles Eastman](/source/Charles_K._Eastman). A shorter version of this screenplay, under its original intended title *The Hamster of Happiness*, was written by Eastman for the unconventional [NBC](/source/National_Broadcasting_Company) anthology series *[NBC Experiment in Television](/source/NBC_Experiment_in_Television)*, which was broadcast in 1968 with [Mildred Dunnock](/source/Mildred_Dunnock) and [Susan Tyrrell](/source/Susan_Tyrrell) in the cast. It was the second of three films Ashby directed which were produced by [Lorimar](/source/Lorimar_Television) Productions. ## Plot This article's plot summary needs to be improved. Please help do so. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. (May 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Dinette Dusty, a manic, mercurial widow separated from her three children, and Loyal Muke, an insecure loner who inadvertently marries her after the two of them go on a drunken bender. After losing his job soon after their marriage, she badgers him into taking her to recover her children, currently in the custody of her less-than-accommodating in-laws, and taking them all to California in the hope of a better life for them all. The film follows the unusual incidents that occur along the road trip. ## Cast - [Robert Blake](/source/Robert_Blake_(actor)) as Loyal Muke - [Barbara Harris](/source/Barbara_Harris_(actress)) as Dinette Dusty - [Bert Remsen](/source/Bert_Remsen) as Voyd - Collin Boone as Human Dusty - Amber Rose Gold as Iota - Jessica & Erica Stansbury as Sandra Dee - [Shirley Stoler](/source/Shirley_Stoler) as Maxy - [Woodrow Chambliss](/source/Woodrow_Chambliss) as Deaf Attendant ## Production and release The filming was plagued by trouble throughout production, much stemming from the erratic behavior of Ashby and writer Eastman. Although it was filmed in 1979, it was not released until 1981, and [Paramount Pictures](/source/Paramount_Pictures), at the time serving as Lorimar's theatrical distributor, chose to only open the film in New York and Los Angeles. This prompted Robert Blake, during one of his frequent guest appearances on *The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson*, to publicly complain about this decision; he presented a clip and tried to increase interest in the film. However, the New York/Los Angeles release received mostly negative reviews, and Paramount stood by its decision to not expand it to other cities. It briefly played cable television a year later, then virtually disappeared from circulation. The film was produced by James William Guercio (billed as James Guercio), who previously had directed Blake in the film *[Electra Glide in Blue](/source/Electra_Glide_in_Blue)*. ## Home media *Second-Hand Hearts*, together with another Ashby film made for Lorimar, *[Lookin' to Get Out](/source/Lookin'_to_Get_Out)*, got a British video release through Guild Home Video in the early 1980s, but never received a domestic home video release until 2013, when it was released on Manufacture-on-Demand DVD by [Warner Archive](/source/Warner_Archive). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["AFI|Catalog"](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56692-SECOND-HAND-HEARTS). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Unknown"](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=secondhandhearts.htm).[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*] ## External links - [*Second-Hand Hearts*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083041/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*Second-Hand Hearts*](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/second_hand_hearts) at [Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes) - [*Second-Hand Hearts*](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=second-handhearts.htm) at [Box Office Mojo](/source/Box_Office_Mojo) v t e Hal Ashby Film The Landlord (1970) Harold and Maude (1971) The Last Detail (1973) Shampoo (1975) Bound for Glory (1976) Coming Home (1978) Being There (1979) Second-Hand Hearts (1981) Lookin' to Get Out (1982) Let's Spend the Night Together (concert film, 1983) Solo Trans (concert film, 1984) The Slugger's Wife (1985) 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) Television Beverly Hills Buntz (episode "Pilot", 1987) Jake's Journey (unsold pilot, 1988) Related Unrealized projects Hal (2018 documentary) This film article about a 1980s comedy film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:1980s-comedy-film-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3A1980s-comedy-film-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:1980s-comedy-film-stub) This article related to an American film of the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:1980s-US-film-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3A1980s-US-film-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:1980s-US-film-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Second-Hand Hearts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-Hand_Hearts) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-Hand_Hearts?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.