The Long Summer of George Adams

James Garner's longtime Rockford Files colleague directed this Saroyanesque 1982 TV movie. George Adams (Garner) is a railroad steam-engine handyman in Cushing, Oklahoma, circa 1952. Increasing reliance upon the diesel engine has rendered George's job obsolete; the only employment he can find is as a night watchman, which subjects him to ridicule from the community. George struggles to hold his home and family together, despite such roadblocks as a tattered relationship with his wife (Joan Hackett), a brief affair with the town temptress (Anjanette Comer), a fistic bout with the local business bigwig, and a nocturnal tussle with a gang of bank robbers. The Long Summer of George Adams was based on a novel by Weldon Hill.