 Melba (Cloris Leachman), a widow in the 1950s, begins a wacky life of crime when she loses her Long Beach beauty parlor. She s joined by her mother Sheba (Ann Sothern), her pregnant daughter Cheryl (Linda Purl), and her daughter s boyfriend Shawn (Donny Most). They head for Arkansas in a stolen Cadillac and a wood-paneled station wagon with an old lady, a greaser and defecting sheriff Jim Bob (Stuart Whitman). Great  50s hits include "Black Slacks" and "Transfusion." Director Jonathan Demme ("Silence of the Lambs") had previously done "Caged Heat." Written by Demme s wife, Evelyn Purcell. With Jim Backus, Sally Kirkland, Dick Miller and director John Milius. Tisha Sterling (Ann Sothern s real-life daughter) plays Sothern s character as a young girl at the beginning of the film.