Red Eyed Devil "He's a red eyed devil in the morning, until he has his cup of joe. But he's an angel in the afternoon, when he takes the kids to the picture show. His grand-kids they all love him. He buys them ice cream, candy, and toys. But when the sun goes down in the evening, he's just one of the boys. Night time you can find him, chasing girls all over the town. He can drink you under the table, and still throw a few more down. Some folks say he's a wild man, but I still think he's brave. He looked so nice in his blue serge suit, when he laid the roses on her grave. She was the one who loved him. He loved her more than he could say. Now that she's gone and left him. He just can't find his way." Based on a song, "Red Eyed Devil" by Jack Heiter and derived from the screenplay of the same name, Red Eyed Devil is a simple story about a plain old country boy, Ward "Bo" Beaumont, a quiet truck farmer on the outskirts of Mobile, Alabama, who finds himself alone when his wife Betty Jane passes away. His son B.J. offers to let him live with him, his wife and their two children, but he declines. He sells the farm to wealthy farmer Boss Ben Reid to pay off doctor bills and his wife's grave site, moves into Miss Maries boarding house, and goes to work at Sid's Feed Barn. Unbeknownst to Ward, Boss Reid makes a deal to give Sid all of his business as long as Ward works for him, because Ward had rescued his daughter Marsha after a bicycle accident when she was ten years old. Sid invites Ward to join him for a drink at the local bar to celebrate his appreciation for Ward's good work. Having never drank alcohol before, Ward becomes a different personality, a party animal of sorts, and charms Sid's friends, Kitty and Sara. Their frequent meetings at Tony's bar become part of Wards life, and he builds his new life by fitting everything into a comfortable life style, spending time with his grandkids, hard work, church, and play. When Sid and Ward find out that Boss Reid is in the hospital, they visit him and find him under the control of his selfish wife, Ellen, who doesn't want him to have visitors. Boss accuses her of chasing away his friends just like she did his daughter. Boss dies the next day and after the funeral Sid and Ward go to the bar to meet Kitty and Sara and drink in his honor. That night a beautiful stranger, Nicole, enters the bar, and Ward, on a dare, approaches her flirtatiously and asks for a date. She accepts his offer for dinner the next night, but at dinner Ward feels guilty and explains to Nicole that he is just a plain hard working country man and can't understand why a beautiful educated young woman would want to have dinner with him. Ward never loved anyone, but his wife Betty Jane.
About the Author: JACK HEITER: ANIMATOR-PRODUCER-DIRECTOR-DESIGNER-SCREENWRITER-ARTIST Executive producer on "Spectres" (aka "Soul Survivor" on Lifetime Movie Network), and winner of the 1996/97 Emmy Award for Animation Direction on Steven Spielberg's series "Freakazoid" for Warner Bros, Jack Heiter has been a major contributor to the entertainment industry for over sixty years working in various capacities of the film arts as producer, director, art director, designer, painter, writer, and creator of animation concepts. Jack is the winner of many art and film awards, three Emmy nominations, a major participant in two Oscar nominations, and some of his animation artwork is in the MoMA permanent film collection. He has written fifteen original screenplays and was featured writer of the month in July 2001 by Scripteaser.com. Calico Productions produced his original cartoon creation, "The Moo Family", and R.G. Prince Films in France optioned his screenplay, "Heritage". The French/German film "Ulzhan" was based on an original story treatment by Jack Heiter. Jack's film and television credits include: The Boing Boing Show, Gerald Mc Boing Boing (shorts), Mr. Magoo (shorts), The Mr. Magoo Show, The Dick Tracy Show, Calvin and the Colonel, The Violinist, The Magic Pear Tree, The Little King, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, Gay Purr-ee, Ham and Hattie, Village Band, Roger Ramjet, Vytor the Star Fire Champion, Denver the Last Dinosaur, The Moo Family, Bobby's World, Mr. Bogus, Widget, Back to the Future, Garfield, Mighty Max, The Pink Panther, Mother Goose, Dennis the Menace, The Critic, Beethoven, Freakazoid, Salty's Lighthouse, Crayon Box, Rocket Power, Rugrats, Rugrats All Grown Up, As Told by Ginger, The Immigrants, Private Eye Princess, Super Lambert, Stinky Pierre, You Animal, Citizen Tony, What's Cooking, Chuck Sweet, Bench Presley, Ronald Macdonald.