The Desperate Miles on AllMovie

Tony Musante has the unenviable task of portraying the least appealing paraplegic hero in TV-movie history in Desperate Miles. Musante plays Joe Larkin, a disabled Vietnam vet who wants to prove to the world that neither he nor his incapacitated brethren are helpless. To do this, he takes to the highway in his wheelchair, bound and determined to complete a 130-mile journey. His progress is threatened by a mean-tempered truck driver (John Chandler), who tailgates Larkin's chair, honks his horn, and screams things like "You think you're someone special?" Unfortunately, Larkin is such a strident and obnoxious character that the audience may be inclined to sympathize with the driver. This is not a hindsight observation: many critics turned thumbs down on the well-intentioned Desperate Miles when it was first broadcast on March 5, 1975.