Petey Wheatstraw (1977): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1977, Petey Wheatstraw is an action, comedy, fantasy and horror film directed by Cliff Roquemore, running about 99 minutes. “Have No Fear, It's the Comedy Smash of the Year!” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Petey Wheatstraw (Rudy Ray Moore) is a candidate to become the devil's son-in-law. The storyline is a scaffolding on which Rudy Ray Moore's standup humor can be unfolded. Beginning life as the afterbirth to a watermelon, the young Wheatstraw becomes a martial artist, but is unable to best the evil comedy team of Leroy and Skillet, who also indulge in wholesale murder. Satan restores the comedians' victims to life, and charges Petey with the task of marrying his clock-stoppingly ugly daughter to give him a grandchild. When Petey attempts to default on the deal, he is pursued by the devil's henchmen.

Who’s in it. Petey Wheatstraw stars Rudy Ray Moore as Petey, Sy Richardson as Petey's Father, Jimmy Lynch as Jimmy and Leroy Daniels as Leroy, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.2/10, Petey Wheatstraw has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo and YouTube TV and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Petey Wheatstraw page.

If you liked it. Fans of Petey Wheatstraw tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.