The Last Rampage took liberty in re-telling the factual story of the ruthless killer and escaped convict Gary Tison, with his 3 Sons, and another escaped convict who was also like Gary Tison convicted and incarcerated for murder, Randy Greenawalt.
In August of 1978, I drove to Arizona and back to see friends throughout the two weeks this incident transpired and I have never forgotten it, or the details of this brutal deadly story of the murder of six innocent people including a 22-month-old child Christopher Lyon and his 15-year-old Cousin.
I was driving down the AZ-95 highway south of Quartzsite, Arizona the day after the Tyson family of four were found dead and Arizona State Troopers and police were everywhere along every major interstate and back Highway in search of these dangerous escaped convicts. There was extreme tension throughout the entire State during this two-week ordeal.
The actual automobiles were different makes and models than those depicted in the movie. The first car stolen at the prison was a green Ford LTD stolen from the prison yard, not a Dodge/Chrysler and it was replaced with a black Lincoln Continental stolen from
A hospital nearby from Arizona State Prison. Why does it matter if the film depicted the incorrect make and models of automobiles? Because they took many other liberties with this true story, fictionalizing it along the way, unfortunately.
In the movie, The story falsely depicts the second car another Chrysler as loaned to Tison's Sons by his Brother, and Uncle to the 3 Sons, instead of the black Lincoln Continental they stole from a hospital parking lot a couple of miles from the prison.
The 24-year-old Marine, John Lyon, his 22-year-old wife and 22-month-old Son Christopher, and a 15-year-old niece were driving in Orange Mazda not a Ford Maverick. The fleeing felons stopped and bought some silver paint and repainted it trying to evade authorities.
The movie shows both Tison and the second felon Randy Greenawalt as both shooting Lyon's family of 4. In actuality, the 15-year-old niece was not killed immediately, she crawled out of the car and was found bleeding out to death from her bullet wounds, 100 feet from the car.
It is not clear whether the family was shot in one flurry of bullets or systematically. It is also not clear if they were shot by only Gary Tison and Randy Greenawalt, or if the sons joined in. John Lyon's body was found outside of the car, and it was determined his body was blown out of the car by the impact of the shotguns which killed him. The movie depicts everybody dying in that car.
The movie errantly portrays the youngest Tison son Randy at age 17, when in fact he was 18 a legal adult.
This film undoubtedly takes some dramatic license, as all films based on true events do. But with the Tison Gang, it becomes necessary. There are still many unanswered questions - about the run-up to the escape and the relationships of those involved. Not to mention what happened during the nearly two weeks the gang spent on the road, killing six people along the way. This movie is a fictional portrayal of what happened during those 11 days. The remaining surviving two sons have not spoken on record as to what occurred during the time they were on the run. Thus there has been no clarification as to what transpired in that time frame.
The ending scene was not factual either. After the van, they were driving crashed when Donald Tison was shot in the head and immediately died, the other two sons and the two convicts all fled. Only Gary Tison escaped. The two boys and Greenawalt were spotted by an overhead helicopter's flood light as the men were hiding in a ditch.
Gary Tison did not get far about 400-500 yards from the crashed van. The police officer in the movie on horseback did not gallantly find Gary's body rather, His body was found by an employee of a nearby chemical plant who smelled a foul odor.
In real life Gary Tison's wife had a natural "deer in the headlights look", like a cult member whose facial expression and eyes looked glassy hollow, clueless of reality. Although Heather Graham is a great actress, she did her best in portraying Mrs Tison, but she wasn't quite able to fixate her eyes in such a cult-like dazed and brainwashed clueless looking manner.
In August of 1978, I drove to Arizona and back to see friends throughout the two weeks this incident transpired and I have never forgotten it, or the details of this brutal deadly story of the murder of six innocent people including a 22-month-old child Christopher Lyon and his 15-year-old Cousin.
I was driving down the AZ-95 highway south of Quartzsite, Arizona the day after the Tyson family of four were found dead and Arizona State Troopers and police were everywhere along every major interstate and back Highway in search of these dangerous escaped convicts. There was extreme tension throughout the entire State during this two-week ordeal.
The actual automobiles were different makes and models than those depicted in the movie. The first car stolen at the prison was a green Ford LTD stolen from the prison yard, not a Dodge/Chrysler and it was replaced with a black Lincoln Continental stolen from
A hospital nearby from Arizona State Prison. Why does it matter if the film depicted the incorrect make and models of automobiles? Because they took many other liberties with this true story, fictionalizing it along the way, unfortunately.
In the movie, The story falsely depicts the second car another Chrysler as loaned to Tison's Sons by his Brother, and Uncle to the 3 Sons, instead of the black Lincoln Continental they stole from a hospital parking lot a couple of miles from the prison.
The 24-year-old Marine, John Lyon, his 22-year-old wife and 22-month-old Son Christopher, and a 15-year-old niece were driving in Orange Mazda not a Ford Maverick. The fleeing felons stopped and bought some silver paint and repainted it trying to evade authorities.
The movie shows both Tison and the second felon Randy Greenawalt as both shooting Lyon's family of 4. In actuality, the 15-year-old niece was not killed immediately, she crawled out of the car and was found bleeding out to death from her bullet wounds, 100 feet from the car.
It is not clear whether the family was shot in one flurry of bullets or systematically. It is also not clear if they were shot by only Gary Tison and Randy Greenawalt, or if the sons joined in. John Lyon's body was found outside of the car, and it was determined his body was blown out of the car by the impact of the shotguns which killed him. The movie depicts everybody dying in that car.
The movie errantly portrays the youngest Tison son Randy at age 17, when in fact he was 18 a legal adult.
This film undoubtedly takes some dramatic license, as all films based on true events do. But with the Tison Gang, it becomes necessary. There are still many unanswered questions - about the run-up to the escape and the relationships of those involved. Not to mention what happened during the nearly two weeks the gang spent on the road, killing six people along the way. This movie is a fictional portrayal of what happened during those 11 days. The remaining surviving two sons have not spoken on record as to what occurred during the time they were on the run. Thus there has been no clarification as to what transpired in that time frame.
The ending scene was not factual either. After the van, they were driving crashed when Donald Tison was shot in the head and immediately died, the other two sons and the two convicts all fled. Only Gary Tison escaped. The two boys and Greenawalt were spotted by an overhead helicopter's flood light as the men were hiding in a ditch.
Gary Tison did not get far about 400-500 yards from the crashed van. The police officer in the movie on horseback did not gallantly find Gary's body rather, His body was found by an employee of a nearby chemical plant who smelled a foul odor.
In real life Gary Tison's wife had a natural "deer in the headlights look", like a cult member whose facial expression and eyes looked glassy hollow, clueless of reality. Although Heather Graham is a great actress, she did her best in portraying Mrs Tison, but she wasn't quite able to fixate her eyes in such a cult-like dazed and brainwashed clueless looking manner.