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Road to Salina (1970) movie poster

Timeline

Road to Salina (1970) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
1970 · 96 mins · French
Directed by
Georges Lautner
Starring
Rita Hayworth, Marc Porel, Ed Begley, Mimsy Farmer, Robert Walker Jr., Ivano Staccioli

Jonas, a drifter, travels the desolate road to Salina, Mexico, and stops at a lonely service station run by Mara. She believes he is her son Rocky, who vanished four years earlier. Out of compassion, Jonas stays, meeting Mara’s friend Warren and Rocky’s sister Billie. As he becomes involved, troubling facts about Rocky’s disappearance surface, revealing a tangled mix of desire and danger.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (12)
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Movies like Road to Salina
  5. 5 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Road to Salina (1970)

Where can you watch Road to Salina? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Kanopy: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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12 events in order · contains spoilers

Road to Salina Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Road to Salina (1970) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Jonas arrives and Mara identifies him as Rocky

    Jonas stops at a desolate roadside service station where Mara, the owner, recognizes him as her missing son Rocky. Overwhelmed yet hungry, he agrees to Mara's offer of room and board. He decides to go along with the identification, beginning the impersonation.

    When
    afternoon
    Where
    Desolate roadside service station
  2. Jonas begins living as Rocky

    At Mara's home, Jonas embraces the role, mimicking Rocky's mannerisms and slowly accepting Mara's belief that he is her son. The deception becomes a routine, and Jonas grows comfortable in the new life. He tries to ignore lingering doubts about the truth.

    When
    evening
    Where
    Mara's house
  3. Warren visits and accepts the façade

    Warren arrives and behaves as if Jonas is Rocky, reinforcing the illusion for Mara. The household settles into a fragile normality as the charade continues. Jonas gains confidence in his counterfeit identity.

    When
    next day
    Where
    Mara's house
  4. Billie returns and rekindles the identity

    Billie, Rocky's sister, comes home and appears to recognize Jonas as Rocky. She forms a bond with him and the two quickly develop a romantic connection. The line between truth and performance blurs as they spend days together and even skinny-dip by the ocean.

    When
    a few days later
    Where
    Mara's house and nearby ocean
  5. Dinner party celebrates Rocky’s return

    A dinner party gathers Mara, Billie, Warren, and Jonas, celebrating Rocky's return. The atmosphere is warm and trusting, reinforcing the illusion for Mara and the others. Jonas feels momentarily secure in his role.

    When
    evening
    Where
    Mara's house
  6. Jonas senses trouble as Billie’s affair surfaces

    Jonas notices Billie's deepening affair with him as Rocky and realizes the harmony may be a fragile facade. Mara and Warren worry that the truth could surface and shatter the family tableau. He begins to press for reasons behind Rocky's disappearance.

    When
    following days
    Where
    Mara's house
  7. Jonas seeks Linda in Salina; Linda does not recognize him

    Following Warren's hint about Rocky's girlfriend Linda, Jonas travels to Salina to locate her. At Linda's restaurant, she fails to recognize him as Rocky, the first clear sign something is off. He uses a distraction at the bar to draw attention and gauge Linda's response.

    When
    night
    Where
    Linda's restaurant, Salina
  8. Jonas discovers photos proving Rocky's real identity differs

    Back at Billie’s room, Jonas steals old photographs that show he does not resemble the real Rocky. The discovery deepens his suspicions and forces him to confront the deception. He confronts Billie with the truth, seeking answers about Rocky's life.

    When
    following night
    Where
    Billie's bedroom; Mara's house
  9. Billie confesses to protect Mara and loves Rocky

    Billie admits she lied to safeguard Mara and that she loved Rocky and wanted him back. The confession destabilizes Jonas and changes the relationships within the household. The truth remains tangled and dangerous.

    When
    soon after confrontation
    Where
    Mara's house
  10. Linda reveals she planned to elope with Rocky

    Linda explains she was going to elope with Rocky the day he disappeared, adding another layer to Rocky's life. The revelation expands the mystery behind Rocky's disappearance. Jonas's resolve to uncover the truth hardens.

    When
    next day
    Where
    Linda's restaurant (Salina)
  11. Charlie visits and unsettles the illusion

    Charlie, an old friend of Jonas, visits and unsettles the fragile façade by interacting with Mara, Billie, and Jonas. The encounter heightens the risk that the truth will emerge. Mara grows wary of how far the deception has gone.

    When
    later that evening
    Where
    Mara's house
  12. The truth erupts: Billie killed Rocky; Jonas kills Billie

    Jonas learns that Billie killed Rocky to stop their incestuous relationship when he tried to leave. In a heated argument, he shoves Billie against a wall and accidentally kills her. He flees into the rain, while Mara confirms she knew Jonas wasn't Rocky all along and urges him to surrender; he goes to Salina to tell the sheriff what happened. The narrative unfolds as a flashback.

    When
    immediately after the confrontation, stormy night
    Where
    Mara's house; on the road in rain; Salina

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 10:46

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Movie threads

More Movies Like Road to Salina, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Road to Salina tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Slow burn thrillers about family secrets like Road to Salina

Stories where a home's peaceful facade hides dangerous, claustrophobic truths. If you liked the oppressive secrets in Road to Salina, explore more movies about dangerous family truths. These slow burn thrillers and dramas feature claustrophobic settings, psychological tension, and the unraveling of lies that bind families together in unsettling ways.

  • claustrophobic
  • unsettling
  • brooding
  • suspenseful
  • atmospheric
  • melancholic
  • Tone: dark, unsettling
  • Pacing: slow burn
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically involve an outsider or a family member gradually piecing together a troubling past event—often a death, crime, or taboo relationship—that the family has conspired to conceal. The plot unfolds through subtle clues and tense interactions, leading to a climax that shatters the family's fragile peace.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on a slow revelation of a family's dark core, creating a consistent mood of atmospheric unease and psychological suspense. They prioritize a heavy, brooding tone over fast-paced action.

Thrillers about dangerous deception like Road to Salina

Thrillers where a mistaken identity traps a character in a web of lies and danger. Fans of the mistaken identity plot in Road to Salina will enjoy these suspenseful movies. They feature protagonists caught in a web of lies, often in isolated locations, where they must navigate claustrophobic relationships and the looming threat of a violent past being uncovered.

  • claustrophobic
  • suspenseful
  • unsettling
  • anxious
  • paranoid
  • brooding
  • Tone: dark, tense
  • Pacing: slow, building dread
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a protagonist who assumes—or is forced into—someone else's life. As they become entangled in the missing person's complicated relationships and secrets, they find it increasingly difficult to escape. The story is defined by a rising sense of paranoia and the inescapable consequences of the original deception.

Why they belong together: These films share a core plot mechanism of mistaken identity that creates immediate psychological tension and claustrophobia. They are united by a dark tone, a slow-building pace that emphasizes dread, and a consistently high level of suspense derived from the protagonist's precarious situation.

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Movies Like Road to Salina

Similar movies to Road to Salina: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

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Every angle

Road to Salina (1970) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Road to Salina in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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