Stand by Me is a 1986 American coming of age drama adventure film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell. Based on Stephen King's novella The Body, the title is derived from the Ben E. King song of the same name, which plays over the opening and end credits. The film tells the story of four boys in small town Oregon who go on a hike across the countryside to find the dead body of a missing child.