(Paul Bartel, US 1976, 93 min., 35mm)
Roger Corman’s New World Pictures distributed this cross-country car film produced by the Shaw Brothers, but shot in the United States. Based on the very real, but very illegal, Cannonball Run that began in 1971, the film is a wild car-lover’s chase and race with plenty of metal mangling and explosions to keep the biggest fan happy. Our hero is Coy Buckman (David Carradine), a race car driver turned convict who is breaking his parole just by crossing state lines. His competitors are an assortment of colorful characters and cars, including a limousine and a van full of nubile young women. Never much interested in cars and racing, director Paul Bartel nonetheless re-teamed with his Death Race 2000 star for this film. Instead, Bartel filled the film with industry cameos to have fun on set.