Starring Fabian, Annette Funicello, Diane McBain, and Jan Murray
Directed by Richard Rush
Music and Lyrics by various
American International made one last stab at a car racing teen musical in 1967 before moving on to biker movies and psychedelic freak-outs for the hippies. This time, they dropped Avalon, but retained Funicello and Fabian and added TV favorites Jan Murray and Maureen Arthur. Instead of a melodrama involving moonshiners, we have a stock car racer turned stunt driver who trains another man to become a racer...and falls for his girlfriend in the process. How does all this look today? Let's begin on the track with up-and-coming racer Tommy Callahan (Fabian) and find out...
The Story: Tommy has been having mysterious blackouts...and one caused the death of another driver in an accident during a race. After being suspended, Tommy turns to Pete Madsen (Murray) and his "Thrill Circus" stunt show for employment. He's impressed with the Masden's tough daughter Francie (Funicello), but not with his job. He finally teaches Francie's driver boyfriend Eddie (Warren Berlinger) to be a professional driver. Francie's impressed. So is Tommy's older girlfriend Annie (McBain), who decides Eddie's now the guy for her. Even when Tommy does manage to get back on track, he's still worried about his blackouts...but it's Francie who helps him realize where those blackouts are coming from...
The Song and Dance: This wound up being a bit of a surprise. Not only does Funicello have more to do here, but she puts in what may be her best performance as the tough female racer who knows her way around a car and a man. McBain also does well as the older woman for whom security comes first and love a distant second, Fabian's not bad as the troubled racer, and Murray has some funny moments as Francie's smooth-talking impresario father. Director Richard Rush knows his way around stunts and cars - he would go on to do the classic action comedy The Stunt Man in 1980 - and has some very excitingly composed racing sequences, especially in the big race towards the end.
Favorite Number: Funicello performs "When You Get What You Want" at the big party mid-way through the film. We also get some wilder-than-usual dancing to "Riot In Thunder Alley" performed by Eddie Beram. The Band Without a Name sings the title song over the credits and does "Time After Time (I Keep Lovin' You)." Among the background instrumentals for the dancers performed by The Sidewalk Sounds (actually Davie Allan and the Arrows) are "Pete's Orgy" and "Calahan's March."
Trivia: Fabian's car is a 1967 Dodge Thunder Charger built by custom car creator George Harris.
Annette Funicello's last movie for American International.
What I Don't Like: While the script is a bit better than the one in Fireball 500, it's still a standard racing melodrama. It's so cliched, it almost plays as a spoof. No wonder Funicello wanted out. It's also obvious that the washed-out stock car footage was filmed well before the rest of the movie. Despite Rush's skill, it's still pretty badly integrated. Warren Berlinger is stiff as a board and just as dull. I have no clue why either woman would go for him, or why Tommy thought he'd be a great racer.
The Big Finale: I can actually understand why this went on to inspire a generation of car-crazy drive-in movie fans, including Quentin Tarantino. While no masterpiece, it's still a lot of fun, with a career-best performance by its leading lady and some decent stunts. Recommended for fans of the leads or vintage racing.
Home Media: Alas, same deal as with Fireball 500. Disc only at press time, and they're expensive. You're better off checking eBay or other used venues.
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