5 Star Remastered work by Jack Hill.
Now in marvellous Hi-definition this Monochrome budget masterpiece surpasses those films that came after it.
Right from the start this is a petrol-heads dream, loud engines, big cars and drag racing.
Grant Willard, (Brian Donlevy, Kiss of Death) runs California Custom and he likes to see people in his cars winning. The established driver is his worker and stock-car driver Hawk Sidney, (Sid Haig, The Devils Rejects), but there is a new spring buck on the scene, Rick Bowman, (Richard Davalos, Kelly’s Heroes).
Willard wants to open Rick’s eyes to his new race “The Figure Eight ” race which Rick thinks is madness, but if he can beat the steely Hawk his name would be something. With hard racing and big smashes when they hit the intersection, fenders are bent and cars are smashed.
With the camera in the thick of the action you get a real feel for this noisy carnage, you can smell the oil and feel the sparks on your flesh. As the mad eyed Hawk takes the win again.
So Rick joins with Willard and finds himself a car that he can do up so he can race Hawk. He strikes a deal with a an Auto Wrecking company owner and ends up working there as well after he smashes up the car in the first race, but this gives him the source of spare parts for the lust in his life.
Hawk thwarts him at every turn until an old timer shows him the ropes of how to take the turns and not get spun out by his nemesis. He takes it allĀ on board and on the next race he is successful, much to the annoyance of the Hawk, who exacts his revenge on the young upstart and his ride, much to the fright of his girlfriend, Jolene, (Beverley Washburn, The Juggler).
There are bigger cars and bigger races, especially the 400 which is Sonny Simpson’s (Ted Duncan, Christine(Stunts)) territory and they’ll need the expertise of the Mc Cleod’s (Ellen Burstyn, The Exorcist) (George Washburn, Live Fast, Die Young).
What can they do to take down Sonny and take the big prize? With a man with more than one driver, he doesn’t care who takes the chequered flag as long as it promotes California Custom.
Available to Buy on Dual Format on the 7th of April.