Cannonball! (1976)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Paul Bartel

Writers:

Paul Bartel (writer)
Don Simpson (writer)

Release Date:

6 July 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The annual Trans-American outlaw road race - A cross country demolition derby without rules!

Plot:

Ex-con-turned-race car driver Coy "Cannonball" Buckman signs up for the annual Trans-American Grand Prix...

Plot Keywords:

Mafia | New York City | Road | Hitman | Carsploitation

Cast

David Carradine	...	Coy 'Cannonball' Buckman
Bill McKinney	...	Cade Redman
Veronica Hamel	...	Linda Maxwell
Gerrit Graham	...	Perman Waters
Robert Carradine	...	Jim Crandell
Belinda Balaski	...	Maryann
Judy Canova	...	Sharma Capri
Archie Hahn	...	Zippo Friedman
Carl Gottlieb	...	Terry McMillan
Mary Woronov	...	Sandy Harris, Girl in the Van #1
Diane Lee Hart	...	Wendy, Girl in the Van #2
Glynn Rubin	...	Ginny, Girl in the Van #3
James Keach	...	Wolf Messer
Dick Miller	...	Bennie Buckman
Stanley Bennett Clay	...	Beutell (as Stanley Clay)

Also Known As:

Carquake (UK)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:93 min | USA:93 min | Portugal:90 min (TV version)

Country:

USA | Hong Kong

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Iceland:16 | West Germany:12 (TV version) | West Germany:18 (cinema release) | USA:R (original rating) | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | UK:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Harbor Freeway, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cross Country

Trivia:

Both this film and "The Cannonball Run" (1981) were novelized by the same author, Michael Avallone.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the sequence where the girls in the van give the black guy in the Lincoln a spray of the fire extinguisher, the road they are on changes from a two-lane road to a four-lane highway between shots.

Quotes:

[Jim and Maryann pull into a gas station around the same time the attendant walks out, then he and Jim open up the hood]
Desert Gas Station Attendant: Hello. What can I do for you?
Jim Crandell: I need a new fanbelt because this one's about had it.
Desert Gas Station Attendant: Oh, I'm sorry, Mister. I don't carry anything like that. You'll have to go to an auto supply place.
Jim Crandell: Well... Could I, at least, have a piece of tape to hold it together 'til we get there?
Desert Gas Station Attendant: [Begins to search his pockets] Well, sure. I can give you some tape. I don't know how long it'll hold though.
Maryann: Where's the nearest place we an get a fanbelt?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Unleashing the Beast: Making 'The Howling' (2003) (V)

Funny

This movie is cheaply made, and is very stupied. If you take it seriously then you will hate this movie. A few drinks latter you will love Premen Watters(the singing cowboy). If you love cars, crashes, and cheap humor rent it. The German auto racer make this movie worth renting all by himself.