The California Kid (1974)
A sadistic small-town sheriff has a habit of deliberately forcing speeders to their deaths on the mountain roads leading into town. The brother of one of the victims rolls into town in his hot rod to investigate his brother's death.
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Some things I liked some I did not.
Boring
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
To be honest it's not really a classic, even as the acting is above mediocre it is too slow to stand up nowadays. On the other hand for those out there who love old American cars it's a must see because the '34 Ford that's been driven by Martin Sheen became a classic in the custom world.The story itself is easy piecy. Two marines die in a car crash, and suddenly in the small town with a dominating sherriff (Vic Morrow) Michael McCord (Martin Sheen) arrib-ves to investigate what happened. You can see from miles what is happening. There's also a young Nick Nolte to see as a wrecking yard holder. This flick was a pure TV movie back then. If you can stand the slow moving story then it's worth picking uo for the '34 Ford and the '57 Plymouth police cruiser.Worth noting is that Laurie Bird has a main lead, she was the girlfriend of Art Garfunkel but made suicide in '79. Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5
In my original review of this film, I mistakenly referred to the vehicle's owner as "Jake Jacobs". Somehow, I got Mr. Jacobs confused with his partner and friend, Mr. Pete Chapouris, for which I apologize to both gentlemen.It should be noted that Mr. Chapouris is the builder of "The California Kid" and he is also a well-known and respected hot-rodder out of California.(The original coupe is on display at "Pete & Jake's Hot Rod Parts", in Peculiar, MO, under the care of Mr. Jerry Slover. According to reports, the "California Kid" and its stable mate, "Jake's Coupe" have been driven more than 250,000 miles since their original construction as hot-rods).
For those of us Baby Boomers who arrived too late on the scene to appreciate James Dean et. al., Martin Sheen showed us The Way in this great feature.The premise is easy enough: cool hood meets small town sheriff and All-Hell ensues, but the nuts and bolts of this movie enthrall the car nut in all of us. No, this isn't Casablanca, nor is it great Literature, but it IS a serious movie about cars, rebellion, and the genius that is Martin Sheen.Enjoy this and appreciate it for what it is, and for what Martin will become. I loved this movie growing up as a teen in the 70's, and you will too.
Martin Sheen, Michelle Phillips, Stuart Margolin and the late Vic Morrow are the human stars of this movie about a young man looking for answers about his brother's death. Mr. Sheen, Mr. Margolin and Mr. Morrow all turn in first rate performances in their respective roles; Ms. Phillips has the slightly less than enviable task of trying to spice up a made-for-TV movie (twenty-five years ago), by supplying the "sex interest" in an otherwise sexless film. The real star, however, is the "California Kid"; a 1934 Ford coupe, borrowed from "Jake" Jacobs, put before a camera and given a workout that'll leave the viewer panting, gasping and holding the edge of the seat with breathless anticipation.The action scenes are spectacular, (although some of the dialog is a bit lame) making for a fine evening's diversion. This is how all "car movies" should be made.Try to catch this one on the late movie channel; it's well worth the missed sleep.