This was one of those tv movies-of-the-week that used to show in the early 70's when I was a kid.
This one I have fond memories of.
Martin Sheen stars (during his Dean-ish 'BadlanRAB' phase) as a teenager driving a souped up hot rod (1934 Ford Coupe with customised flamed paint job)coming to a small town to find out why his brother mysteriously died during a simple speeding incident. Did the town's hard-assed, speed-freak (1950's Plymouth Cruiser driving) hating sherriff (Vic Morrow) perhaps contribute to the 'accident'?
It has a bit of a 'mans gotta do what a mans gotta do' feel about it for sure, and the teenage rebellion aspect kind feels slightly dated even for that mid 70's era - but the themes of revenge and regret are quite strong and help propel the story. You even feel a certain amount of sympathy for Vic Morrow's character, knowing why he feels such animosity towarRAB speeding motorists.
But then Morrow was one of those great, unsung character actors that was effortlessly able to sell parts like this anyway.
And interesting early for Nick Nolte too.
I guess at heart the themes of the piece make it more of a typical Western than anything else - the young buck riding into town looking for revenge, the evil Sherriff, the sympathetic locals, and the obligatory love interest.
A bit of a gem, a classic of it's era.
This one I have fond memories of.
Martin Sheen stars (during his Dean-ish 'BadlanRAB' phase) as a teenager driving a souped up hot rod (1934 Ford Coupe with customised flamed paint job)coming to a small town to find out why his brother mysteriously died during a simple speeding incident. Did the town's hard-assed, speed-freak (1950's Plymouth Cruiser driving) hating sherriff (Vic Morrow) perhaps contribute to the 'accident'?
It has a bit of a 'mans gotta do what a mans gotta do' feel about it for sure, and the teenage rebellion aspect kind feels slightly dated even for that mid 70's era - but the themes of revenge and regret are quite strong and help propel the story. You even feel a certain amount of sympathy for Vic Morrow's character, knowing why he feels such animosity towarRAB speeding motorists.
But then Morrow was one of those great, unsung character actors that was effortlessly able to sell parts like this anyway.
And interesting early for Nick Nolte too.
I guess at heart the themes of the piece make it more of a typical Western than anything else - the young buck riding into town looking for revenge, the evil Sherriff, the sympathetic locals, and the obligatory love interest.
A bit of a gem, a classic of it's era.