Several years ago, I wrote a story titled “Car Guy.” It basically detailed my life as a gearhead, this being what car aficionados are often called. Lake Havasu City is filled with these people, with more hotrods in this town per capita than anywhere in the US. That’s one of the reasons my wife and I moved here, besides the blue skies and sunny weather.
Deciding to write another short automotive-related story, this piece is more in line with my two favorite car movies, “American Graffiti” and “Vanishing Point.”
Both movies premiered in 1971 and 1973, respectively, with 1972 being the year I graduated from high school. It’s hard to believe both films are well over 50 years old, and still very popular; each is a cult classic.
In the film “American Graffiti,” Bob Falfa, played by Harrison Ford, wrecks his car during a climactic drag race. The wreck occurs when Falfa races against John Milner, the reigning local street racer. Bob Falfa, no relation to Al, pushes his car too hard in an attempt to beat Milner.
As the race nears its end, Falfa loses control, causing his car to crash, flip over, and burn. The primary reason for the wreck is Falfa’s aggressive driving and desire to prove himself as the fastest racer, which leads him to take risks beyond his skill or the car’s capabilities.
This crash also serves as the dramatic turning point in the film, underlining the themes of recklessness, youth, and the fleeting nature of bravado and competition. Both Bob Falfa and his passenger, Laurie Henderson, survive the accident. Laurie quickly decides at this point that Falfa is a loser in both life and the street race.
The late actress Cindy Williams plays Laurie Henderson, Steve Bolander’s girlfriend. Ron Howard is Steve, Paul Le Mat took on the role of John Milner, while Richard Dreyfuss is Curt Henderson, Laurie’s brother. Candy Clark is a blonde bimbo named Debbie Dunham.
Charles Martin Smith perfectly portrayed a nerdy character nicknamed Terry “The Toad” Field. The late Wolfman Jack and Suzanne Somers are also in the movie. The real stars of this show are the cars, especially the yellow ’32 Ford Deuce Coupe and black ’55 Chevy.
There were two stars in “Vanishing Point”: the late actor Barry Newman, who played Jimmy Kowalski, a former racecar driver and cop. His costar was a 1970—440 Magnum—4-speed—Dodge Challenger R/T.
The central plot in “Vanishing Point” was Kowalski attempting to deliver his new Challenger to San Francisco from Denver in 15 hours, under the influence of speed, both in pill form and horsepower-induced. Had it not been for two D-8 Caterpillars deliberately parked in the middle of a highway, he would’ve made it.
I’ve jokingly told friends and strangers that had Kowalski been driving a faster 426 Hemi Charger, he might’ve been able to successfully outrun the police helicopter and cruisers. No one believes this other than me.
I’ve watched both of these movies at least ten times, if not more. I have favorite scenes in each, with the police car in “American Graffiti” having its rear axle chained to a post being a gut-buster where laughing is concerned. When the cops quickly take off after an outlaw group called ‘The Pharaohs,’ they’re in for a surprise.
In “Vanishing Point,” Kowalski stops to pick up a recently married gay couple who’ve encountered car trouble. They quickly push their vehicle into a ditch and climb inside the rumbling white Dodge. The pair then attempts to hijack Kowalski’s car using a gun. A classic line from this scene is, “What are you looking at, Mary?”
The language and some of the frames in the original film have now been edited to make it less offensive. I couldn’t even find mention of the hijacking on Google, which doesn’t surprise me. A brief nudity scene of a girl riding a motorcycle naked was also axed. I observed much worse in “Forrest Gump.”
The first time I viewed this hijacking part, I never laughed so hard. A good friend came close to wetting his drawers, and he’s the one admitting such. Thankfully, somewhere in my boxes of packed-up worldly goods are an unedited VHS copy and a DVD of the same. They’re now permanently saved for my kids and grandchildren to someday view.
Vintage Western movies have been treated the same by the WOKE generation, mostly in terms of racist language being cut. If you’ve never watched “Vanishing Point,” make sure to get an unedited copy before you do. They’re readily available on eBay.
I’ve sat through several car movies over the years, but none come remotely close to these two, in my opinion. There’s nothing like a good car movie to get my heart pumping, other than perhaps a large raspberry mocha with two coffee beans on top!
I like to write junk... 