Cannonball (1976)

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Movie
German title Cannonball
Original title Cannonball!
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1976
length 84 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Paul Bartel
script Paul Bartel,
Don Simpson
production Samuel W. Gelfman
music David Axelrod
camera Tak Fujimoto
cut Mort Tubor
occupation

Cannonball is an American action film from the year 1976 with David Carradine as a leading actor. This film is one of two films released in 1976 that deal with an illegal, transcontinental rally that was carried out over several consecutive years. The same theme later formed the basis for the films Hell's Going On The Highway (1981), Hell's Going On The Highway (1983) and Cannonball Fever (1989).

action

The Trans-America Grand Prix is ​​an illegal race that is held every year on the Los Angeles to New York City route . Just out of jail, racing driver Coy "Cannonball" Buckman hopes to win the race and get his career going again. He was convicted of a drunk driving accident in which a girl died. The racing team Modern Motors has offered both him and his arch-rival Cade Redman a contract - whoever comes out as the winner of the race will get it. Coy is still on probation and is required not to cross the state border. He has an affair with his probation officer Linda, who tries to prevent him from doing his job - but only to force him to take her into the race.

Redman does not complete the race alone either. He is joined by country singer Perman Waters and his manager Sharma Capri, who have agreed to pay for his race expenses if he takes them to New York in his Dodge Charger .

Other participants in the race are:

  • The surfer couple Jim Crandell and Maryann, who are out and about in Maryann's father's Chevrolet Corvette .
  • Terry McMillan in a Chevrolet blazer
  • The three waitresses Sandy, Ginny and Wendy in a souped-up van
  • The German driver Wolf Messer in a De Tomaso Pantera
  • The African American bag in a Lincoln Continental that he is supposed to bring to New York for a wealthy couple. However, the client does not know that he is taking part in a race with their car.
  • Buckman's best friend Zippo in a Pontiac Trans Am that looks exactly like Coy's.

Unbeknownst to Coy, his brother Bennie has placed a big bet on the race and uses unfair methods to ensure that Coy wins.

With this in mind, the race develops into a destruction derby, Messer is blown up by Bennie, for example. McMillan tries to get an advantage by having his blazer brought to New York by plane and waiting for the race to end with his lover Louisa. Bag's Lincoln continues to get damaged as the race progresses and Jim and Maryann have problems with a defective V-belt. The argument between Coy and Redman reached its climax on the racetrack when the two wanted to push each other off the track. Coy gets off the runway later that night and destroys his vehicle as his headlights were destroyed by Redman. In a nearby village he can get hold of a 1969 Ford Mustang and continue the race.

A little later there is a final duel between him and Redman. In the meantime, the latter has brutally expelled his passengers, Perman and Sharma, from the car, and the musician's guitar broke. In a heated driving duel with Coy, a fragment of the guitar gets under the pedals, causing Redman to lose control of his vehicle and fall off a bridge. The vehicle explodes and Redman dies.

In the meantime, Bennie has hired a sniper to kill the driver of the "other" Trans Am who is about to hit Coy. He is not aware that the driver is Coy's friend Zippo and that Linda is now also sitting in this car. In the meantime, she has also found out that the driver of the accident vehicle that killed the girl was not Coy, but Zippo. Coy had taken the blame knowing that Zippo wouldn't survive in prison.

Bennie's assassin shoots Zippo while driving, causing the vehicle to crash and explode. Linda comes out of the car alive but is seriously injured. Jim and Maryann take the unconscious Linda to the nearest hospital. The wreck of the Trans Am caused a pile-up on the freeway.

Terry McMillan and Louisa cross the finish line first, but Louise slips out a comment indicating they have flown and are disqualified as a result. The girls in the Van and Coy reach New York head to head, but choose different routes in the city. Coy takes the George Washington Bridge, the girls the Lincoln Tunnel. They get into heavy traffic and have an accident while taking a shortcut. Coy reaches the goal and only has to have his time card stamped for the victory, but refrains from doing so when he learns that Zippo and Linda have had an accident and that it is Bennie's fault. He tears up his receipt so that it can no longer be stamped. So Bennie can no longer win his bet and is taken into custody by the mafia from whom he borrowed his bet. Coy gets the contract with the racing team and is driven to the hospital by the manager to meet Linda. The race is won by Jim and Maryann. They are overjoyed because they no longer had hoped for victory by going through the hospital and receive the prize money of 500,000 US dollars.

At the hospital, Coy and Linda are happy to have gotten back together. In the meantime, Beutell delivers the now totally destroyed Lincoln in front of a hotel with the totally amazed owners.

Reviews

"Primitive, inhuman thrill, sloppy and staged without tension."

- Lexicon of international film

"A shrill, noisy, satirical car corso."

- Cinema

Remarks

  • The film's name and plot were borrowed from Erwin G. "Cannon Ball" Baker (1882-1960), who crossed the United States several times, and from the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an illegal transcontinental road race that was inspired by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mile speed limit.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cannonball. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 29, 2015 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Cannonball. In: Cinema . Hubert Burda Media , accessed on May 29, 2015 .