Fireball 500 (1966)

Director:

William Asher

Writers:

William Asher (written by) and
Leo Townsend (written by)

Release Date:

7 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

They're Running Hot!

Plot:

Stock car racer Dave Owens plays into the hands of whiskey runners by agreeing to drive in a cross-country road race...

Plot Keywords:

Fight | Carsploitation | Car Chase | Camp | Hillbilly

Cast

Frankie Avalon	...	Dave Owens
Annette Funicello	...	Jane Harris
Fabian	...	Sonny Leander
Chill Wills	...	Big Jaw Harris
Harvey Lembeck	...	Charlie Bigg
Julie Parrish	...	Martha
Douglas Henderson	...	Agent Hastings (as Doug Henderson)
Baynes Barron	...	Agent Bronson
Sandy Reed	...	The Announcer
Mary Hughes	...	Leander Fan
Salli Sachse	...	Leander Fan
Patti Chandler	...	Leander Fan
Jo Collins	...	Leander Fan
Karla Conway	...	Leander Fan
Maria McBane	...	Leander Fan (as Marie McBane)
Hedy Scott	...	Leander Fan
Linda Bent	...	Leander Fan
Len Lesser	...	Man in Garage
Luree Holmes	...	Race Girl
Renie Riano	...	Marthy (as Renee Riano)
Sue Hamilton	...	Farmer's Daughter
R.L. Armstrong	...	Herman's Friend (as Tex Armstrong)
Jason Johnson	...	Herman
Paul Napier
Michael Nader	...	Joey (as Mike Nader)
Billy Beck	...	Jobber
Ed Garner	...	The Farmer
Eddie Gray
Carol Byron
Bill Putney
Vin Scully	...	The Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby Brack	...	Race Driver (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
William Asher

Writing credits
William Asher		(written by) and
Leo Townsend		(written by)

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	producer
Gene McCabe	....	associate producer
James H. Nicholson	....	producer
Burt Topper	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Les Baxter

Cinematography by
Floyd Crosby		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Fred R. Feitshans Jr.		(as Fred Feitshans)
Eve Newman

Art Direction by
Daniel Haller

Set Decoration by
Harry Reif

Costume Design by
Richard Bruno

Makeup Department
Ted Coodley	....	makeup artist
Ray Forman	....	hair stylist (as Ray Foreman)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dale Hutchinson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Karl Brainard	....	properties
Ross Hahn	....	construction coordinator
Richard M. Rubin	....	properties

Sound Department
Don Rush	....	sound mixer
Gene Corso	....	sound effects (uncredited)
James Nelson	....	sound effects (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Frank DeMarco	....	special effects

Stunts
Ronnie Dayton	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jacques R. Marquette	....	process photographer (as Jacques Marquette)
Jack Beckett	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Paul Jacobsen	....	electrician (uncredited)
John Monte	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Fred C. Pearce	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Guy Hemric	....	additional songs
Milton Lustig	....	music editor
Al Simms	....	musical supervisor
Jerry Styner	....	additional songs

Other crew
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	presenter
Jack W. Cash	....	assistant to producer (as Jack Cash)
Charles Murray	....	technical advisor
James H. Nicholson	....	presenter
Christopher Riordan	....	choreographer (as Ronnie Riordan)
George Barris	....	car customizer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Nora-Filmverleih (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (Canada)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Beat (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Beat (????) (USA) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Westheimer Company (photographic special effects)

Other Companies

• Clokey Productions  animated sequences (as Clokey Films)
• Nelson-Corso  sound effects
• Ryder Sound Services  sound by
• VOX USA  musical instruments (as Vox)
• Westheimer Company  titles

Also Known As:

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~4.5 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~4.4 seconds.

Goofs:

Continuity: Frankie Avalons Moonshine car is a blue 2 door. But when he crashes, the car that is shown upside down after the wreck is a 4 door.

Quotes:

Jane:Is Dave in trouble?
Leander:Yeah, I think so.
Jane:This may sound like a foolish feminine question but why don't you help him?
Leander:I can't. He's doing it to himself.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Love Bug (1968)

Soundtrack:

Fireball 500

DampSquib 500

AIP and William Asher (his day job doing 'Bewitched') grab those Beach Blanket Bores Annette & Frankie and put them into the stock racing milieu. Surprise: Frankie romances Julie Parrish instead of Annette, while Annette stays true to Fabian. No surprise: both Frankie and Annette sing. Blah. Then there is Harvey Lembeck dropping the Erich Von Zipper-shtick in order to play an ordinary villain; in this case a race car shop owner doing some roughhouse bootlegging on the side. There's a weird intro of claymation cavemen (who also reappear at the end) and lots of race car footage (appealing, I guess, to nostalgic stock car aficionados). As usual, the other women strut their stuff while Annette remains smothered in clothing up to her chin. The only funny thing in this carbon monoxide-weary enterprise is watching Frankie Avalon try and play it tough. The sight of this tiny man with a huge foamy thatch of hair thicker than his body engaging in fight scenes and tough talk is a hoot.