The California Kid (1974) (TV)

Director:

Richard T. Heffron

Writer:

Richard Compton (writer)

Release Date:

25 September 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

In this town a speeding ticket is a death sentence

Plot:

A sadistic small-town sheriff has a habit of deliberately forcing speeders to their deaths on the mountain roads leading into town...

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Small Town | Hot Rod | Sheriff | Corrupt Sheriff

Cast

Martin Sheen	...	Michael McCord
Vic Morrow	...	Sheriff Roy Childress
Michelle Phillips	...	Maggie
Stuart Margolin	...	Deputy
Nick Nolte	...	Buzz Stafford
Janit Baldwin	...	Sissy
Gary Morgan	...	Lyle Stafford
Frederic Downs	...	Judge J.A. Hooker
Don Mantooth	...	Jack (as Donald Mantooth)
Joe Estevez	...	Don McCord
Britt Leach	...	Johnny
Norman Bartold	...	Howard
Barbara Collentine	...	Edith
Michael Richardson	...	Charley
Gavan O'Herlihy	...	Tom

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Piru, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

This was ABC-TV's 200th "Movie of the Week".

Goofs:

Continuity: The engine in the real '34 Ford was just a plain 302 Ford with a single four barrel carb. To make it appear more of a hot rod engine, the engine actually shown to Sheriff Roy Childress is the 327 Chevy from the yellow '32 coupe from American Graffiti with 4 two barrel carbs.

Quotes:

Sheriff Roy Childress: I want you out of this town today McCord.

Too Cool for Cool

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.