The California Kid (TV 1974)

A deranged, desert town sheriff has a murderous habit or forcing speeders to their deaths, until a young man with a souped-up hotrod arrives to possibly end it.

Director:

Richard T. Heffron

Writer:

Richard Compton

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Vic Morrow, Michelle Phillips

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Joseph Estevez)
Britt Leach	...	Johnny
Norman Bartold	...	Howard
Barbara Collentine	...	Edith
Michael Richardson	...	Charley
Gavan O'Herlihy	...	Tom

Storyline

A sadistic small-town sheriff has a habit of deliberately forcing speeders to their deaths on the mountain roads leading into town. The brother of one of the victims rolls into town in his hot rod to investigate his brother's death.

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Plot Keywords:

sheriff | hot rod | small town | automobile | law | 

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Taglines:

In this town a speeding ticket is a death sentence

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

A kaliforniai kölyök

Filming Locations:

Piru, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joe Estevez, who played the sailor driving the car (Don McCord), is the real life younger brother of Martin Sheen, who played Don's brother in the movie.

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Goofs

When Michael is in the junk yard, walking along the side of the wreaked car his brother was killed in, you can see the reflection of a large studio light in the side window of that car for a brief moment.

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Quotes

Howard: Your Honor, I plead nolo contendere.
Judge J.A. Hooker: That's the same as guilty. That will be a one hundred dollar fine or 10 days in the county jail.

User Reviews

The car is the real star of this movie.

Martin Sheen, Michelle Phillips, Stuart Margolin and the late Vic Morrow are the human stars of this movie about a young man looking for answers about his brother's death. Mr. Sheen, Mr. Margolin and Mr. Morrow all turn in first rate performances in their respective roles; Ms. Phillips has the slightly less than enviable task of trying to spice up a made-for-TV movie (twenty-five years ago), by supplying the "sex interest" in an otherwise sexless film. The real star, however, is the "California Kid"; a 1934 Ford coupe, borrowed from "Jake" Jacobs, put before a camera and given a workout that'll leave the viewer panting, gasping and holding the edge of the seat with breathless anticipation.

The action scenes are spectacular, (although some of the dialog is a bit lame) making for a fine evening's diversion. This is how all "car movies" should be made.

Try to catch this one on the late movie channel; it's well worth the missed sleep.