Race with the Devil (1975)

Director:

Jack Starrett

Writers:

Lee Frost (written by) and
Wes Bishop (written by)

Release Date:

June 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Peter Fonda and Warren Oates are burning their bridges and a lot of rubber... on the deadliest stretch of road in the country!

Plot:

Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Gothic | Motor Home | Satanism | Cult Horror

Cast

Peter Fonda	...	Roger Marsh
Warren Oates	...	Frank Stewart
Loretta Swit	...	Alice Stewart
Lara Parker	...	Kelly Marsh
R.G. Armstrong	...	Sheriff Taylor
Clay Tanner	...	Delbert
Carol Blodgett	...	Ethel Henderson
Phil Hoover	...	Mechanic
Ricci Ware	...	Ricci Ware
Paul A. Partain	...	Cal Mathers
James N. Harrell	...	Gun Shop Owner
Karen Miller	...	Kay
Arkey Blue	...	Arkey Blue
Jack Starrett	...	Gas Station Attendant
Wes Bishop	...	Deputy Dave
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joyce King	...	Librarian (uncredited)
Paul Maslansky	...	Road Worker in Cowboy Hat (uncredited)
Dan Hewitt Owens	...	Jay (uncredited)
Tommy Splittgerber	...	Shop Foreman (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Starrett

Writing credits
Lee Frost		(written by) and
Wes Bishop		(written by)

Produced by
Wes Bishop	....	producer
Paul Maslansky	....	executive producer
Lee Frost	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Leonard Rosenman

Cinematography by
Robert C. Jessup		(director of photography) (as Robert Jessup)

Film Editing by
John F. Link		(as John Link)

Makeup Department
Dorothy J. Pearl	....	makeup artist (as Dottie Pearl)

Production Management
Frederic W. Brost	....	unit production manager (as Fred Brost)
Tony Wade	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frederic W. Brost	....	assistant director (as Fred Brost)
Stephen Lim	....	second assistant director (as Steve Lim)
Paul Maslansky	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Paul Nuckles	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Mark Wade	....	property master
Stephane Goulet	....	prop supervisor (uncredited)

Sound Department
Don J. Bassman	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Don Bassman)
William M. Randall Jr.	....	production sound mixer

Special Effects by
Richard O. Helmer	....	special effects (as Richard Helmer)

Stunts
Paul Nuckles	....	stunt coordinator (as Paul Knuckles)
Bud Davis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Davis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddy Donno	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bud Ekins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Beau Gibson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Duffy Hambleton	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
George Bouillet	....	camera operator (as George Boulliet)
Ross A. Maehl	....	gaffer (as Ross Maehl)
Calvin Maehl	....	best boy electric (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nancy McArdle	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Michael Cipriano	....	assistant film editor
Allan Jacobs	....	supervising film editor

Music Department
Tommy Tedesco	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Greg Van Dyke	....	transportation coordinator (uncredited)

Other crew
Jack Cole	....	title designer
Joyce King	....	script supervisor
Catherine McDermott	....	lead stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Saber Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Fox Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Films (1975) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment España S.A. (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (VHS)
• Key Video (VHS)
• Shout! Factory (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Showtime (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Spain:18 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1988) | France:-16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1975) | Norway:16 (1976) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bandera, Texas, USA

Company:

Saber Productions

Trivia:

Director Jack Starrett claims he hired real life Satanists as cult-member extras.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just over an hour in Frank says to Roger that the oil cooler is "mashed up against the radiator, there". But there is no damage to the grill.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder (2006) (V)

Great little seventies road horror flick!

Wow, what a great little flick. Race With the Devil is a seventies road movie/satanic horror film about a group of holidaymakers who get more than they bargained for when they witness the brutal murder of a young girl by a group of devil worshippers. The film is an obvious influence for modern horror films such as From Dusk Till Dawn and The Devil's Rejects, and also serves as a great prelude to later seventies classics including The Hills Have Eyes. There isn't anything particularly nasty in the film, which actually helps it as it allows more time to be spent on the plot and characters. Race With the Devil was clearly never meant to be a shocking horror film, as most of the movie is spent dealing up suspense, and this is good also as it ensures that Ride With the Devil is one exciting trip through the wastelands of America. The plot never really delves into the reasons why the satanic cult sacrifices people, and this is indicative of the time in which the movie was made. The fact that they're cult members is incidental to the fact that they're chasing our leading group of characters.

Director Jack Starrett does an amazing job of creating paranoia for our central quartet. The director ensures that we never really know where we are, and who to trust; and this serves in making the suspense all the more potent. The acting isn't brilliant, but cult stars Warren Oates and Peter Fonda make for enjoyable leads as they try their best to stay alive. The rest of the cast, including the central women, do their jobs well and this film pretty much delivers what you would expect from a seventies horror thriller on the acting side. Race With the Devil spends its first hour building up to an absolutely great climax, which features car chases, gunfights and even good old-fashioned brainpower. The film is slow burning (yet interesting) up until this point, but once it hits the hour mark – it really takes off. The car chases are well filmed, and the way that Starrett always keeps our focus on the lead characters makes sure that we are able to get behind them, and the chase pans out as it should. On the whole, this is a very enjoyable thriller that has shamefully been lost over the years. While watching, I was surprised at how this hasn't been tagged for a remake yet - so you can guess how I felt when I discovered that, actually, it has...