Fast Company (1979)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

Nicholas Campbell (screenplay)
David Cronenberg (writer)

Release Date:

August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The danger. The rush. The victory.

Plot:

Standard good guys vs. bad guys drag racing movie. Nice scene of the driver's view during a funny car run.. |

Plot Keywords:

Drag Racing | Racing | Funny Car | Business Ethics | Automobile Racing

Cast

William Smith	...	Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson
Claudia Jennings	...	Sammy
John Saxon	...	Phil Adamson
Nicholas Campbell	...	Billy 'The Kid' Brocker
Don Francks	...	Elder
Cedric Smith	...	Gary 'The Blacksmith' Black
Judy Foster	...	Candy
Robert Haley	...	P.J.
George Buza	...	Meatball
David Graham	...	Stoner
David Petersen	...	Slezak
Chuck Chandler	...	Edmonton Track Announcer
Cheri Hilsabeck	...	Hitchhiker
Sonya Ratke	...	Hitchhiker
Michael Bell	...	Chuck Randall

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivia:

Finnish video release's cover sheet mentions Jodie Foster having a role in this movie. Actually Judy Foster is in the cast.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Lonnie Johnson blows up the Top Fueler at the end of the quarter mile you see the truck towing it and the cable that is hooked to the race car.

Quotes:

Elder: What are you gonna do now?
Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson: We will enjoy our life.
Sammy: Yes, at least for one week.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood North (2003)

Canadian "B"

Fast Company (1979) is truly great B-cinema despite the tendencies of scholastic indifference. Whether its lack of reception has been due to lack of availability, its straight-to-Beta stigma or, most probable, an audience's disregard for anything differing from the Cronenbergian macabre is open for debate. What is certain is that this effort, his first with a budget exceeding the million-dollar mark, was a precursor to the personal trajectory of The Brood (1979).

Divorce proceedings underway, David changed focus to his consuming passion of the automobile. The final product was a decent drag strip movie, "a good B-Movie" he admits. The good versus evil tension included in most racing films is combined with some point of view shots from the car racers proper, in itself, well worth the price of the rental. Spending most of the film arguing with John Saxon, his greasy sponsor from Fast Company Motor Oil, William Smith plays Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson, whose iconic status as drag strip guru is tested race after race. His real stroke of luck however comes through his on screen squeeze, November 1969 Playboy Playmate Claudia Jennings. This marked consecutive attempts at casting notables from the adult industry.

Attempting to recreate the similar appeal and subsequent audience draw that worked for him in Rabid, Ms Jennings' luck ran out in an ironic off-screen car-accident, taking her young life shortly after the film was completed.