Roadgames (1981)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Richard Franklin

Writers:

Everett De Roche (screenplay)
Everett De Roche (story)

Release Date:

26 June 1981 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The truck driver plays games... The hitchhiker plays games. And the killer is playing the deadliest game of all!

Plot:

A truck driver plays a cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious serial killer who uses a young female hitchhiker as bait to lure victims on a desolate Australian highway.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Australia | Truck Driver | Road | Truck

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Stacy Keach	...	Patrick 'Pat' Quid
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Pamela 'Hitch' Rushworth
Marion Edward	...	Madeleine 'Frita' Day
Grant Page	...	Smith or Jones
Thaddeus Smith	...	Policeman 'Abbott'
Steve Millichamp	...	Policeman 'Costello' (as Stephen Millichamp)
Alan Hopgood	...	Lester
John Murphy	...	Benny Balls
Bill Stacey	...	Captain Careful
Robert Thompson	...	Sneezy Rider
Ed Turley	...	Roadhouse Proprietor
Angelica La Bozzetta	...	Young Hitchhiker (as Angie La Bozzetta)
Colin Vancao	...	Fred Frugal
Paul Harris	...	Frugal Son
Rochelle Harris	...	Frugal Daughter

Also Known As:

Road Games (USA)

Runtime:

101 min | Sweden:93 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | UK:AA

Filming Locations:

Diggers Rest, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Essaness Pictures

Trivia:

Originally the climax of the film was suppose to be somewhat more elaborate about re-introducing the characters of Frita, Sneezy Rider, and Captain Careful. Originally during the chase through the streets of Perth - Sneezy Rider and Frita were suppose to be randomly wrecked by Quids truck, the motorcycle sliding under the trailer in an elaborate stunt. Then Captain Careful was suppose to re-appear towing a new boat only for Quid to destroy that boat too. However pressure to wrap the shoot forced these scenes to be cut from the film.

Quotes:

female radio dispatcher: [over that radio, as Quid is getting ready to go to bed] Base 4 to Gypsy 397, are you there?
Patrick 'Pat' Quid: [responding sacrastically] Mayday, mayday, this is flight 77, I seem to be in a great deal of trouble, I'm losing fuel, I need help!
female radio dispatcher: Is that you Gypsy 397?
Patrick 'Pat' Quid: Negative darling. This is Quid, Patrick Anthony Quid. As in British sterling.
female radio dispatcher: Why do we always have trouble with you Gypsy 397?
Patrick 'Pat' Quid: Because you keep calling me "Gypsy 397".

Movie Connections:

References Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Quality movie

Stacy Keach plays a truck driver, he and his best friend, a dingo, are taking meat to Perth, along the way he wonders about other drivers and their life, a way to keep himself distracted. A suspicious green van catches his attention, later on when he finds out that murders have been taking place, he immediately associates them with the van. After watching the van's driver bury a couple of bags in the middle of the desert he has no more doubts about the relation of it to the murders. Braking "truckers" rules he picks up a hitchhiker, Pam (Jamie Lee Curtis), they'll complement each other perfectly, sharing murder theories among other things. The police ends up suspecting Pat (Stacy Keach) so Pam believes that the only way for him to prove is innocence is to find the real killer but he finds them first and kidnaps her, or is it that she went by her own free will?

Nice thriller, the acting as you can expect is pretty good. Keach and Curtis create a believable bond, a mutual crush develops but the age difference is a problem. The script is fairly intelligent and certainly effective. Keach's character is full of theories and anecdotes, which keeps the movie interesting at moments where all you see is the Australian outback. Well worth watching.