Edward Bernds is best known for directing some of the better post war 3 Stooges shorts and the unintentionally hilarious Queen from Outer Space. All of his feature films with the possible exception Return of the Fly are strictly B's. Joy Ride is the B'est of the B's, at just sixty minutes, an amazingly short running time for the late fifties, it was intended to be bottom of the bill. It's subject matter would suggest exploitation fifties fun. But it is actually an understated, low key film in the style of the social realistic kitchen sink dramas of fifties' live TV, sort of Marty Meets Rebel Without a Cause. I saw it back in the seventies on television because Movies on TV gave it three stars. Maybe it is more like a solid two and a half, but if you watch it with modest expectations, you could be pleasantly surprised how effective this ultra low budget feature is.
