Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)

Larry Rayder is an aspiring NASCAR driver, Deke Sommers is mechanic. As they feel they collectively are the best, the only thing that is holding them back is money to build the best vehicle... See full summary »

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

Leigh Chapman (screenplay), Antonio Santean (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Fonda	...	Larry
Susan George	...	Mary
Adam Roarke	...	Deke
Kenneth Tobey	...	Donahue
Eugene Daniels	...	Hank
Lynn Borden	...	Evelyn
Janear Hines	...	Millie
Elizabeth James	...	Dispatcher
Adrianne Herman	...	Cindy
T.J. Castronovo	...	Steve (as Tom Castranova)
James W. Gavin	...	Helicopter Pilot (as James Gavin)
Al Rossi	...	Surl
Ben Niems	...	Police Chief Markey
George Westcott	...	Bridge Operator
Tom O'Neill	...	Farmer

Storyline

Larry Rayder is an aspiring NASCAR driver, Deke Sommers is mechanic. As they feel they collectively are the best, the only thing that is holding them back is money to build the best vehicle possible. As such, they decide to rob a supermarket's office of the money in its safe to pursue their dream. On the most part, their robbery is successful, although their plan breaks down in its end phase, which doesn't allow them as much getaway time as they wanted. Another problem they face is an unexpected third person in their getaway, Larry's one night stand Mary Coombs, who doesn't like the fact that Larry ran off on her, although she eventually also says that she doesn't want any of the money. With a police scanner and two-way radio in their souped up Dodge Charger, they try to outrun the police, who have an identification of their vehicle, and a general description of the three. The police pursuit is led by the tenacious Sheriff Everett Franklin, who knows he and his team can catch them, ...

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Plot Keywords:

helicopter | robbery | mechanic | carsploitation | pantyhose | 

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Taglines:

No one's faster than Crazy Larry, except Dirty Mary!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

La fuga del loco y la sucia

Filming Locations:

Oakdale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$28,401,735, 31 December 1974

Company Credits

Production Co:

Academy Pictures,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A clip of the chase scene in which Mary says, "I think someone's knocking on the door," is played in the 1997 Quentin Tarantino film in which Robert De Niro and Bridget Fonda are watching. Bridget Fonda is the daughter of Dirty Mary Crazy Larry star Peter Fonda.

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Goofs

After the green Charger sideswipes and runs one of the police cars off the road, a subsequent scene shows no damage to the right side of the Charger that veered into the police vehicle.

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Quotes

Hanks: [walking through police garage] Stevie! Stevie, ma boy! Where are ya?
Steve: Hey!
Hanks: Where the hell's that car at?
[referring to high-performance police car]
Steve: Over here... but she ain't got any siren or lights yet.
Hanks: Hey look, all I care about, is what you've got under that hood.
Steve: Take a look
[starts police car, car rumbles to life]
Steve: .
Hanks: [smiles broadly] So, what's my top end on this?
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Hottest Car Chases (2010)

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Soundtracks

Time (Is Such a Funny Thing)
Written by Danny Janssen and Bobby Hart
Sung by Marjorie McCoy

User Reviews

Why the film is worthwhile to me...

Yes, DMCL is shot well. Yes, the car chases are great. And yes, if '70's kitch is what you seek, you'll find plenty of it here. But that's not why I love the movie.

The reason I love the movie is this : the characters. I've read other users comments regarding the lack of writing or character motivation, and there is validity to that. But hey, the selling point of the film wasn't an in-depth look at people, the selling point was watching Peter Fonda and Susan George ram their car into several other cars.

But I digress, what I love about the characters (and what I hate about the characters in most action movies today) is that they are totally unlikeable. They even hate each other. Fonda is a complete jerk to everyone. Susan George rhymes with rich and Rorke is weak and ineffectual. Hey, most the time the characters don't like each other. And it's my opinion that these characters are unlikeable by design. Think about it: when was the last time you went to the movies and the main characters were people you were suppose to dislike? Rare is it that modern filmmakers will take that chance, Even more impressive, somehow you end up routing for these people.

Bottom line, it's a good chase movie, with solid performances by two 70's icons in thier prime. If you manage to catch it, you'll probably have a good time.