Cannonball! (1976)

Racing across the country from L.A. to New York, a plethora of exotic cars carry contestants hoping to win a very large sum.

Director:

Paul Bartel

Writers:

Paul Bartel (screenplay), Don Simpson (screenplay) (as Donald C. Simpson)

Stars:

David Carradine, Bill McKinney, Veronica Hamel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Carradine	...	Coy 'Cannonball' Buckman
Bill McKinney	...	Cade Redman
Veronica Hamel	...	Linda Maxwell
Gerrit Graham	...	Perman Waters
Robert Carradine	...	Jim Crandell
Belinda Balaski	...	Maryann
Judy Canova	...	Sharma Capri
Archie Hahn	...	Zippo
Carl Gottlieb	...	Terry McMillan
Mary Woronov	...	Sandy Harris, Girl in the Van #1
Diane Lee Hart	...	Wendy, Girl in the Van #2
Glynn Rubin	...	Ginny, Girl in the Van #3
James Keach	...	Wolfe Messer
Dick Miller	...	Bennie Buckman
Stanley Bennett Clay	...	Beutell (as Stanley Clay)

Storyline

Racing across the country from L.A. to New York, a plethora of exotic cars carry contestants hoping to win a very large sum.

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Plot Keywords:

illegal grand prix race | poliziottesco | north american poliziottesco | character name as title | nickname as title | 

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Taglines:

The annual Trans-American outlaw road race - A cross country demolition derby without rules!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

6 July 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cannonball

Filming Locations:

I-210 at Paxton Street, Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,270,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cross Country Productions, Harbor Productions, New World Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Theatrical prints of the film included an announcement after the end credits that had the caption "Watch for David Carradine in DEATH SPORT" alongside the famous poster art for the film. Death Sport would become the next film David Carradine would do for New World Pictures, but the next film Carradine would do for producer Roger Corman would be Thunder and Lightning, which was released by 20th Century Fox.

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Goofs

At the highway pile-up, none of the vehicles involved in a collision has a driver in it and appears empty when it explodes.

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Quotes

TV Producer: [approaching sleek silver sports car] Now here is an interesting entry. You kids look more like, uh, surfers, than you do racing drivers
Jim Crandell: Well, surfing is bad this year.
TV Producer: Well, tell me, have you raced this, uh, uh...
Jim Crandell: Corvette.
TV Producer: ...corvette in any other race?
Jim Crandell: Uh, no.
Maryann: You see, it isn't exactly our car. Daddy, if you've been watching this, uh, everything's okay, we'll be bringing the car back in about a week.
TV Producer: Tell me something. Uh, uh, uh, anyway, I sure wish you luck, and I'll bet that hundred ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Legendary film producer Gabriel Katzka is credited as "friend" in the ending credits.

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Alternate Versions

UK theatrical version was cut to secure an A rating. In 2004 these cuts were waived and the film was passed uncut with a 12 rating.

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Connections

Referenced in Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011)

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Soundtracks

Green Eyed Surfer Boy
Music by Paul Bartel
Lyrics by Paul Bartel

User Reviews

A Nice Ride

• The basic premise of Cannonball has been done several times - a diverse group of drivers compete in a cross-country race where anything goes. Sound familiar? Hal Nedham ripped the guts out of Cannonball for his Cannonball Run made five years later. The difference, though, is that while Cannonball is often funny with some great action, Cannonball Run is often too over-the-top and unwatchable. It's too bad that Bartel's movie isn't as well known as Nedham's. While it will never be confused with Citizen Kane, Cannonball is a thrill-a-minute, cheese-filled good time.

• Bartel's direction is one of the highlights of the movie. You would think that a 90+ minute movie of watching cars race might get boring. It's not. Bartel keeps things moving and there's never a dull moment. Bartel does a great job of mixing race action, comedy, fight scenes, and a little drama to create a well-balanced, enjoyable movie.

• As far as acting goes, David Carradine naturally stands out. He's a car driving, butt kicking machine. Carradine is able to add a little authenticity to the movie by doing a lot of his own driving. There are a couple of spinouts where you can actually see that it's Carradine sitting behind the wheel.

• My biggest complaint with Cannonball involves the spectacular pile-up at the end of the movie. It gets off to a good start with cars plowing into each other followed by explosion after explosion. The problem is that it goes on for so long that it started to have a morbid feel to it. It bothered me that, as a viewer, I could only assume that there were people supposedly driving those cars that were bursting into flames and I didn't see any survivors. I can only assume that everyone was burned to a crisp. Sure it's a little picky, but it bothered me.