The Gumball Rally (1976)

An eclectic group of people take part in a secret, and illegal, cross country road race.

Director:

Charles Bail (as Chuck Bail)

Writers:

Leon Capetanos (screenplay), Charles Bail (story) (as Chuck Bail)

Stars:

Michael Sarrazin, Tim McIntire, Raul Julia

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Sarrazin	...	Michael Bannon - Cobra Team
Norman Burton	...	Lieutenant Roscoe (as Normann Burton)
Gary Busey	...	Gibson - Camaro Team
John Durren	...	Ace Preston / Mr. Guts - Camaro Team
Susan Flannery	...	Alice - Porsche Team
Harvey Jason	...	Lapchik the Mad Hungarian - Kawasaki
Steven Keats	...	Kandinsky - Dodge Team
Tim McIntire	...	Steve 'Smitty' Smith - Ferrari Team
Joanne Nail	...	Jane - Porsche Team
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Barney Donahue - Mercedes Team
Tricia O'Neil	...	Angie - Rolls Royce
Lázaro Pérez	...	Jose - Rolls Royce (as Lazaro Perez)
Nicholas Pryor	...	Prof. Samuel Graves - Cobra Team
Vaughn Taylor	...	Andy McAllister - Mercedes Team
Wally Taylor	...	Avila - Dodge Team

Storyline

A group of people from different backgrounds have one thing in common: when they hear the world "gumball" whispered by one of the others, they know that it's time for the Gumball Rally: a no-holds barred, secret, winner-take-all rally across the USA.

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Plot Keywords:

carsploitation | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | kiss | love interest | competition | 

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Taglines:

It's a hilarious coast-to-coast, 180 mile-an-hour, go-for-broke, outrageous road race with the world's most expensive cars. And it's all just for glory and a gumball machine.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

28 July 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chewing Gum Rallye

Filming Locations:

I-10 at Exit 167, Riggs Rd., Sun Lakes, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Artists, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When hitting Oklahoma, Gary Busey gives out a yell, calling it the "home of the Red Man, home of the Cowboy." Gary Busey is from Tulsa, OK.

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Goofs

All of the set-piece scenes with Roscoe and various state Highway Patrol units trying to bust the ralliers were shot on the same location, so that mountains are visible in the background in sequences supposedly taking place in flat Midwestern states.

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Quotes

Smith: [Last lines] Um... how are you going to get back to New York?
Bannon: Hadn't given it much thought.
[pauses]
Bannon: This is ridiculous.
[pauses]
Bannon: Where do you get cars around here?
Smith: Well, it's America, babe.
Bannon: [to Professor Graves] Gumball.

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Crazy Credits

No actor credits are shown at the beginning of the film,The only credits shown at the beginning are those of the Writer, Director, Producer and Director of Photography, the actor credits are not shown until the end of the film.

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Connections

Featured in Scope (2017)

User Reviews

What's Behind Me...

Chuck Bail, a stunt performer on Steve McQueen's "Have Gun, Will Travel", contributed some memorable bits of dialogue to this script. I've lost count of the number of times I and others have repeated Raul Julia's judgment on the rear view mirror, "What's behind me is not important". Inevitably, any spectacularly ugly car we come across "looks like a jukebox". And on and on.

Julia, whose participation in this film was not generally cited in obituaries, and Gary Busey were performers whose careers took off afterward.

The remainder of the cast consists of moderately well known players, some still to be seen on soaps and occasionally in prime time guest shots. Normann Burton as a New York cop on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Harvey Jason as a bizarro motorcyclist stand out.

As is usually the case in movies about automobile racing, lots of expert stuntwork is on display here. Scenes of pure speed, though, do not get in the way of funnymen being funny.