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 | car racing | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | kiss | love interest | 

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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:

The Gumball Rally

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

The actors do their own driving.

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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: So Mike... what is this, a vintage car event?
Bannon: Well Smitty, you know some things get meaner as they get older.

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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

Referenced in APEX: The Secret Race Across America (2019)

User Reviews

Classic Road Race Comedy

Somehow this movie came and went on DVD and I missed out. My loss.

This is one of the great outlaw road race comedies - better than Cannonball

Run, better than most of the Smokey and the Bandit movies. Time-warp

yourself back to America in 1976 with its national 55 mile-per-hour speed

limit and a recent history of gas rationing, and you will better appreciate

the spirit of this film. The incomparable Raul Julia is superb as the ringer Italian race car driver hired to win for the Ferrari team. Norman Burton

defines for generations the frustrated cop role in this film, and a youthful

Garey Busey tears up the screen as a rebel hick in a Camaro. I still get a

chill when I see the Cobra and Ferrari tearing down the Long Beach flood

control channels with no speed limits, lots of water and smooth concrete,

and the California sun shining down, and I still can't visit the Queen Mary

without seeing the Gumball Rally finish line and the lovely young insurance

policy hired by Michael Sarrizin. Mindless fun, but like a Sunday drive up

the coast, well-worth the trip. And if you find an extra copy of the DVD,

please send it my way!!!