The Gumball Rally (1976)

A disparate group of drivers 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:

boyfriend girlfriend relationship | kiss | love interest | competition | car race | 

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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

Some of the featured cars:

• 1966 Ford Shelby Cobra 427 "Side Oiler" (Cobra Team)
• 1974 Ferrari Daytona (Ferrari Team)
• 1974 Porsche 911 Targa (Porche Team)
• 1971 Dodge Polara 440 police car (Dodge Team)
• 1970 1/2 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (Camaro Team)

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Goofs

The teams leave New York City at 6:00 am and it is light out. However, there is snow on the ground outside the city; there is far too much light for 6:00 am in the winter.

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Quotes

[Franco, Smith, and the crew are at a service station checking out the Ferrari when a woman in a Mercedes-Benz 280SL convertible arrives]
Franco's Date: [to the attendant] Um, fill her up, please.
Smith: [to the crew] Shut it off. Shut it off!
Franco: [approaching the woman] Hello.
Franco's Date: Hello.
Franco: Where are you going?
Franco's Date: Los Angeles.
Franco: Driving all night?
Franco's Date: Yes.
Franco: Alone?
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Linda Vaughn ... Emergency Plan Alpha

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Connections

References Tommy (1975)

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.