Corvette Summer (1978)

A high school grad and a hooker-in-training try to track down his stolen Corvette.

Director:

Matthew Robbins

Writers:

Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins

Stars:

Mark Hamill, Annie Potts, Eugene Roche

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Hamill	...	Kenneth W. Dantley Jr.
Annie Potts	...	Vanessa
Eugene Roche	...	Ed McGrath
William Bryant	...	Plain Clothes Police Lecturer (as Bill Bryant)
Richard McKenzie	...	Principal Bacon
Kim Milford	...	Wayne Lowry
Philip Bruns	...	Gil
Danny Bonaduce	...	Kootz
Albert Insinnia	...	Ricci
Jane A. Johnston	...	Mrs. Dantley
Stanley Kamel	...	Las Vegas Con Man
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Older John - Rosalind's Admirer (as Cliff Pellow)
Jason Ronard	...	Wayne's Chain-Wielding Henchman
Brion James	...	Wayne's Car Wash Henchman
Morgan Upton	...	New Owner of Vanessa's Van

Storyline

Ken loves to design and build exotic cars. When the High School shop class project car, a fully tricked out dream Corvette, is stolen, he begins searching for it. His search leads him to Las Vegas, where Vanessa, a teenaged prostitute wannabe, helps him try to track it down.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitute | 1959 cadillac | white panties | panties | voyeur | 

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Taglines:

Mark Hamill who you loved in "Star Wars".... Annie Potts who you'll never forget...

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 June 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stingray

Filming Locations:

Auto Shop, Burbank High School - 902 N. Third Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$15,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Plotto Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 108 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song "Corvette Bummer" by Beck is a reference to this movie.

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Goofs

The high school teacher congratulates students for studying, claiming most of them ended up on plus side of "bell curve" following recent test; but there is no way a majority of them could wind up either side (plus or minus) because a bell curve is a graphic way of demonstrating the norm (in this case, test scores) in the middle, with upper or lower scores trailing off equally on either side - hence the "bell" designation.

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Quotes

Principal Bacon: You, young lady, do you have an explanation to offer?
Vanessa: Sure don't, jack.
Principal Bacon: Well who does?
Vanessa: Ask Bozo.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #33.5 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Give Me the Night
(uncredited)
Written by Craig Safan
Performed by Dusty Springfield

User Reviews

Tank Half Full Or Half Empty?

The gas tank is either half full or half empty depending on how you view CORVETTE SUMMER. One could justly call it forced in its humor, directionless, repetitive and overlong. Others will see a likable, innocent coming-of-age adventure. It depends on your mood and, more prominently, your aversion to '70s cheese and ability to forgive silver screen shortcomings.

Kenny Dantley is a freshly-minted high school grad who has more time for cars than girls (he's played by a distinctly non-high school aged Mark Hamill, but bear with us). To say he loves the blazing red Stingray he and his shop classmates restored doesn't go far enough in describing the relationship. When the Corvette is swiped by evildoers, our hero swoops into action to track it down on the mean streets of Nevada, intent on ensuring that what was stolen and brought to Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas. He finds an unlikely ally in Vanessa (Annie Potts), an aspiring hooker with a heart of gold and an affinity for car-obsessed teenagers.

I have a special attachment to CORVETTE SUMMER. It was one of the first movies I saw late at night when I was 13 and allowed to stay home alone on the weekends while the folks went camping. TBS's NITE FLIX (oh, how we miss NITE FLIX... so much better than RUSH HOUR 2 played thrice in a row) carried it at 2 a.m., and I had a blast. Recently, I rented it after all these years and found that while it wasn't the masterpiece I remembered, it is amusing and at times quite absorbing, though it starts to lay more than rubber in the second half. Hamill and Potts are no George and Gracie, but they suffice, and the supporting cast, including Eugene Roche (as Mr. McGrath) and Kim Milford (the villainous Wayne Lowry), hold up their end of the bargain.

CORVETTE SUMMER has an awful reputation; it has even been mocked in MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000 (as the characters mocked another film). I'm sure there are those who still blame it for the utter failure of Mark Hamill's post-STAR WARS career. But it is what it is, an imperfect though fun ride back into the late '70s. It's recommended, but only for certain tastes in the mood for something different.