Cannonball (film)
Encyclopedia
Cannonball, also known as Carquake, is a 1976 film starring David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...

. The film is one of two released in 1976 (the other being The Gumball Rally
The Gumball Rally
The Gumball Rally is a 1976 film directed and co-written by Chuck Bail about a coast-to-coast road race. It was inspired by the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash run by Brock Yates which inspired several other films, including Cannonball and Cannonball Run.-Plot:Michael...

) that were based on a real illegal cross-continent road race that took place for a number of years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The same topic later became the basis for the films The Cannonball Run
The Cannonball Run (film)
The Cannonball Run is a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise and Farrah Fawcett, and was directed by Hal Needham. It was produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films. There was a sequel, 1984's Cannonball Run II.-Plot:...

, Cannonball Run II
Cannonball Run II
See also Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy DashCannonball Run II comedy film featuring Burt Reynolds and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest...

and Speed Zone!
Speed Zone!
Speed Zone!, also known as Cannonball Run III or simply Cannonball Fever, released in 1989, is the third and final installment of the Cannonball Run series of movies. Like the first two films, it is a comedy set around an illegal cross-country race...

. The film was written and directed by Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...

, who also directed Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment...

.

The name of the film and the plot were inspired by Erwin G. "Cannon Ball" Baker
Erwin George Baker
Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker was a motorcycle and automobile racing driver and organizer in the first half of the 20th century...

, (1882-1960), who traveled across the USA several times, and by the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash
Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash
The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known simply as the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run, was an unofficial, if not outlaw, automobile race run four times in the 1970s from New York City and Darien, CT, on the US Atlantic coast, to Redondo Beach, a Los Angeles...

, an illegal cross-continent road race introduced by Brock Yates
Brock Yates
Brock Yates is an American journalist and author. He was longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, an American automotive magazine. He was a pit reporter for CBS' coverage of certain NASCAR Sprint Cup series races in the 1980s, including the Daytona 500...

 to protest against the 55 MPH speed limit.

Synopsis

The Trans-America Grand Prix is an illegal race held every year between Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Recently released from jail, where he was serving a sentence for killing a girl while driving drunk, racing driver Coy "Cannonball" Buckman (David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...

) hopes to win the race and get his career back on track. Racing team Modern Motors have promised a contract to either him or his arch-rival Cade Redmond (Bill McKinney
Bill McKinney
Bill McKinney is an American character actor whose most famous role was the sadistic mountain man in the movie Deliverance...

) who is also in the race - the contract will go to whichever of them wins. Coy is still on probation and when his parole officer, Linda Maxwell (Veronica Hamel
Veronica Hamel
Veronica Hamel is an American actress.- Biography :After Hamel graduated from Temple University, she worked as a secretary for a company that manufactured ironing board covers. She began a fashion modeling career after being discovered by Eileen Ford...

), with whom he is having an affair, discovers he will be crossing state lines in violation of his parole, she attempts to stop him, only to have him force her to accompany him on the race.

Redmond also has company in the form of country singer Perman Waters (Gerrit Graham
Gerrit Graham
Gerrit Graham is an American actor and songwriter. He's appeared in such films as Used Cars, TerrorVision, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, and Greetings, where he worked with Brian DePalma for the first time...

) and his manager Sharma Capri (Judy Canova
Judy Canova
Judy Canova , born Juliette Canova, was an American comedienne, actress, singer and radio personality. She appeared on Broadway and in films...

) who have agreed to pay Redmond's race expenses in return for his taking them with him to New York in his Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is an American automobile manufactured by the Dodge division of Chrysler. There have been several different Dodge vehicles, built on three different platforms and sizes, all bearing the Charger nameplate...

.

Other competitors include teenage surfer sweethearts Jim Crandell (Robert Carradine
Robert Carradine
Robert Reed Carradine is an American actor. The youngest of the Carradine family of actors, he made his first appearances on television western series such as Bonanza and his older brother David's Kung Fu. Carradine's first film role was in the 1972 film The Cowboys opposite Roscoe Lee Browne and...

) and Maryann (Belinda Balaski
Belinda Balaski
Belinda Balaski is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her large supporting role in Joe Dante's The Howling , and has continued to appear in most of Dante's films including an important role in "Piranha" and cameos in "Gremlins", "Gremlins 2", "Matinee", and Small Soldiers...

) driving Maryann's father's Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...

, middle-aged Terry McMillan in a Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Blazer can refer to one of several SUV models from General Motors:* The full-size Chevrolet K5 Blazer, based on the C/K pickup chassis and built from 1969 to 1994....

, three sexy waitresses, Sandy (Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov is an American actress and writer. She is primarily known for her roles in independent and cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies, as well as numerous appearances in mainstream television series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider.-Early life:Woronov was born in the...

), Ginny (Glynn Rubin) and Wendy (Diane Lee Hart) in a souped up van, arrogant German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 driver Wolfe Messer (James Keach
James Keach
James Keach is an American actor, producer, and director. He is the younger brother of actor Stacy Keach, Jr., and son of actor Stacy Keach, Sr.-Background:...

) in a De Tomaso Pantera
De Tomaso Pantera
The Pantera was a sports car produced by the De Tomaso car company of Italy from 1971 to 1991, the last one being delivered to a customer in 1992.The word "Pantera" is Italian for "Panther".-History:...

, preppy African-American Beutell (Stanley Bennett Clay) in a Lincoln Continental
Lincoln Continental
The Lincoln Continental is an automobile which was produced by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from 1939 to 1948 and again from 1956 to 2002...

 he has been hired by a wealthy elderly couple to transport to New York for them (unaware that he is using it to enter the race) and Buckman's best friend Zippo (Archie Hahn
Archie Hahn
Charles Archibald "Archie" Hahn was a German-American athlete, and one of the best sprinters in the early 20th century....

) in a Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...

 Trans Am
Trans Am
Trans Am may refer to:* Trans Am , a U.S. post rock band* Trans Am , 1996 debut album* Trans-Am Series, an automobile racing series* Pontiac Trans Am, an automobile* Tranz Am, a 1983 video game...

 identical to Coy's. Unbeknown to Coy, his brother Bennie (Dick Miller
Dick Miller
Richard "Dick" Miller is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 films, particularly those produced by Roger Corman, and later in films of directors who started their careers with Corman, including James Cameron and Joe Dante, with the distinction of appearing in every film made...

) has bet heavily on the race and plans to use underhand methods to ensure Coy wins.

As the race degenerates into a violent demolition derby
Demolition derby
Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...

, Messer is blown up by Bennie, while McMillan attempts to cheat by having his Blazer flown to New York where he waits out the race with his mistress Louisa (Louisa Moritz
Louisa Moritz
-Early life:Louisa Moritz was born Louisa Castro in Havana, Cuba and left Cuba during the upheaval of the 1950s, hiding on a ship and eventually making her way to New York City. She chose the stage last name of Moritz after seeing the Hotel St...

). Beutell's borrowed Lincoln gets progressively more damaged as the race goes on, while Jim and Maryann face engine trouble with a broken fan belt. The rivalry between Coy and the increasingly-unstable Redmond gets out of control as the two fight and attempt to force each other off the road, with Coy crashing his Trans Am after Redmond breaks the headlights. Switching to a 1968 Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...

 he borrows from some local hot-rodders, Coy has a last showdown with Redmond, who has kicked Perman and Sharma out of his car after arguing with them. A piece of Perman's guitar, which Redmond smashed in a rage after getting sick of Perman's singing and on-the-road radio broadcasts, gets lodged behind the car pedals, causing Redmond to lose control and crash over the side of an unfinished bridge. He dies when the car explodes.

Bennie meanwhile, has sent a gunman to kill the driver of the "other" red Trans Am as it is beating Coy. He is unaware that the driver is Zippo or that Linda is now riding with him, as Coy thought it safer for her to do so since Redmond was after him. While with Zippo, she has found out that it was Zippo who was driving the car in which the girl was killed, not Coy. Coy took the blame because he knew the weaker Zippo would never survive in jail.

Bennie's gunman shoots Zippo dead and the Trans Am crashes and explodes. Linda jumps clear, but is injured. Jim and Maryann see the wreck and pick up the comatose Linda, taking her to hospital. Behind them, the presence of the wrecked Trans Am on the freeway causes a multiple-car pileup.

Terry McMillan and Louisa arrive first at the finish line, but Louisa lets slip that the Blazer was flown there and he is disqualified. The girls in the van and Coy are neck-and-neck until Sandy attempts to take a shortcut when the girls get lost and are stuck in traffic and the van crashes. Coy arrives at the finish line and is about to stamp his timecard, making him the official winner, when he is told about Zippo and Linda's accident and realises Bennie caused it. He tears up his timecard so it can't be stamped and gives the pieces to Bennie, who is taken away by gangster Lester Marks (played by the film's director Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...

) to whom he owes all the money he bet on Coy, presumably to be killed. Assured of his racing contract, Coy is taken to the hospital to be reunited with Linda by the team manager. Having decided to finish the race in spite of believing they cannot win having lost so much time, Jim and Maryann are the next to arrive at the finishline. They are surprised and overjoyed to be told they are the winners of the $100,000 first place prize.

At the hospital, Coy and Linda enjoy their reunion, while Beutell delivers the Lincoln - now completely wrecked - to its horrified owners.

Cast

  • David Carradine
    David Carradine
    David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...

     - Coy "Cannonball" Buckman
  • Bill McKinney
    Bill McKinney
    Bill McKinney is an American character actor whose most famous role was the sadistic mountain man in the movie Deliverance...

     - Cade Redman, Cannonball's nemesis
  • Veronica Hamel
    Veronica Hamel
    Veronica Hamel is an American actress.- Biography :After Hamel graduated from Temple University, she worked as a secretary for a company that manufactured ironing board covers. She began a fashion modeling career after being discovered by Eileen Ford...

     - Linda Maxwell, Cannonball's parole officer and love interest
  • Gerrit Graham
    Gerrit Graham
    Gerrit Graham is an American actor and songwriter. He's appeared in such films as Used Cars, TerrorVision, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, and Greetings, where he worked with Brian DePalma for the first time...

     - Perman Waters
  • Robert Carradine
    Robert Carradine
    Robert Reed Carradine is an American actor. The youngest of the Carradine family of actors, he made his first appearances on television western series such as Bonanza and his older brother David's Kung Fu. Carradine's first film role was in the 1972 film The Cowboys opposite Roscoe Lee Browne and...

     - Jim Crandell
  • Belinda Balaski
    Belinda Balaski
    Belinda Balaski is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her large supporting role in Joe Dante's The Howling , and has continued to appear in most of Dante's films including an important role in "Piranha" and cameos in "Gremlins", "Gremlins 2", "Matinee", and Small Soldiers...

     - Maryann
  • Mary Woronov
    Mary Woronov
    Mary Woronov is an American actress and writer. She is primarily known for her roles in independent and cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies, as well as numerous appearances in mainstream television series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider.-Early life:Woronov was born in the...

     - 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
    James Keach
    James Keach is an American actor, producer, and director. He is the younger brother of actor Stacy Keach, Jr., and son of actor Stacy Keach, Sr.-Background:...

     - Wolf Messer, the German professional
  • Dick Miller
    Dick Miller
    Richard "Dick" Miller is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 films, particularly those produced by Roger Corman, and later in films of directors who started their careers with Corman, including James Cameron and Joe Dante, with the distinction of appearing in every film made...

     - Bennie Buckman, Cannonball's older brother
  • Paul Bartel
    Paul Bartel
    Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...

     - Lester Marks
  • Stanley Bennett Clay - Beutell Morris
  • Judy Canova
    Judy Canova
    Judy Canova , born Juliette Canova, was an American comedienne, actress, singer and radio personality. She appeared on Broadway and in films...

     - Sharma Capri, Perman's manager
  • Archie Hahn
    Archie Hahn
    Charles Archibald "Archie" Hahn was a German-American athlete, and one of the best sprinters in the early 20th century....

     - Zippo, Cannonball's friend
  • Carl Gottlieb
    Carl Gottlieb
    Carl Gottlieb is an American screenwriter, actor, comedian and executive. He is probably best known for co-writing the screenplay for Jaws, as well as directing the 1981 low-budget cult film Caveman.-Early life:...

     - Terry McMillan
  • David Arkin
    David Arkin
    David G. Arkin was an American actor best known for his numerous supporting appearances in the films of Robert Altman...

     - Dennis Caldwell
  • Patrick M. Wright - Brad Phillips
  • Roger Corman
    Roger Corman
    Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...

     - Los Angeles County District Attorney
  • Don Simpson
    Don Simpson
    Donald Clarence "Don" Simpson was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is known for producing such hits as Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun and The Rock...

     - L.A. County Assistant District Attorney
  • Martin Scorsese
    Martin Scorsese
    Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...

     - Mafioso #1 (uncredited)
  • Sylvester Stallone
    Sylvester Stallone
    Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...

     - Mafioso #2 (uncredited)


The cameos by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...

 and Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...

 are uncredited, while Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...

 and Don Simpson
Don Simpson
Donald Clarence "Don" Simpson was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is known for producing such hits as Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun and The Rock...

 are both listed in the credits. Former beach movie star and Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...

 voice actor Aron Kincaid
Aron Kincaid
Aron Kincaid was an American actor perhaps best known for playing Killer Croc on Batman: The Animated Series and Sky Lynx on The Transformers. He also voiced characters for The Smurfs, and DuckTales, among others...

appears in a small role as one of two cops who pull over the girls in the van.

External links

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