Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Best movie ever!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Actually a pretty good movie and the acting is not all that bad. With the exception of overacting from Jeanne Crain, Mimsy Farmer and Laurie Mock, the others do a good job. Several classic character actors here. Quite suspenseful. As soon as you think of a movie as a movie, and don't get lost in it, you take all the fun out of it anyhow. Not bad for a 21 day shoot. Fun movie to have on hand when in the mood for it. Anyone know the filming location of the picnic scenes? I remember seeing this when it was first on TV. Peter Oliphant played Freddie Helper on Dick Van Dyke Show

After being injured in a head-on collision with a drunk driver, "Tom Phillips" (Dana Andrews) is laid up in a hospital and faces a lengthy rehabilitation that results in his inability to perform his job successfully. Faced with these life-changing events he reluctantly accepts his brother's advice and buys a hotel in the middle of the California desert which he can manage in spite of his painful condition. Unfortunately, upon driving there he and his family encounter several rude and belligerent young men drag racing on the highway who recklessly endanger everyone they come across. And they take umbrage upon anyone who dares to voice displeasure or prevent them from doing whatever they want. So much so that two specific young men by the names of "Duke" (Paul Bertoya) and "Ernie" (Gene Kirkwood) demonstrate that they will stop at nothing to silence Tom from going to the police. Now rather than reveal any more and risk spoiling this film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this particular "Hot Rod movie" was more intense than the usual pictures of this sort produced a decade or so earlier. Whereas the earlier Hot Rod films typically revolved around teenagers simply having fun the specific antagonists in this movie were much more arrogant and ruthless. And this worked in the film's favor in my opinion. In any case, although it was clearly a grade-B production, I still found it to be entertaining and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

As holiday songs play for both Dana Andrews and his waiting family, tragedy occurs as he drives home for a festive Christmas. He's left a shell of himself, a weakened businessman who needs to vegetate before he can return to his career. As his family heads to their new destination, a group of speeding teens begin surrounding them, bringing fear to the seemingly cookie cutter family. Dad Andrews and mom Jeanne Crain have two children, but unfortunately, their teenaged daughter Laurie Mock looks more like a much older "B" girl with her "groovy" frizzy black hairdo than the actual "B" girl accompanying the collegiate looking thugs.What essentially seems like an hour long episode of some mid 1960's trashy T.V. show has been lengthened by extended car chases, extremely bad dancing and a genuinely tacky atmosphere. Poor Andrews and Crain seem truly embarrassed by being in this movie which ain't no "State Fair". It's obvious that there's more to the harassment by these animalistic jerks than what's on the surface, and that revelation is pretty lame. Also really ridiculous is the conclusion where Andrews plays a wonderfully dirty trick on his harassers then basically wraps things up by playing the martyr. I don't think anybody in this situation would do society the favor by turning the other cheek. That would be dangerous in 1967 and certainly deadly today in 2014.This reminded me of another "normal citizen in danger" movie, "Lady in a Cage", the 1964 movie where Olivia de Havilland dealt with thugs who broke into her house and robbed her while she watched them from her elevator. Both films contain subject matter that is very disturbing to see, but in the case of "Lady in a Cage", the film was more successful because of the way the narrative played out and the fact that there really was nothing she could do. In "Hot Rods to Hell", Andrews pretty much does nothing. Most men his age would simply buy a gun and retaliate when their entire family is put in jeopardy. So therefore, the three part tragedies are his accident which leaves him weakened, the family's harassment and the script which pretty much destroys any sense of reality by letting these thugs get away with what their doing rather than allowing the hero to do what any red-blooded American father would do. I say blow these animals off the road and off the planet, 'cause it's obvious that they would continue to be a menace to society no matter how Andrews resolves the situation.

Hot Rods To Hell revolves around a middle-aged man, who decides to purchase a hotel located in the southwestern US. He's from Boston. And he realizes that the change in locale will be difficult for himself, his wife, and their kids. Still, he decides to give it a shot, and so he and his family pack-up and head out west. But some reckless teenagers driving fast hot rods, harass them along the way. The man finally decides to stand-up to the delinquent teens, who keep menacing him and his family, during their journey. This film was typical of most mid-60s movies, which highlighted the consequences of the notorious generation gap. It emphasized how wild and uncontrollable young people were becoming in the 60s, in the opinion of their bewildered elders. Most 60s teens were no where near as dangerous, as the older generation believed them to be. And this film did a spectacular job, of exaggerating how malignant young people appeared to be, to older folks during the 60s. Overall, this film managed to milk the suspense element, for all it was worth. There were many hair-raising scenes, that made this movie quite an adrenaline rush. For those that crave a film with plenty of nail-biting moments, Hot Rods To Hell will certainly do. It's a 60s B movie, with a heavy jolt of electrifying thrills.