Wow! Such a good movie.

Lack of good storyline.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

I decided to rent this movie because of its interesting cast and also because the 1970s was the golden age of the made for TV movie. But as the end credits started to roll, I felt kind of let down by what I had just seen. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a terrible or merely bad movie. Vic Morrow is good as the villain, and what's really interesting is that the script doesn't make his character a COMPLETE creep - we learn he has a trauma in his past. And Martin Sheen does well as a laid back protagonist. In fact, pretty much the entire movie is very laid back, and that's the problem. There is no grit, no feeling of tension, and what happens in the climax is telegraphed so early on that there is no surprise when it actually happens. There's also very little action during the entire 74 minute running length to liven things up. More often than not this car movie seems to be just spinning its wheels. I've seen worse, but the movie lacks enough spark to be a real grabber.

Did honorable Sgt Saunders go home after the war and run for sheriff of a small California town? Somehow this made for TV movie from 1974 eluded me. See pre-liberal panty-waiste Martin Sheen in a James Deanesk role avenging the murder of his motorist brother take on an anything but honorable Vic Morrow playing a sleazy and corrupt town sheriff who hates speedsters and will do anything it takes to run them off the road with the front bumper of his '57 Plymouth. This jewel which takes place in 1957 but filmed in 1974 is filled with goofs and anachronisms galor and solid acting by the above as well as Nick Nolte and former Mama Phillips taking up time and space as the local coffee shop waitress and Rockford Files alum, Stewart Margolin playing it straight as Morrow's lacki deputy.

1958. The sleepy small Southern town of Clarksburg. Evil Sheriff Roy Childress (the almighty Vic Morrow in peak nasty form) cracks down super hard on speeders by forcing said offenders off a cliff to their untimely deaths on an especially dangerous stretch of road. Childress meets his match when cool young hot rod driver Michael McCord (a splendidly smooth and brooding portrayal by Martin Sheen) shows up in town in his souped-up automobile with the specific intention of avenging the death of his brother (Sheen's real-life sibling Joe Estevez in a brief cameo). Director Richard T. Heffron, working from a taut and intriguing script by Richard Compton (the same guy who directed the 70's drive-in movie gems "Welcome Home, Soldier Boys" and "Macon County Line"), relates the gripping story at a brisk pace, neatly creates a flavorsome 50's period setting, and ably milks plenty of suspense out the tense game of wit and wills between Childress and McCord. The uniformly fine cast helps a lot: Sheen radiates a brash James Deanesque rebellious vibe in the lead, Morrow makes the most out of his meaty bad guy part, plus there are excellent supporting performances by Michelle Phillips as sweet diner waitress Maggie, Stuart Margolin as a folksy deputy, Nick Nolte as amiable gas station attendant Buzz Stafford, Gary Morgan as Buzz's endearingly gawky younger brother Lyle, Janit Baldwin as sassy local tart Sissy, Britt Leach as stingy cab driver Johnny, and Frederic Downs as the stern Judge J.A. Hooker. The climactic vehicular confrontation between Childress and McCord is a real pulse-pounding white-knuckle thrilling doozy. Terry K. Meade's sharp cinematography, the well-drawn characters (for example, Childress became obsessed with busting speeders after his wife and kid were killed in a fatal hit and run incident), the groovy, syncopated score by Luchi De Jesus, and the beautiful mountainside scenery all further enhance the overall sound quality of this superior made-for-TV winner.

For those of us Baby Boomers who arrived too late on the scene to appreciate James Dean et. al., Martin Sheen showed us The Way in this great feature.The premise is easy enough: cool hood meets small town sheriff and All-Hell ensues, but the nuts and bolts of this movie enthrall the car nut in all of us. No, this isn't Casablanca, nor is it great Literature, but it IS a serious movie about cars, rebellion, and the genius that is Martin Sheen.Enjoy this and appreciate it for what it is, and for what Martin will become. I loved this movie growing up as a teen in the 70's, and you will too.