THUNDER IN CAROLINA (1960)

 

Dirt track racing footage and the roar of eight cylinders with no exhaust system play heavy under opening credits in this Howco International Pictures' shoestring budgeted story about some “good ‘ol boys” racing in South Carolina. This is my second Howco-distributed film review yet this one is not embarrassing. It is the oft-told tale of a former bootlegger who has risen through the ranks to become a top driver but is in the middle of a multi-year losing streak. Directed by Paul Helmick and written by Alexander Richards, this ninety-two-minute double-billed release was produced by J. Francis White. Helmets off to cinematographer, Joseph C. Brun and his capture of early highway and dirt track racing. 

Expect the customary studio prop cars against project background scenery when necessity focuses on the actor's faces. But the vintage race footage at Darlington Raceway is certainly the big climax for vintage NASCAR fans during what has proven to be the start of a deadly decade of stock car racing. It is rather amusing as the race track announcer editorializes about the central character’s unethical driving during each pass by the grandstand. That precedes the veteran driver blowing a tire, ending with a crumpled car and a resulting broken ankle. A forlorn saxophone supports his continued bad fortune as he hobbles with a cane and a plastered leg toward his unrecognizable mangled metal. I could imagine wagers at the body shop on whether it was an Oldsmobile or a Chrysler.

Rory Calhoun plays the veteran driver and raises the film up a few thousand RPMs for the independent studio. He is believable, but do not expect a southern accent even though his character grew up in the South Carolina hills. Alan Hale (sans the junior and accent) is Calhoun’s former racing buddy and rightfully garners second billing. With his trademark smile and over-confident boasting, he adds the only acting spark. In a simple yet hard-to-believe director's solution, his right hand stays in his pocket all the time because he lost the use of his arm in a devastating crash.

Everyone else gets the caution flag, particularly Race Gentry—credited here with his birth name, John Gentry—in his third and final motion picture. Given the movie’s subject, I thought his professional name was an inside joke specifically for this film. Calhoun shows up at his service station in hopes of seeing his old mechanic again. But that was three years ago…back when he was not dead. Gentry is rather cool to the “old guy” who comes off as someone expecting a handout—until he makes out his famous name on his race car. Calhoun also steps over the boundaries of ethical behavior off the track. Perhaps his personal life played a key role in this film as “Calhoun the Cad” immediately attempts to hit on Gentry’s wife—Connie Hines holds her own in her only film role—after only one glance. Hines would later gain notoriety as a co-star to Mr. Ed on television. There are obligatory arguments between the husband and wife about their future together in true soap opera fashion. 

Calhoun cannot drive. Gentry wants to. So he teaches the eager young mechanic how to drive fast, and smartly. His first driver training session is on curvy mountain roads and is a highlight in the early going. The sound of the 1955 hot rod echoing among the hills makes more noise than speed—reaching about 45 mph on a straight away it would appear. They catch the eye of Revenuers from their hidden speed trap. One can see the different suspension set-up between their 1959 production car as the stock car lays flat in the curves. A roadblock brings the training to a standstill. The revenuer recognizes the infamous Calhoun and suspects he is running moonshine again. After thoroughly searching the car and finding nothing suspicious, their total disappointment only generates more hate.

Gentry gains race experience throughout the summer season of the film, eventually qualifying with the big boys. Calhoun and Gentry have a falling out late in the film as the latter’s head gets too big for his helmet. That exciting race footage of NASCAR's Southern 500 is interrupted repeatedly with fifteen-second cuts of Hines pacing the floor amid soothing music from a radio. Then it is back to racing mayhem as Calhoun (sans plastered leg) battles Gentry for the checkered flag. Hines finally gets enough courage to arrive at the racetrack, getting her own checkered flag as she comes to grips with her husband's danger. She can always remarry if things go really bad.

Note: One race competitor is famed stunt driver, Cary Loftin, eight years away from stepping in for Steve McQueen in Bullitt. His controlled crash during his qualifying run and subsequent cut to flaming wreckage footage ends his character’s life.

Periodically, the music score during Brun's racing scenes would be more fitting of a Western movie about a grand cattle drive. With cars three or four abreast, visually that is not too far off. Finally, I am not sure why a song was written for this film, but Ann Stevens sings beautifully in her only professional credit, accompanied by her laptop Autoharp.

THUNDER ALLEY (1967)

Today, in the memory-fogged use of hindsight, some lament over Annette Funicello not getting the chance to break out as a legitimate actress. This was irrelevant in the mid-Sixties as young ticket buyers never gave a thought to her acting abilities. She does have a pulse in this film, however, doing a good job with a wide range of emotions. This predictable film was not as successful as the previous year's Fireball 500 though it again stars Funicello with co-star Fabian Forte.

Kenneth Crane and Ronald Sinclair managed to edit this "auto-racing-beach-party" film down to a lengthy ninety minutes. They still did not leave enough frames on the editing floor. This was the last American International Pictures film for Funicello. A timely departure given the studio's transition to rougher, psychedelic biker films and anti-Vietnam war projects. Director Richard Rush leaves behind the previous teenage beach comedies to “adultify” the characters from those innocent, music-filled films where boy meets girl and they behave themselves. Monroe Askins' frenetic, effective cinematography during a post-race wild party changes that. This is typical drive-in movie fare. Funicello’s disapproving character leaves the party early, but as she anemically sings a love ballad in her pre-teen whisper, she removes a cigarette pack. You can hear Walt Disney’s pipe hit the floor after dropping from his mouth. But she is only putting it and other packs in a case for someone else. Whew!

Though imagining that teen idol, Fabian Forte, came up with that stage name, he was actually born with it. His acting strength in this genre was his ability to act cocky on screen. But his cardboard performance gets the yellow caution flag for any high school drama department as he does not quite leave the late Fifties behind. His character is a promising stock car driver whose blackouts—when boxed in—create track havoc. He causes a crash that kills a popular driver and he is suspended from professional racing. The authorities think he caused the crash for personal gain. Disgraced, he is desperate for work, and willing to accept driving on the county fair bumper-car circuit. Race team owner, the lumpy Stanley Adams, initially shies away from the controversial competitor.

Forte ends up accepting a job as a daredevil driver for a cheap demolition derby owned by a tightwad promoter, Jan Murray, whose daughter, Funicello is one of his drivers along with fellow driver and boyfriend, the unassuming Warren Berlinger. Forte offers advice on how better to do Funicello's upcoming stunt. She is not happy about her unsuccessful attempts, thinking it is because of her father’s unwillingness to spend money on a more powerful engine. Fabulous Forte suggests it is not power but speed being the issue. Start farther back and get a good run on the ramp. Duh! She agrees with his obvious assessment. No surprise, they are soon on the ramp of romance and Berlinger is permanently in pit lane. Stunt thrill shows remained fairly popular during this era. Doing 2-wheel driving in new Ford Mustangs may have boosted sales—though not necessary.

The vintage footage inserted may perk up the NASCAR historian. The producers were unable or unwilling to match the resolution with the staged film segments, giving the stock footage a blurry, color-altered appearance. Cutaways to the actor’s staged cheering or the motionless studio prop car “driving” are straight out of the Forties. Real track announcer, Sandy Reed, is again on hand to call the races. In shades and microphone in hand, he appears restrained from gesturing wildly by a short cord. During a final race, Forte gets boxed in again and through ghostly flashbacks, comes to grips with his past, dissolving his blackouts. Self-cured and in the good graces of race organizers, he returns to big-time oval racing.

Note: George Barris had quite an imagination but often ignored the concept of form following function. Certainly, his claim to fame is television’s Batmobile, which was appropriately cool and had some potentially legitimate functions designed in. His “Dragula” coffin-inspired dragster, Herman Munster’s vehicle of choice, was a clever element in the popular franchise. The mostly white 1967 Dodge Thunder Charger in this film is a hacked hunk of outrageous work with an unimaginative paint scheme, repainted from its original more creative scheme. Barris negates the NASCAR intended aerodynamics of a fastback with a cantilevered roof. One may wonder how much air was trapped in the remaining fastback section. That said, the hugely popular Charger probably generated a lot of conversation exiting the drive-in in the family's ten-year-old Buick.