Car Wash (film)

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This article is about the 1976 film. For other uses see Car Wash

Car Wash
The movie poster for the film Car Wash
Directed by	Michael Schultz
Produced by	Art Linson Gary Stromberg
Written by	Joel Schumacher
Starring	Franklyn Ajaye Ivan Dixon Darrow Ignus James Sprinks Bill Duke Antonio Fargas
Music by	Norman Whitfield
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	October 22, 1976
Running time	97 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Car Wash was a 1976 film produced by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Michael Schultz from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher.

It starred Franklyn Ajaye, Ivan Dixon, Darrow Ignus, James Sprinks, Bill Duke, and Antonio Fargas as the central employees of boss Sully Boyar and was a comedy about a "day-in-the-life" of a Los Angeles, California car wash. The film featured several unusual customers arriving throughout the course of the film, including Richard Pryor as a greedy preacher, the original Pointer Sisters supporting Richard Pryor's character, George Carlin as a taxi cab driver, and Irwin Corey as the 'mysterious piss bottle bomber'. Promoters emphasized Richard Pryor's relatively minor role in the film, which has resulted in many miscreditings of Richard Pryor as a star of the movie.

The film received mediocre reviews and was not a major success, though since its initial release it has had a small but constant following. However, its soundtrack album, recorded by Rose Royce, proved very popular. The "Car Wash" title track, written and produced by Norman Whitfield, was a #1 hit and was one of the biggest hit singles of the disco era. In 2004 the song was again featured in a film when it was performed by Christina Aguilera featuring Missy Elliott for the film Shark Tale. Their version was also a substantial hit throughout the world.

[edit] Trivia

The car wash in downtown Los Angeles was demolished in the early 1980s. Until the business closed, a large sign saying that Car Wash had been filmed there, was displayed in front of the business.