The Car
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| The Car | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for American release of The Car |
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| Directed by | Elliot Silverstein |
| Produced by | Elliot Silverstein Marvin Birdt Peter Saphier |
| Written by | Michael Butler Dennis Shryack Lane Slate |
| Starring | James Brolin Kathleen Lloyd John Marley Ronny Cox |
| Music by | Leonard Rosenman |
| Cinematography | Gerald Hirschfeld |
| Editing by | Michael McCroskey |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | May 13, 1977 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Car is a 1977 thriller, horror film directed by Elliot Silverstein, written by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack. It starred James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, and Ronny Cox. It was produced and distributed by Universal Studios. The film was influenced by numerous "road movies" of the 70's like Death Race 2000 (from 1975), and Steven Spielberg's 1971 thriller Duel. The film features a mysterious and murderous car with no driver. The film is notable for its memorable sound effects which featured a hellishly terrifying horn blast the car made whenever it was about to kill somebody.
Taglines:
- "Is it a phantom, a demon, or the Devil himself?"
- "What evil drives... The Car"
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
A small Utah community is terrorized by a phantom black sedan that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. The main character, Sheriff Wade Parent (Brolin), is on a mission to stop the demonic car which seems to have no driver. The cops chase the car through the desert, but it takes out several squad cars and disappears after injuring Wade. Things take a personal turn when the car eliminates Wade's girlfriend Lauren in a shocking sequence. Gathering his remaining officers, Wade concocts a plan to stop the horsepower-laden monster. But discovering it hiding in his own garage, Wade is forced to lure the car into a mountainous canyon area, where a final confrontation settles the score and reveals the driver's frightening identity.
[edit] Main cast
- James Brolin - Wade Parent
- Kathleen Lloyd - Lauren
- John Marley - Everett
- R.G. Armstrong - Amos Clemens
- John Rubinstein - John Morris
- Kim Richards - Lynn Marie Parent
- Kyle Richards - Debbie Parent
- Doris Dowling - Bertha Clemens
- Ronny Cox - Luke
[edit] Trivia
- The evil car in the film was a customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III designed by famed customizer George Barris who designed the Munster's Koach and the Batmobile used in the 1966 television series Batman.
- There were six cars built in six weeks for the filming and all were destroyed during production. Supposedly, a seventh car was built later and displayed for a time at Universal Studios but was eventually given back to Barris who later sold it to a private collector in the 1980s.
- The Ertl Company made a limited edition 1:18 scale die cast model of "The Car".
- In an episode of the animated series Futurama, Bender is run over by a strange car that infects him with a virus. This causes him to turn into a "werecar" that looks exactly like "The Car."
- The demonic car concept is also featured in Stephen King's novel and 1983 movie Christine (about a possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury), a 1982 B-movie called The Hearse (about a 1953 Packard hearse), and also a 1990 FOX made-for-television movie called Wheels of Terror (which features a driverless customized 1971 Dodge Charger that abducts a little girl).
- The car's demonic horn blast is used--perhaps unintentionally--in the movie Mission Impossible 3 when a truck tries to avoid hitting Tom Cruise.
