Ep. #106 - 1970's Car Caper SHOWDOWN!: Vanishing Point v. Gone in 60 Seconds v. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry

Was there ever an era in cinema history when the obsession with cars, speed, and outrunning the law—whether you were a hick, a hippie, or a world-weary urbanite—captured the public’s imagination more than in the early 1970s?

That’s what we aim to ponder on this, our 106th episode of the Triple FFF as we discuss not one, not 2 but THREE POWERHOUSE mainstream movies of muscle-car mayhem starting with 1971’s Vanishing Point directed by Richard C. Sarafian and starring Barry Newman, Dean Jagger, Paul Koslo, Severn Darden, Anthony James, John Amos and Cleavon Little followed by 1974’s Gone in 60 Seconds directed and starring the great HB Halicki, his brother Ronald, Jerry Daugirda and Marion Busia. And topped off with Dirty Mary Crazy Larry also released in ’74 directed by John Hough  and starring Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, Roddy McDowell and Vic Morrow. 

My guests this week are car and driving averse bookworm Roseanne Caputi, and the actor photographer and funnyman who heavily encouraged this topic of road burning revelry, a man who spent his formative years at the local theater in Ketchikan Alaska with a dazed smile on his face while his chin and his elbows rested on the seat in front him, whether there was someone seated in front of him or not, Gordon Alex Robertson. 

Before we cue the getaway banjo music and yell, “Kiss my Grits!” the synopses: 

Vanishing Point: Kowalski, a Nam vet and former cop turned delivery driver, is tasked with transporting a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T from Colorado to San Francisco in record time. As he speeds across the desert, he becomes a symbol of freedom and defiance, pursued by a relentless law enforcement apparatus. 

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974): Maindrian Pace, an insurance adjuster and skilled car thief, is tasked with stealing fifty cars in a single night for a dangerous crime syndicate. As the clock ticks down, Pace races against time and evades the law against every possible odd to complete his impressive score.

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry: After pulling off a daring yet disturbing home invasion and supermarket safe heist, two over the hill race car drivers, Larry and Deke, hit the California highways while on the run from the law.  They run into a setback when they are joined by Mary, a feisty and free spirited former one night stand of Larry’s. 

The oddball trio then speed through the CA Delta backroads pursued by the shrewd and determined Captain Everett Franklin.  

Which film laps the others in the Grand Prix and stands as an indelible classic? Or do all three win the Championship?

Find out! 

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