Red Line 7000 (1965)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Howard Hawks (story)
George Kirgo (writer)

Release Date:

9 November 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Meet The Speed Breed!

Plot:

The story of three racing drivers and three women, who constantly have to worry for the lives of their boyfriends...

Plot Keywords:

Automobile | Prosthetic Limb | Rivalry | Stock Car Racing | Ambition

Cast

James Caan	...	Mike
Laura Devon	...	Julie
Gail Hire	...	Holly
Charlene Holt	...	Lindy
John Robert Crawford	...	Ned
Marianna Hill	...	Gabrielle
Skip Ward	...	Dan (as James Ward)
Norman Alden	...	Pat
George Takei	...	Kato
Diane Strom	...	Receptionist
Anthony Rogers	...	Jim Loomis
Carol Connors	...	Waitress
Cissy Wellman	...	Waitress

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11

Company:

Laurel Productions

Trivia:

Pat's watch (Norman Alden) is a Rolex Daytona.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

Wildcat Jones

Only James Caan and Marianna Hill are worth watching...

Red Line 7000, one of Howard Hawks's later films, is generally considered one of his worst, thanks to fake-looking racing scenes, hilariously inappropriate dialogue and musical sequences, and ghastly performances from never-weres such as James Ward, Laura Devon, Gail Hire and particularly John Robert Crawford. But the film is redeemed by the dynamic chemistry between James Caan and the exciting Marianna Hill in their individual scenes together. Caan shows in this film the intensity and talent that would make him one of the best actors of the early-1970s, and Hill's performance, on-par with other memorable Howard Hawks discoveries as Lauren Bacall and Angie Dickinson, makes you wonder why she didn't become a bigger star before fading into obscurity. Particularly memorable are Hill's two lusty dancing sequences, at the nightclub and later in front of the Holiday Inn Pepsi machine, as James Caan observes her from afar. Caan and Hill redeem Red Line 7000 from being a total disaster--the movie should have focused only on their characters and gotten rid of everybody else--but, even with its many weaknesses, the film is still more intriguing than the overrated Grand Prix (1966) anyday.