Fireball 500 (1966)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

William Asher

Writers:

William Asher (written by) and
Leo Townsend (written by)

Release Date:

7 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Action

Tagline:

They're Running Hot!

Plot:

Stock car racer Dave Owens (Frankie Avalon) plays into the hands of whiskey runners by agreeing to drive in a cross-country road race...

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Number In Title

Cast

Frankie Avalon	...	Dave
Annette Funicello	...	Jane
Fabian	...	Leander
Chill Wills	...	Big Jaw
Harvey Lembeck	...	Charlie Bigg
Julie Parrish	...	Martha
Douglas Henderson	...	Hastings (as Doug Henderson)
Sandy Reed	...	The Announcer
Baynes Barron	...	Bronson
Mary Hughes	...	Leander Fan
Salli Sachse	...	Leander Fan
Patti Chandler	...	Leander Fan
Jo Collins	...	Leander Fan
Karla Conway	...	Leander Fan
Maria McBane	...	Leander Fan (as Marie McBane)
Hedy Scott	...	Leander Fan
Linda Bent	...	Leander Fan
Len Lesser	...	Man in Garage
Luree Holmes
Renie Riano	...	Marthy (as Renee Riano)
Sue Hamilton	...	Farmer's Daughter
R.L. Armstrong	...	Herman's Friend (as Tex Armstrong)
Jason Johnson	...	Herman
Paul Napier
Michael Nader	...	Joey (as Mike Nader)
Billy Beck	...	Jobber
Ed Garner
Eddie Gray
Carol Byron
Bill Putney
Vin Scully	...	Announcer (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby Brack	...	Race Driver (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
William Asher

Writing credits
William Asher		(written by) and
Leo Townsend		(written by)

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	producer
Gene McCabe	....	associate producer
James H. Nicholson	....	producer
Burt Topper	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Les Baxter

Cinematography by
Floyd Crosby		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Fred R. Feitshans Jr.		(as Fred Feitshans)
Eve Newman

Art Direction by
Daniel Haller

Set Decoration by
Harry Reif

Costume Design by
Richard Bruno

Makeup Department
Ted Coodley	....	makeup artist
Ray Forman	....	hair stylist (as Ray Foreman)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dale Hutchinson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Karl Brainard	....	properties
Ross Hahn	....	construction coordinator
Richard M. Rubin	....	properties

Sound Department
Don Rush	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Frank DeMarco	....	special effects

Stunts
Ronnie Dayton	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jacques R. Marquette	....	process photographer (as Jacques Marquette)
Jack Beckett	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Paul Jacobsen	....	electrician (uncredited)

Music Department
Guy Hemric	....	additional songs
Milton Lustig	....	music editor
Al Simms	....	music supervisor
Jerry Styner	....	additional songs

Other crew
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	presenter
Jack W. Cash	....	assistant to producer (as Jack Cash)
Charles Murray	....	technical advisor
James H. Nicholson	....	presenter
Christopher Riordan	....	choreographer (as Ronnie Riordan)
George Barris	....	car customizer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (Canada)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Beat (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Beat (????) (USA) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Westheimer Company

Other Companies

• Clokey Productions  animation sequences
• Nelson-Corso  sound effects
• Ryder Sound Services  sound by
• VOX USA  musical instruments (as Vox)
• Westheimer Company  titles

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~4.5 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~4.4 seconds.

Quotes:

Dave: You know it's funny. There you are, laying there like a loser but yet you've got all the chips in front of you. You busted the game Leander.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Love Bug (1968)

Soundtrack:

Fireball 500

He's a racing son-of-a-gun...

Frankie Avalon plays self-confident young racer Dave Owens who takes on egomaniacal reigning champion Leander Fox (Fabian) in this fairly engaging change of pace for the "Beach Party" cast and crew. Dave is tricked into running moonshine for garage owner Charlie Bigg (Harvey Lembeck) and the very enticing young blonde track owner Martha (Julie Parrish). Naturally, he's too morally upright to stand for this, and the revenuers put the pressure on him to supply them with information.

There's quite a bit of good action on the track with enthusiastic commentary by real-life track announcer Sandy Reed. The film certainly takes on a darker tone than one might expect from watching the "Beach Party" series. Yet it never bogs down too much in melodrama. Naturally, Frankie and Annette get to sing on a few occasions. (She plays Fabian's love interest, and in an interesting turn of events doesn't care too much for Frankie here.) Frankie tussles with both Fabian and Lembeck; the latter fight in particular is quite an amusing set piece.

Chill Wills adds great blustery support as Annette's gregarious uncle "Big Jaw", with nice turns in small parts by Douglas Henderson and Baynes Barron as the revenuers, Len Lesser as an amiable redneck, Mike Nader as Joey and Billy Beck as Jobber. Parrish contributes a great deal of sex appeal and is very easy to watch throughout.

It does deliver some decent "feel good" vibes, and is overall a reasonably entertaining piece. The claymation sequences at the beginning and end (courtesy of Art Clokey of "Gumby" fame) are a cute and funny touch.

7/10