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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Nice try at something different, 11 January 2006 Author: estabansmythe from Temple City, CA
Bill Asher and Samuel Z. Arkoff & James Nicholson at American International give "Fireball 500" the old college try. They gave their stock beach party ensemble (minus a few of the usual screw crew such as John Ashley, Donna Loren and Jody McCrea) something heavier and darker to try. This is more like an early '60s Elvis film than one of the zany Beach flicks. It's a serious film. There's no comic relief to be found anywhere. Only a couple songs sung on stage instead of on the sand and in the surf or dorm.Also, guys like Harvey Lembeck get the opportunity to stretch and play a something far different from his legendary Rats motorcycle gang leader, Erich Von Zipper. In this one, he is not his ideal - ha-ha!Frankie Avalon is a stock car driver with a past coerced into going undercover and runnig moonshine for Harvey Lembeck. Annette Funicello is to be fought over, but Frankie doesn't get her as usual! How about that! In fact, they don't even really like each other in this one. If you see it, don't expect a sequel to "Beach Blanket Bingo" because it's not. Take it on its own terms.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Moonshine and NASCAR!!!, 22 February 2006 Author: Tomlonso from Kalamazoo MI
This is a fairly innocuous little movie. No one rented tuxes for the 1967 Oscars for this one, but then no one is paying large sums of money to suppress it, either. It feels like a "Perry Mason" or "Route 66" TV episode.For vintage erotica fans, there is a (mostly) accurate portrayal of the "Girlie Shows" that were once carnival staples. Fabian's character, Leander, has a group of young women following him around (Four of them period Playboy Playmates) and there is a seductive (slightly) older widow. The sex and romance is far from explicit (welcome in a movie with Chill Wills in it!) and is generally hinted at with meaningful glances.For NASCAR fans there are some pretty good scenes of stock car racing 40 years ago, including some of the Daytona 500. Drivers that year apparently were racing for a $85,000 purse. (2006: $18 million).It's well worth a rental. I bought mine as a two-sided DVD with "Thunder Alley" for under $15, and I feel the money was well-spent.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: SIlly Good Time Fun, 1 February 2006 Author: jtj909 from United States
Citizen Kane it is not, but if you want a good time, drive in, type movie.. check it out. Frankie A. is a wanna be Nascar driver who drives for moonshiners on the side. He meets the hard Biz woman who owns the track and finds the moonshine drivers, but she falls in love and later on redeems herself.Fabian is the local race track hero and king of the moonshine drivers. There's a slight twist to his character in the end that I won't reveal here. Dopey songs, pretty girls and cars... Simple, Family friendly fun with some cool old school Nascar footage to boot.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Stockcars and sourmash, 18 September 2005 Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca
"Beach Party" leads Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, and Harvey Lembeck do what they can with C-minus material involving an ace stockcar racer who gets involved with moonshiners; the Internal Revenue wants him to work both sides, but he's more interested in finding out who's thwarting the midnight runs by playing chicken with the drivers. Barely involving 'grown up' effort from American International, not as good as their later stockcar comedy-drama "Thunder Alley", however Avalon and Annette both get to sing (his number, "My Way" is one of the best tunes Avalon ever got in an AIP film). There's a pretty good brawl between Frankie and Harvey Lembeck, but Fabian, as Frankie's nemesis, is under-used, as is Annette. Good photography by Floyd Crosby, cute opening Claymation segment by Clokey Films, but the story is so muddled we never know where we stand with these one-dimensional characters. *1/2 from ****
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful: I guess I have seen worse movies...but, 8 June 2001 Author: Walt-11 from New England
I guess I have seen worse movies...but not lately. If you're a race fan you might be able to get thru this as a curiosity, but as is often the case, this movie was written and directed by people who wouldn't know a race car from a loaf of bread. At least it has Annette! I think it's similar to an Elvis movie without Elvis, or an old beach-blanket movie style.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: The unofficial end of the Beach Party., 17 September 2007 Author: Thomas E. Reed from Orlando, FL
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
For all the previous comments - yes, it was a typical American-International programmer, so cowardly it used "moonshining" as a safe substitute for drug-running - this film is sad to someone who was amused by the Beach Party series of films.Although not Frankie and Dee Dee, Avalon and Funicello are playing the same basic characters; he trying to be an adventurous stud (and succeeding far more than he ever did on the beach, getting into implied clenches with a couple of women) and she fiercely protecting her virginity. But they're connected to other people; Funicello is in love with Fabian and thinks Avalon's an annoying creep. She only shows some positive response to him briefly. The conventional dramatic plot doesn't allow the happy coincidences and contrived happy endings that used to follow these guys around.By playing straight characters, both were trying to grow beyond their "teenage years" and into more mature roles. Neither one made it, even when Frankie changed his name to "Frank Avalon." Especially not after a career of playing in drive-in bottom-bill films like this one.The first appearance of Frankie and Dee Dee in "Beach Party" had them driving towards their bungalow, singing happily as their beach blast was just beginning. In the end titles of this film, Frankie is singing while driving off with a completely DIFFERENT girl, a melancholy closure to the whole series. They didn't even end it by driving off together. I remember seeing this on a TV station as the last movie before they signed off on a lonely Saturday night, and I bid a farewell to their youth, their innocence, and their careers as optimistic teen icons.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Film Editing Team Rises to the Challenge, 25 August 2006 Author: aimless-46 from Kentucky
"Fireball 500" (1966) is technically the best production to ever come out of "American International". The cinematography looks as good as the best Hollywood productions from that period; with unexpectedly good shot selection and nice close-ups that you would expect to see now but were highly original back in 1966. This is a film that should be shown to would-be film and video editors, as there are few finer examples of matching stock footage with first and second unit output; all done by linear editing (try it some time if you want a real challenge). When a low budget film tries to be high budget by inserting stock footage it is usually a disaster, but here there is a pretty good match of film stock and the track announcer's audio makes the action sequences easy to follow. You might recognize Fred R. Feitshans Jr's editing style from the old "Adventures in Paradise" television show. The story is ordinary-straight action adventure and romance, no comedy like AIP's beach movies even though it does feature alumni Frankie, Annette, and Harvey Lembeck. There are three good Hernrig and Styner songs: "Fireball 500", "My Way", and "Turn Around"; sung by Frankie with help on the last one from Julie Parrish. Annette sings "Step Right Up" which mostly leaves you amazed that anyone ever bought her records.As usual Annette is very buttoned-up and chaste but Parrish is hot enough to carry the whole film. Interestingly Annette pairs up with Fabian and Frankie gets Julie. Fabian also has a group of racetrack groupies who follow him around, four of the them are mid-60's Playboy centerfolds with one of those the Playmate of the year.Frankie gets into a serious fight with both Fabian and Lembeck. These are decently staged and cut but unnecessary to the story and rather comical when you consider the participants. Casting these two singers was apparently an attempt to expand the target audience from teenage boys and stock car fans by including something for teenage girls. This was at best a lame idea since by 1966 those two were considered wimpy has-beens compared to "Herman's Hermits", let alone the "Beatles" and the "Stones". There is tons of interesting stock car footage, making "Fireball 500" a nice historical archive. Overall it was a fun film to watch but nothing you would take very seriously.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: A very good movie would like to purchase, can't find, 25 October 1998 Author: ace-44 from wasilla alaska usa
I like the way the movie portrayed the moonshiners, and the way they influenced the early stock car racers. The musical theme was the wave of the era. This movie had a lot of the same themes as some of the Elvis movies.
He's a racing son-of-a-gun..., 3 May 2009 Author: Scott LeBrun from Winnipeg, Canada
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
Enjoyable fluff, 26 April 2009 Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left
Assured ace race car driver Dave Owens (a likable performance by Frankie Avalon) goes down south to compete in the local stock car races. Dave winds up at loggerheads with cocky reigning champion Sony Leander Fox (a deliciously smarmy portrayal by Fabian). Moreover, Dave also starts running moonshine for sleazeball auto garage owner Charlie Bigg (a nicely slimy turn by Harvey Lembeck). Director/co-writer William Asher relates the entertaining story at a snappy pace, maintains a breezy tone throughout, delivers a flavorsome evocation of the downhome setting, and stages the rousing vehicular carnage with considerable panache. Yummy blonde looker Julie Parrish vamps it up well as good-hearted young widow Martha. Nifty supporting contributions by the ever-adorable Annette Funicello as the sweet Jane, Chill Wills as jolly racetrack owner Big Jaw, Douglas Henderson as shifty federal agent Hastings, and Len Lesser as a genial hillbilly. The gritty and exciting racetrack footage is the authentic gnarly article. A couple of rough'n'ready fistfights are also pretty stirring. The cute claymation animation featured at the very start and end is a real hoot. Both Les Baxter's groovy swinging score and Floyd Crosby's sharp, bright widescreen cinematography are up to speed. As an added bonus, Frankie and Annette belt out a few catchy and charming songs. Better still, the characters even have a little depth to them. A fun flick.
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