The Last American Hero (1973)

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writers:

Tom Wolfe (articles)
William Roberts (written by)

Release Date:

27 July 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

It took him 20 years to find out who he was and 2 laps to let the world know.

Plot Keywords:

Stock Car Racing | American Dream | Automobile

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	Elroy Jackson Jr. aka Junior Jackson
Valerie Perrine	...	Marge Dennison, Morley's Secretary
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Mrs. Jackson
Ned Beatty	...	Hackel, Derby Promoter
Gary Busey	...	Wayne Jackson
Art Lund	...	Elroy Jackson Sr.
Ed Lauter	...	Burton Colt
William Smith	...	Kyle Kingman, Driver (as William Smith II)
Gregory Walcott	...	Cleve Morley
Tom Ligon	...	Lamar, Good Ole' Boy
Ernie F. Orsatti	...	Davie Baer, Driver (as Ernie Orsatti)
Erica Hagen	...	Trina Kingman
James Murphy	...	Spud
Lane Smith	...	Rick Penny, Driver
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill Connell
Bridget Furr Jones	...	Baby girl with Junior Jackson at speedway
Garland Atkins	...	TV Reporter (uncredited)
Paul Holman	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Mike Muscat	...	Party Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Lamont Johnson

Writing credits
Tom Wolfe		(articles)
William Roberts		(written by)

Produced by
John Cutts	....	producer
William Roberts	....	producer
Joe Wizan	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
George Silano

Film Editing by
Robbe Roberts
Tom Rolf

Casting by
Marion Dougherty
Joyce Selznick

Art Direction by
Lawrence G. Paull		(as Larry Paull)

Set Decoration by
James L. Berkey		(as James Berkey)

Makeup Department
Colleen Callaghan	....	key hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
John W. Rogers	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frederic W. Brost	....	assistant director (as Fred Brost)
Barry Stern	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Bud Alper	....	sound mixer
Don J. Bassman	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Don Bassman)

Stunts
Everett Creach	....	stunt coordinator
Ted Duncan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Greg Walker	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Arthur Brooker	....	key grip (as Art Brooker)
George Holmes	....	gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Alan Levine	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Tom Rolf	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Charles Fox	....	composer: theme song "I Got A Name

Other crew
Junior Johnson	....	consultant
Junior Johnson	....	technical advisor
Ray Quiroz	....	script supervisor
Tom Miller	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Jerry Whittington	....	location projectionist: dailies (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Rojo Productions
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1976) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Key Home Video (video)

Also Known As:

Hard Driver (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

95 min | 91 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Hickory, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Rojo Productions

Trivia:

Fictionalized version of Junior Johnson's career as a driver and moonshiner.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Precious Images (1986)

Soundtrack:

I Got A Name

Good Bridges performance

Very good acting performance by Jeff Bridges. He hit just the right note as the naive, in-over-his-head, but determined and aggressive stock car driver, Junior Jackson.

His performance as a young country kid, trying to break into the big time, with small-time resources, is memorable.

Valerie Perrine is equally good as Marge, the man-starved woman who takes a liking to Junior. She senses he's someone who may be on the way up, while her current beau, successful driver Kyle Kingman, is probably on the way down. To hedge her bets, she makes sure to warm both their beds, to ensure she will be with the guy in the winners circle.

The movie looks, feels and sounds woefully dated, and the production and direction leave something to be desired. There are decent stars in this movie, but it looks like it was made on a shoe-string budget.

Bridges, Perrine, William Smith (as Kingman) and Ed Lauter (as Burton Colt, Junior's car owner) make this work with excellent performances.

A simply made movie, with outstanding characters.