Greased Lightning (1977)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Michael Schultz

Writers:

Leon Capetanos (writer)
Lawrence DuKore (writer)

Release Date:

July 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Comedy | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Richard Pryor Drives 'Em Wild

Plot:

This film is based on the true life story of Wendell Scott, the first black stock car racing champion in America. |

Plot Keywords:

Stock Car Racing | Automobile | Automobile Racing | African American | Racial

Cast

Richard Pryor	...	Wendell Scott
Beau Bridges	...	Hutch
Pam Grier	...	Mary Jones
Cleavon Little	...	Peewee
Vincent Gardenia	...	Sheriff Cotton
Richie Havens	...	Woodrow
Julian Bond	...	Russell
Earl Hindman	...	Beau Welles
Minnie Gentry	...	Wendell's Mother
Lucy Saroyan	...	Hutch's Wife
Noble Willingham	...	Billy Joe Byrnes
Bruce Atkins	...	Deputy Turner
Steve Fifield	...	Deputy Drinkwater
Bill Cobbs	...	Mr. Jones
Georgia Allen	...	Mrs. Jones

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Danville, Virginia, USA

Company:

Third World Cinema

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Phineas and Ferb: Greece Lightning/Leave the Busting to Us (#1.25)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

All Come True

Enjoyable, engrossing film

Richard Pryor shows his versatility, in this story of a black moonshine runner who forces his way into the white-dominated professional racing circuit. I'm not sure how historically accurate it is, but the film drew me into the story, right off the bat. When they establish Pryor's character as a WWII veteran, that automatically buys some sympathy, and it's not hard to guess how hard it would have been for a black man to make his mark in the white-dominated south, let alone the white-ultra-dominated auto racing field. This particular aspect of racing, I think, still shows today in the incredibly-low percentage of black drivers in the major leagues of auto racing. I know it's not because African-Americans can't build or drive cars - I believe it's still because of the redneck image of pro stock-car racing.

Anyway, off my soapbox. This is a great movie. Pryor is very believable and turns in a fine performance as the protagonist. It's also great to see how the small local drivers started to build up the sport into the massive, ugly organization that is is, today. The film also kept my interest by showing the NASCAR races, year after year, showing their evolution and devolution.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, front to back - of course, I'm kind of tilted towards car films. But the way the actors played out their characters in this film made them very human. I recommend this to any open-minded NASCAR fan. This'll show you where it came from.