Roadgames (1981)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Richard Franklin

Writers:

Everett De Roche (screenplay)
Everett De Roche (story)

Release Date:

26 June 1981 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The truck driver plays games... The hitchhiker plays games. And the killer is playing the deadliest game of all!

Plot:

A truck driver plays a cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious serial killer who uses a young female hitchhiker as bait to lure victims on a desolate Australian highway.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Australia | Truck Driver | Road | Truck

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Stacy Keach	...	Patrick 'Pat' Quid
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Pamela 'Hitch' Rushworth
Marion Edward	...	Madeleine 'Frita' Day
Grant Page	...	Smith or Jones
Thaddeus Smith	...	Policeman 'Abbott'
Steve Millichamp	...	Policeman 'Costello' (as Stephen Millichamp)
Alan Hopgood	...	Lester
John Murphy	...	Benny Balls
Bill Stacey	...	Captain Careful
Robert Thompson	...	Sneezy Rider
Ed Turley	...	Roadhouse Proprietor
Angelica La Bozzetta	...	Young Hitchhiker (as Angie La Bozzetta)
Colin Vancao	...	Fred Frugal
Paul Harris	...	Frugal Son
Rochelle Harris	...	Frugal Daughter

Also Known As:

Road Games (USA)

Runtime:

101 min | Sweden:93 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | UK:AA

Filming Locations:

Diggers Rest, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Essaness Pictures

Trivia:

The story that Quid tells Hitch while camping is actually the true story of that particular filming location. The camp scene was shot at a ruined old telegraph station that use to serve an Australian town that was destroyed by a plague of rabbits many years earlier.

Quotes:

Patrick 'Pat' Quid: [offering a treat to his dog Boswell] Hors d'ouevre, Boswell?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Kangaroo Hitchcock: The Making of 'Road Games' (2003) (V)

Just like a Hitchcock movie

I first saw this movie on TV. I taped it and watched it later. A couple of weeks ago I bought it on DVD and re-watched it. I had forgotten just how much I loved it. To me, watching this movie is just like watching an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It's filled with suspense. The characters are amazingly intelligent too, especially Stacy Keach's character, Pat Quid. At one point he picks up a hitchhiker, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, but is a gentleman the whole time she is in his truck. That was perfect. I mean, if he fooled around with her, that would have seriously detracted from the story. All the way through it the story has good supporting characters that only add to the quality of the film. Plus the cinematography in Australia's Outback is beautiful. I also enjoyed the truck driving sequences. One other thing, even though the movie is by no means a comedy, there are some very funny scenes in it, which you should enjoy. I don't want to give any of it away though. You need to watch it for yourself. I highly recommend this one. It's worth at least a rental. You will probably want to own it after seeing it once though. I know I did.