The film stars David Carradine as Coy "Cannonball" Buckman. It's a far cry from his role as the Frankenstein character in Death Race 2000 since Cannonball Buckman is the kind of guy who will take a bad rap and spend time in jail just to spare a friend, Zippo (Archie Hahn), a worse fate. But although a man of personal principles, he certainly has no regard for the law and is ready to jump his parole at a chance to win the $100,000 prize that is being offered to the winner of an illegal cross-country road-race stretching from the west coast of Santa Monica to the east coast of Manhattan. Among those competing against Buckman and his flashy Trans-Am are three vixens in a van, a ruthless psycho in a black Dodge Charger, two romantically involved teenagers in a corvette, and a few other lawbreakers who will stop at nothing to win.
Carradine embraces his macho role with gusto, some fancy footwork, lots of bare-chested scenes, and very, very tight pants. Bartel gives himself brief screen time as a money shark, and includes cameos by Martin Scorsese, Sylvester Stallone (uncredited), Roger Corman, Joe Dante, and Bartel's co-writer Don Simpson (1943 - 1996), whose future successes and excesses as the producer of films ranging from Flashdance (1983) to The Rock (1996) are now part of modern Hollywood lore. One senses that Simpson's penchant for the bombastic may have started early and contributed more than a little to a climactic 15-car pile-up near the end of Cannonball! And, speaking of bombastic motorway scenes, one pivotal moment at the end of an unfinished overpass seems to clearly inform a similar stunt in Speed (1994). Discussion of related films wouldn't be complete without mentioning the celebrity-riddled Cannonball Run (1981), which cites Brock Yates' real-life "Cannonball Run" coast-to-coast race in 1971 as its inspiration. While Cannonball Run made a big splash and certainly had a lot more flash and glitz than Bartel's low-budget vision of road rogues, it also lacks the scrappy charm of Cannonball!
Blue Underground's dvd features a crisp and colorful print in a widescreen presentation with various Dolby options. Extras include a behind-the-scenes documentary titled Kicks and Crashes: Interview's with Stars David Carradine & Mary Woronov and the Legendary Roger Corman, a theatrical trailer, TV spots, and gallery of posters and stills. Speaking of posters, viewers who stick it through the ending credits of the film will see a plug for another Carradine vehicle (this particular vehicle being a "destructocyle") called Deathsport (1978).
For more information about Cannonball!, visit Blue Underground. To order Cannonball!, go to TCM Shopping.
by Pablo Kjolseth
