As I have oft stated, the purpose of these Theatre of the Less Obvious posts is to showcase some of the lesser known car movies of the past in hopes that those who may enjoy them can see something they haven’t seen. As a result, there a few films I’d like to mention that I’ve cut out of my list of planned articles because they don’t quite qualify due to being a little too well known. This is the reason why I chose not to discuss-for example-the 3 Elvis Presley racing flicks (“Viva Las Vegas,” “Spinout,” “Speedway”), even though it was originally my intention to do so. The first of today’s features is probably right on that line: “Fireball 500” isn’t quite “obscure.” Even so, it is likely that a lot people haven’t seen it even if they are aware of it, and I’ve decided to include it anyway because, well, its just so damn good! This is a movie that I really like, so I want to sing its praises and make sure that anyone out there who has missed it gets a chance to screen it. So, to add to the “obscurity quotient,” I’ve included an interesting footnote, “Thunder Alley,” which makes this the first T.o.t.L.O. Two-Fer.
In the early to mid ‘60’s there was a whole mess of lightweight teeny-bopper movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. “Beach Party” from 1963 was the kickoff, and soon the pair were so popular that their surnames were never used; everyone knew who “Frankie & Annette” were. The Beach Party series of movies starring the duo also spawned a whole genre of imitators, and all this co-incided with the rising popularity of the “surf/drag” genre of music, which-as you well know-inspired the name of this blog and the HO-scale racing track it is named after. These trends in music and movies were indelibly wrapped up with cars and car racing. All this “innocent fun” was short lived but intense, and that brief period between 1963 and 1966 left us a trove of awesome cultural treasures from the pinnacle of America’s love affair with the car.
A few years earlier, one of the first (but certainly not the last!) artists created out of whole cloth by a record company as a marketing gimmick was bursting onto the scene; this was Fabian Forte, who couldn’t write music, couldn’t play an instrument, and most definitely could not sing! And yet, he was so good looking that some A&R man somewhere decided to arm him with a full band and a brace of competent backup singers (whose purpose was to hide the tone-deaf Fabian’s attempts at singing) and splash him all over record sleeves to the swooning of teen girls the world over. He had so much investment behind him that he actually made some really good records, because the song writing and arrangements were so well-executed that even his awful “singing” couldn’t ruin them; he cut some memorable singles like “Tiger,” “Got The Feeling,” and “Hound Dog Man” (all of which, incidentally, are in your humble blogger’s record collection)! It worked for a short time-Fabian was hot in 1959 and ‘60-but by the time bands like The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean (who had real talent) began to rise in popularity, and America started collectively “heading to the beach,” the industry was struggling to find a way to keep him relevant. Some other A&R man must have gotten the bright idea to pair him with America’s new favorite couple, and thus the spate of Frankie & Annette & Fabian movies was born! Wouldn’t you know it: it turned out that, despite his deficiencies in other areas, Fabian wasn’t half bad as an actor!
These two movies sit at the intersection of these trends of the past: both films would be worth watching for that alone, but you get a lot more, because “Fireball 500” is actually a good movie: you get awesome cars, great racing footage, a catchy theme song, and it even has a plot that’s kind of cool!
FIREBALL 500:
Frankie Avalon plays Dave Owens, an itinerant racing driver from California who drives across the country towing his ’64 Plymouth Belvedere stock car behind his Barris-customized ’66 Barracuda, looking for any racing action he can get to make a name for himself. While in South Carolina he makes the acquaintance of garage owner and racing proprietor Charlie Biggs (Harvey Lembeck in an under-appreciated role), who has a very shady side: under his supposedly “legit” racing activities, Biggs is brewing moonshine and running it across the hills, and Owens is unwittingly-at least at first-drawn into this “side business.” Of course, being the new hot shot in town, he’s required to challenge the existing hot shot, the smug “Sonny” Leander Fox (Fabian), who Dave wastes no time in antagonizing both on and off the track, setting up a rivalry for both checkered flags and Annette’s affections that plays out throughout the movie, although, in the end, both of them turn out to be “good guys.” Now, that all may seem pretty canned, but there’s an extra twist that I don’t want to give away; suffice to say that Biggs is up to more than just shine running, and when someone actually dies in a wreck, it’s no accident; it’s a case of what the French call “Cherchez La Femme.”
Much of the racing footage of the more “modern” cars from both the beginning and end of the film is “stock footage” taken from sporting events: our hero Dave Owens is alleged to be driving Richard Petty’s famous #43 Plymouth. Even so, its still a blast to see mid 60’s stock cars on the track. However, the coolest action takes place with the older cars on the dirt tracks, which was filmed for the movie and is really exciting to watch! Ditto some of the night driving chases with the “’shine runner” cars, which include a ’57 Plymouth Savoy, a ’57 Chevy 150, and a ’60 Dodge Seneca, all “base model” 2-door sedans of the type that are almost non-existent today due to their low survival rates.
Sadly, none of those 3 cars survives this movie, which leads to the only caveat I will offer to my fellow gear-heads: if, like me, you have a passion for 1950’s cars, be aware going into it that you’re going to have to endure watching a lot of those cars get demolished (the opening sequence has about a 30 second clip of a demolition derby which is heart-rending to watch).
And yet, if you can bear in mind that when the movie was made those cars were just 10-15 year old junkers, you can really enjoy those dirt-track racing sequences because, even though the cars do get beat up, it’s a thrill to see that vintage iron dressed up with oversized tires on deep-dish 5-lugs and cut out fenders and brightly colored “fairground” paint doing their thing on the track: that, after all, is how it was back in the day, and car lovers today fawn over black and white photographs and grainy footage of that early stock car action. This movie gives you a chance to see some of it up-close in sequences heavy with GM iron (try to count all the Tri-5 Chevys!) choreographed in cinematic quality! The race where Owens pits a ’57 Oldsmobile against Leander’s ’56 Ford is probably the high point of the film!
The ’66 Barracuda that Avalon drives is a Barris job that was commissioned especially for this movie; it’s an impossibly awesome creation, absolutely a life-sized Hot Wheels car, and one that actually runs and drives! It was built around the same time as the TV-series Batmobile, and you can see some of the same styling cues in both cars (and I’m happy to say that custom job did survive the movie, and still exists today!)
In addition to all this, you get a couple of fun song and dance numbers from Frankie, Annette, and Fabian, and there’s also a couple of great fist fight sequences which are convincingly made. So overall, while it’s not an example of Oscar-winning cinema art, this is a really enjoyable movie to watch, and one that almost any vintage car fanatic and aficionado of 60’s style should check out!
THUNDER ALLEY: Not a sequel, but a pale imitation
“Fireball 500” must have done quite well at the box office because AIP announced a sequel to begin production almost immediately, set to be called “Malibu 500.” Unfortunately for them, however, Frankie didn’t show up, forcing them to change their plans and, rather than a proper sequel, simply retread the same ground with only Annette and Fabian.
I mention “Thunder Alley” as a “footnote” for this reason, but there’s a far more important reason I’m including this second film in the review: to me, the real interest is in looking at the cultural aspects of the two films. Although they were only separated by a year, there’s a gulf of difference between them in tone: where “Fireball 500” is light-hearted and fun, “Thunder Alley” is serious and dramatic. While I won’t go so far as to call it “dark,” it is decidedly more “down-tempo” than its predecessor, focusing as it does on themes like PTSD. Fabian’s character, racing driver Tommy Callahan, is a haunted and brooding young man troubled by his past rather than the jaunty devil-may-care character that both he and Frankie played in the earlier film. It also features some exciting racing sequences and another cool customized Barris Chrysler (this time a Dodge Charger), but overall it is nowhere near as enjoyable a film to watch.
Having said that, though, there are some things to recommend “Thunder Alley.” In particular the performances turned in by both Fabian and Annette are quite impressive-you can tell they are taking the whole thing very seriously. It also has some very interesting music that shows some eastern influences, including a sitar. This is a dead giveaway that the filmmakers were picking up on the end of “the age of innocence,” as a stalling economy and the horrors of the Vietnam war were becoming issues front and center to the American populace: the fun of the Beach Party era was, sadly, coming to an abrupt end.
There are those who may enjoy the second movie more; personally, I like the first one, but here’s the good news: you can see them both! Because, fortunately for us, high-quality complete versions of both films have been uploaded to YouTube for you to enjoy for free when ever you’d like! What a deal! So come on, race fans, what are you waiting for? Grab your popcorn and click yourself back to the ‘60s!
You do such a great analysis of these films, not only the movies themselves but the context in which they were filmed. I’ve seen these and I’ll admit to be one of those guys who has a really hard time with the demo derby scenes and of course where they push that Plymouth off the cliff. I totally get they saw those cars the way we would look at an 95 Chevy Lumina but it’s still cringe worthy to watch. Thanks again for the great review!