The Gumball Rally (1976)

Director:

Charles Bail

Writers:

Charles Bail (story) and
Leon Capetanos (story) ...

Release Date:

28 July 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's a hilarious coast-to-coast, 180 mile-an-hour, go-for-broke, outrageous road race with the world's most expensive cars. And it's all just for glory and a gumball machine.

Plot:

A disparate group of drivers take part in a secret and illegal cross country road race.

Plot Keywords:

Road | Car | Automobile Racing | Illegal Grand Prix Race | Los Angeles Storm Drain

Cast

Michael Sarrazin	...	Michael Bannon - Cobra Team
Norman Burton	...	Lieutenant Roscoe (as Normann Burton)
Gary Busey	...	Gibson - Camaro Team
John Durren	...	Ace Preston / Mr. Guts - Camaro Team
Susan Flannery	...	Alice - Porsche Team
Harvey Jason	...	Lapchick the Mad Hungarian - Kawasaki
Steven Keats	...	Kandinsky - Dodge Team
Tim McIntire	...	Steve 'Smitty' Smith - Ferrari Team
Joanne Nail	...	Jane - Porsche Team
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Barney Donahue - Mercedes Team
Tricia O'Neil	...	Angie - Rolls Royce
Lázaro Pérez	...	Jose - Rolls Royce
Nicholas Pryor	...	Prof. Samuel Graves - Cobra Team
Vaughn Taylor	...	Andy McAllister - Mercedes Team
Wally Taylor	...	Avila - Dodge Team

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

380 South San Rafael Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

First Artists

Trivia:

Two Ferrari Daytonas were used (main car and a backup) The serial numbers were 14829 and 16467. Chassis 14829 is currently at the Peterson Automotive Museum and was once owned by 'Mel Blanc.'Chassis 16467 also appeared in 'A Star in Born' (1976)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the start-of-race sequence, set between 6:00 AM and 6:05 in Manhattan, a car passes a bank clock reading 10:26 (the light seems to support that).

Quotes:

Roscoe: One day, Bannon... you *and* Smith!

Movie Connections:

References Jaws (1975)

The film that best captures the pure joy of open-road driving.

So, you've just spent thousands of dollars on a new home entertainment center and you want to take it for a spin around the block... what movie do you watch? 'Gumball Rally' would be a lovely choice. It's pure simple fun filled with raw visceral sights and sounds. Leave the serious films till later, this one will make you feel you've gotten your money's worth. Capturing the heart and soul of the real life "Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash" of the '70s, it's the tale of an unofficial, illegal, recurring race from New York to Los Angeles... anything goes. And what goes? Lapchick, the Mad Hungarian, trying to spend 36 hours non-stop on a motorcycle; a van filled with hundreds of gallons of fuel so they don't have to delay for fuel stops; Raul Julia as the Italian race driver Franco and his famous first rule of Italian driving. And in that over-filmed concrete gully known as the LA River there is the BEST sequence ever shot there when a Ferrari Daytona duels with a 427 Cobra... they didn't rely simply on trick shots and undercranked cameras, often the cars were really driven to their limits. Forget the later, far inferior 'Cannonball' movies; the 'Gumball' people actually knew their cars, and they'll have you craving a powerful engine, a full tank of gas, and the open road.