The Gumball Rally (1976)

Director:

Charles Bail

Writers:

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

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
Colleen Camp	...	Franco's Date
Rod Colbin
J.J. Fowler
David Hinton
Ken Scott
Joe Tornatore
Med Flory	...	Officer Williams
Raul Julia	...	Franco Bertollini - Ferrari Team
Edward Ansara	...	Head Waiter at Gallagher's Restaurant
Jay K. Atwater	...	Radar Patrolman
Stephen Blood	...	Rabbit
Chuck Courtney	...	Motorcycle Rider
Ed Danus	...	Boardroom Executive
Lou David	...	Mugger
Wes Dawn	...	Jaguar Team Member
Lauren Simon	...	Daisy (as Lola Daydream)
Eddy Donno	...	Mel - Van Team
Ann Doran	...	Mrs. Ontley
Elizabeth Fleming	...	Ms. Reynolds
John Furlong	...	Man on Freeway
Perry Gewirtz	...	Crazy Harold the Flasher
Charles J. Hajak	...	Gas Station Attendant
Carlton N. Hill	...	Highway Patrol Officer
Whitey Hughes	...	Corvette Team Member
Gray Johnson	...	Truck Driver
Richard Karie	...	Joe - Van Team (as Dick Karie)
John Lawlor	...	Jake
Gary Littlejohn	...	Motorcycle Rider
John Morton	...	Jaguar Team Member
Jack Oliver	...	Oscar
William E. Pierce	...	Illinois Sheriff
Allan Schmidt	...	Highway Patrol Captain (as Alan Schmidt)
Dennis J. Setlock	...	Gas Station Attendant
Alfred Shelly	...	Harry - Van Team
Don Sides	...	Helicopter Pilot
Larry Silvestri	...	Corvette Team Member
Walter R. Smith	...	Police Officer
Linda Vaughn	...	Emergency Plan Alpha
Joel Wolfe	...	New York Policeman
James Ray Wyatt	...	Policeman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marshall Jay Kaplan	...	Boy at Corvette race (uncredited)
Casey Kasem	...	Radio D.J. (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Bail		(as Chuck Bail)

Writing credits
Charles Bail		(story) (as Chuck Bail) and
Leon Capetanos		(story)
Leon Capetanos		(writer)

Produced by
Charles Bail	....	producer
Leon Capetanos	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Dominic Frontiere

Cinematography by
Richard C. Glouner

Film Editing by
Stuart H. Pappé
Gordon Scott
Maury Winetrobe

Casting by
Jack Baur

Art Direction by
Walter M. Simonds

Set Decoration by
Morris Hoffman

Costume Design by
Dodie Shepard

Makeup Department
Laura Lee Grubich	....	hair stylist
Gary Morris	....	makeup artist (as Garrett Morris)

Production Management
William C. Gerrity	....	unit production manager
William P. Owens	....	unit production manager (as Bill Owens)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Beetson	....	assistant director
Dennis E. Jones	....	second assistant director
Michael Kusley	....	second assistant director (as Mike Kusley)

Art Department
Wally Oliver	....	property master

Sound Department
Les Fresholtz	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Lester Fresholtz)
Michael Minkler	....	sound re-recording mixer
Billie Owens	....	sound effects editor
Arthur Piantadosi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Arthur H. Pullen	....	sound effects editor
William Randall	....	production sound mixer (as Bill Randall)

Special Effects by
Milt Rice	....	special effects

Stunts
Olie Anderson	....	stunts
Mike Bast	....	stunts
Wes Dawn	....	stunts
Eddy Donno	....	stunt coordinator
Robert Drake	....	stunts
Ted Duncan	....	stunts
Larry Dunn	....	stunts
Kenny Endoso	....	stunts
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts
Bob Harris	....	stunts
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts
Gray Johnson	....	stunts
Harry Madsen	....	stunts
John Morton	....	stunts
Roy K. Ogata	....	stunts
Frank Orsatti	....	stunts
Victor Paul	....	stunts
Diane Peterson	....	stunts
Charlie Picerni	....	stunts
Ernest Robinson	....	stunts
Wally Rose	....	stunts
Alex Stevens	....	stunts
Jerry Summers	....	stunts
Richard Washington	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Holly Bower	....	still photographer
Arthur Brooker	....	key grip
Rick Cosko	....	camera operator
Robert F. Liu	....	camera operator
Don Nygren	....	gaffer
Dave Friedman	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Louis Niemeyer	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ernest Misko	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Randy Roberts	....	editorial associate

Music Department
Eugene Marks	....	music editor (as Gene Marks)
David Pomeranz	....	composer: theme music
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Gil Casper	....	insert driver
Leo Landa	....	insert driver
Gary Paulsen	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Bud Belyeu	....	mechanic
Eddie Kafafian	....	unit publicist
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Paul Youds	....	mechanic
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)

Production Companies

• First Artists
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1978) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Pacific Title  titles and opticals

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:

Some of the featured cars: - 1966 Ford Shelby Cobra 427 "Side Oiler" (Cobra Team) - 1974 Ferrari Daytona (Ferrari Team) - 1974 Porsche 911 Targa (Porche Team) - 1971 Dodge Polara 440 police car (Dodge Team) - 1970 1/2 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (Camaro Team)

Goofs:

Continuity: The Cobra has visible front-end damage when it is on the interstate towards the end of the race. In the waterways, the front end is intact.

Quotes:

Prof. Samuel Graves - Cobra Team: From the garage to the Jersey Turnpike, six minutes, fifty-eight seconds. That's fifteen seconds better than last year.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mischief 3000 (2002) (V)

What's Behind Me...

Chuck Bail, a stunt performer on Steve McQueen's "Have Gun, Will Travel", contributed some memorable bits of dialogue to this script. I've lost count of the number of times I and others have repeated Raul Julia's judgment on the rear view mirror, "What's behind me is not important". Inevitably, any spectacularly ugly car we come across "looks like a jukebox". And on and on.

Julia, whose participation in this film was not generally cited in obituaries, and Gary Busey were performers whose careers took off afterward.

The remainder of the cast consists of moderately well known players, some still to be seen on soaps and occasionally in prime time guest shots. Normann Burton as a New York cop on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Harvey Jason as a bizarro motorcyclist stand out.

As is usually the case in movies about automobile racing, lots of expert stuntwork is on display here. Scenes of pure speed, though, do not get in the way of funnymen being funny.