The Alien Encounters/Dear Diary...

The Alien Encounters/Dear Diary...
Dear diary, I'm feelin' UHF today...

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry


In preparation for the new Mad Max film coming out soon which looks to be a welcome throw back to the dangerous practical automotive stunts of yore, I watched Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) this weekend as a testament of how car chase films used to be made before the advent of CGI, namely using real live cars to actually smash up and destroy on film, and the main star in this one is a real beauty, a 1969 lime green Dodge Charger R/T 440.


There are a couple scenes in this flick that I almost couldn't believe were actually done live on camera were it not for mine own eyes: one a high speed chase involving a police helicopter flying perilously close to the aforementioned Charger--a scene with an added element of pathos since the late Vic Morrow was a passenger on this non fatal helicopter ride--and the ironic climactic scene, which I shan't spoil for anyone that has never watched this film, but which is a pretty amazing shot to see for the first time and would probably be done in CGI if filmed today.


Starring Peter Fonda--with his long flowing locks looking startlingly similar here to a pre-op Bruce Jenner--and an unbilled cameo by Roddy McDowall, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is a great action car chase flick; it would make a good double feature with Tanatino's Death Proof.

Here's the trailer:

No comments:

Post a Comment