Corvette Summer (1978)

Director:

Matthew Robbins

Writers:

Hal Barwood (written by) &
Matthew Robbins (written by)

Release Date:

2 June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

And he thought fast cars were a thrill...

Plot:

Ken is a high school student who dreams of driving Corvettes. His passion leads him to a perfect job as a Corvette mechanic...

Plot Keywords:

Car | Corvette | Love | High School | Prostitute

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Mark Hamill	...	Kenneth W. Dantley Jr.
Annie Potts	...	Vanessa
Eugene Roche	...	Ed McGrath
William Bryant	...	Plain Clothes Police Lecturer
Richard McKenzie	...	Principal Bacon
Kim Milford	...	Wayne Lowry
Philip Bruns	...	Gil
Danny Bonaduce	...	Kootz
Albert Insinnia	...	Ricci
Jane A. Johnston	...	Mrs. Dantley
Stanley Kamel	...	Las Vegas Con Man
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Older John - Rosalind's Admirer (as Cliff Pellow)
Jason Ronard	...	Wayne's Chain-Wielding Henchman
Brion James	...	Wayne's Car Wash Henchman
Morgan Upton	...	New Owner of Vanessa's Van

Also Known As:

Stingray (USA) (working title)
The Hot One
California Highway (West Germany) (video title) [de]
Correrías de verano (Spain) [es]
Corvette - kuuma rauta (Finland) [fi]
Keravnos stin asfalto (Greece) [el]
L'estate della Corvette (Italy) [it]
Lato 'corvetty' (Poland) [pl]
Um Carro, um Rapaz, uma Garota (Brazil) [pt]
Zwei heiße Typen auf dem Highway (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:108 min (video)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Auto Shop, Burbank High School - 902 N. Third Street, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The Corvette was a 1973 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray converted to right hand drive so that Mark Hamill could hang out of the curbside window looking at the ladies.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Ken is chasing the Vette on a bicycle, he hitches boosts in speeds by holding on to various cars along the way. At one point, a construction pickup is one of these "boosts." The driver had to honk and actually slow down for the stuntman on the bike to catch up and grab hold.

Quotes:

Principal Bacon: You, young lady, do you have an explanation to offer?
Vanessa: Sure don't, jack.
Principal Bacon: Well who does?
Vanessa: Ask Bozo.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brain That Wouldn't Die (#6.13)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Give Me the Night

Full Speed Fun,With Just a speed bump or two.

One thing I really like from the entertainment world (besides music) is movies that are not "perfect". If you read my other reviews here you'll see that I have some off the wall celluloid favorites.

Corvette Summer is certainly one of them. Just two weeks ago a found a near mint copy in the original early80s box it came in. I only had seen it twice before. Once on network TV and again on local TV late night. I liked it well enough but the first time I was to young to "get it" and the second time the print shown was scratchy & muffled. With my "like new" copy,I fully see how good this movie is. No,it's not up there with box-office giants but it's a fun film with,believe it or not,a good message at the end of it.

In watching Hammil's performance as an auto-obsessed youth,I think he completely threw himself into this role. His character is so much like that,that he has even not had time for girls in his life! Demonstrated by his shyness from Annie Pott's sexual advances to him.

Annie Potts definitely is a fire-cracker in this film. She's funny,touching and even a little heart-breaking in her role. It's no wonder she went on to bigger things like "Designing Women". I disagree that she completely steals this movie from Mark though.

The underlying message is the revelation near the end,that almost relates to today's world. The shop teacher Mr. McGrath is an underpaid educator who basically takes advantage of his prize pupil and has the car stolen (like many others most likely) to give his family the things a teacher's salary cannot. Hammil's reaction in discovering the truth about the man he so admired,is just as real as the way a lot of us felt when we learned the world isn't "perfect".

Overall,the movie is great but I just didn't buy Hammil's sudden change into the egotistical jerk he became almost overnight,after forced into the shady business. (Unless his character was just trying to put on an act to fool the bad guys.) Also,when trying to escape from the garage,his character hides in a large oil drum that's full. Now,how would he get into that thing with all that stuff stacked on top of it? Does he have that keen a sense of balance?

Of course,that's not really important,the main thing is it's a fun movie to watch and while not perfect,I feel the fact of Mr. McGrath's reluctant dishonesty,makes this a film with at least some grasp of reality. Without that plot point,it actually would just be a silly movie about a teen who's car is stolen and has crazy adventures in finding it. Along the way,losing his virginity. In other words,just another mindless teen flick.

9 stars out of 10,just one off for Mark's very temporary bad guy.