Corvette Summer (1978)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Matthew Robbins

Writers:

Hal Barwood (writer)
Matthew Robbins (writer)

Release Date:

2 June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

And he thought fast cars were a thrill...

Plot:

Ken (Mark Hamill) 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	...	Plainclothes 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 Carwash 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:

Originally entitled "Stingray" until another movie with the same title was released first, probably to cash in on the advanced hype of Mark Hamill's first post-Star Wars (1977) movie role. Both flopped.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the car chase at the end, both cars are almost completely covered with dust. When shown from overhead, they are sparkling clean.

Quotes:

Kenneth W. Dantley, Jr.: 'Scuse me, uh, seventeen miles an hour?
Tico: Fifteen.
Kenneth W. Dantley, Jr.: On the in'erstate. What are ya doin', lookin' for a contact lens?
Tico: You patties crack me up. Still doin' your speed number, huh?
Kenneth W. Dantley, Jr.: Well what are you into, miles per gallon?
Tico: Class...we're into class.

Movie Connections:

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

Never let Danny from the Partridge Family drive your new Stingray.

When pretty-boy Mark Hamill took a header through the windshield of his personal vehicle (shortly after Star Wars hit it big), his career as a teen idol was forever fractured. But before the burial could be completed, the doctors stitched up his wounds and ran him out for this coming-of-age marathon about a boy and his car. Stolen? Repossessed? Gone. Maybe in pieces somewhere? Chop shop alert: Hamill meets a traveling salesman who gives up some key information. With his surgically repaired skull and grease monkey tan, Hamill hitches and walks his way to Las Vegas. Annie Potts is 24-karat gold as a prostitute in training. Joyful. Ambitious. Pow! She has moxie to burn. Her performance (I believe) inspired Marisa Tomei for her role in the southern-fried comedy, My Cousin Vinny. Another familiar face, Danny Bonaduce, has a part of desperation: he is blamed for losing the car while buying some Cokes, and later on, he's required to wash the Corvette during the closing credits. Enough said. But he does a good job. Plot points leap between slapstick and dark drama. Hamill's shop teacher and mentor is an unsavory fellow. A criminal. He has an odd view of the world and authority. The studio, MGM, crashes Las Vegas with all the zip and garish colors they could muster. On the way there, Hamill hitches a ride with some Mexican low-riders. Like the tortoise and the hare of lore, they move at a snails pace, much too slow for the manic kid in search of his prize hot rod. Weird script touches: the bad guy shoots his disabled car for no good reason; Hamill sleeps in a small U-Haul trailer--and he's not the only one with the same idea; both Potts and Hamill have little trouble finding employment with no identification or references; and a school field trip to a junkyard is loaded with menace and danger.