RED LINE 7000: Days of Blunder

RED LINE 7000 (Blu-ray)

1965 / 110 min

FROM ARROW VIDEO

Review by Mr. Paws

Before the melodramatic motorporn of Grand Prix, there was the melodramatic motorporn of Red Line 7000, a story of three hunky NASCAR drivers and the women who love them (and sometimes hate to love them). The similarities, however, tend to end there.

Looking back at this one nearly 60 years later, it’s easy to see why James Cann became a star while most of the other cast didn’t (though if you look quickly, you’ll spot Teri Garr). As ace driver Matt Marsh, he displays twice the charisma - along with flashes of his trademark intensity - than either of his racing rivals, Ned Arp (John Robert Crawford) and Dan McCall (James Ward), who are both blond, blank-faced carbon copies of each other. 

And what are we to make of Howard Hawks? One of classic Hollywood’s greatest and versatile directors, he seems to be working below his pay grade here, cranking out something that looks and feels more like an Elvis movie…Spinout minus the songs. Actually, I take that back…there is one song, “Wildcat Jack,” which is cringingly awful and sang/rapped by Gail Hire as love interest/jazz club co-owner Holly McGregor (and where Garr appears as a back-up singer).

"How'd you get your hair to do that?"

Speaking of which…a lot of the movie takes place in a swanky jazz club, where all the stock car drivers (and their women) hang out between races, prompting me to suspect screenwriter George Kirby didn’t do much research. Though I think most of these guys would more-likely be tipping back beers in a dive, let’s not hold that against him. However, the dull romances and superficial conflicts that dominate the narrative are certainly Kirby’s fault.

1966’s Grand Prix was full of that stuff too, but when focused on the cars, races and drivers, not only did it look and sound authentic, the racing sequences were immersive and thrilling. Conversely, Red Line 7000 gives us grainy stock car racing footage interspersed with rear-projection shots of the actors pretending to drive. These sequences would also have you believe that a devastating crash happens every single lap.

In his first starring role (though he’s really part of an ensemble), James Caan makes the most of the opportunity. But technically and thematically, the rest of Red Line 7000 has aged far worse than other racing & romance movies from the same era. As one of Howard Hawks’ final films, this doesn’t rank among his best work.

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

BRUCE KESSLER: MAN IN MOTION - 45 minute profile/interview with director and former race driver Bruce Kessler (who passed away just this year). He was a 2nd unit director on Red Line 7000.

2 VISUAL ESSAYS - A Modern Type of Woman, by film scholar Kat Ellinger, is about the three primary women characters; Gas, Gears, Girls, Guys & Death, by Howard S. Berger & Angela McEntee, discusses director Howard Hawks and Red Red 7000.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo, who's screenwriter George Kirgo’s daughter.

GALLERY - Promotional artwork and stills.