Stunts (1977)

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

***SPOILERS*** A number of accident have been occurring during the filming of this action movie that has stunt man Glen Wilson, Robert Forster, suspect that their no accidents at all but being committed, by acts of sabotage, someone on the set. This all started when Glen's younger brother a stuntman himself Greg, Gary Davis, was killed in a stunt, hanging on to a helicopter, that went terribly wrong and fell to his death. Now taking Greg's place in the movie Glen is risking his life to find out if his suspicions are right and is soon in for a big surprise! Not that he's not only right he dead right with what's waiting for him as his fellow stunt men working on the movie!It soon becomes evident that someone is out to not only kill , by staging accidents, all the stuntmen in the movie but is trying to bankrupt the person or studio that's financing it! Glen with the help of magazine writer B.J Parswell, Fiona Lewis, came to that conclusion when stuntman Chuck Johnson, Bruce Glover, fell to his death when he slipped off the rope that was greased that he was holding on to as well as stuntman Paul Salerno,Ray Sharkey, was burned to a crisp in another failed stunt when he was locked in a burning house that Glen in a fire resistant outfit escaped from.***SPOILERS**** With Glen ready to duplicate his dead brother Greg's hanging on to a helicopter death defying stunt that the killer, who just before beat his wife into a black & blue pulp, was exposed but by then it may have come too late with Glen already airborne and about to take his final dive! In fact it was the killer who gets the worst of it with Glen landing in his getaway car and during the struggle having him run off the road into a mobile home when he ended up incinerating himself. That last scene was so good even though it wasn't to be in the movie that it ended up not only being the highlight of the film but saved it from going bust or bankrupt!

With All Due Respect to the Stuntman Profession and the Death Defying Daring-Do, this Movie is a Bland, but sometimes Realistic Tribute.The Subject is usually better in a Documentary Format and it is a Noble Try to make it into an Action-Drama, but at least in this one, it comes off as Cheesy and Surprisingly Ineffective and the Drama here is just Awful.Awful Writing, Awful Music, Awful Mystery. What saves the Movie from being Worthless is the On Screen setting up of the various Stunts with attention to Details about the Methods and Machines used to Pull Off the Magic.These Scenes are well Photographed and Clearly Presented and the Mechanics behind the Stunts is Informative and Invites Viewer Curiosity. But other than that the Movie Strains to be a Movie and is as Intriguing as an Average TV Episode of an Average TV Show.Robert Forster, Joanne Cassidy, and some Real Stunt Men make every Effort to Entertain but are Betrayed by a Boring Script and a General Feeling of just Going Through the Motions. It's Baffling Lack of Energy and Suspense has to be Laid at the Feet of the Writer and the Director who Produce a Movie Homage about Movie Stuntmen and if the Movie Itself was a Stunt, Everyone would call for a Do Over.

A veteran stuntman travels from one film to another doing his stunt work. When his brother dies performing a stunt, he suspects foul play, and takes his brother's place on the film to investigate. Stars- Robert Forster. A decent film about working on the movies filmed on location in San Luis Obispo. Features locations around the Madonna Inn. Good casting and a good dramatic 'who done it' script worthy of Columbo or Monk. Robert Forster puts in another believable and tough-guy role that works. The actors put on a believable acting job with many '70's favorites of TV. A respectable film, very reminiscent of the San Diego shot film starring British Peter O'Toole titled 'The Stunt Man'.

The always terrific and charismatic Robert ("Alligator") Forster gives a typically fine and engaging performance as a gutsy ace veteran stuntman who's working on a troubled low-budget action picture that's being plagued by the unusual and alarming "accidental" deaths of several other stuntmen performing dangerous gags for the film. Director Mark ("Night of the Running Man") Lester, working from a smart and compelling script by Dennis Johnson and Barney Cohen, expertly maintains a steady pace throughout, stages the plentiful superb and stirring stunts with considerable brio and skill, and offers an intriguing behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of a down'n'dirty indie feature. The first-rate cast of familiar B-movie faces qualifies as another substantial asset: Fiona ("The Fury") Lewis as a feisty journalist doing an article on the crazy stunt profession, Bruce ("Walking Tall") Glover, Joanna ("The Glove") Cassidy and Ray ("The Idolmaker") Sharkey as fellow courageous stunt people, Richard ("God Told Me To") Lynch as the special effects coordinator, Candice ("Summer School Teachers") Rialson as a flirtatious stuck-up harlot of a starlet, and Darrell ("Blood Beach") Fetty as an eager beaver production assistant. Bruce ("Jackson County Jail") Logan's crisp cinematography, Michael Kamen's thrilling, melodic score, and the groovy theme song are all likewise up to snuff. A very cool and undeservedly neglected little sleeper that's a funky 70's drive-in flick precursor to the very similar (and stupendous) "The Stuntman."