Detour to Terror (1980)

A lot of fun.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

(Some Spoilers) O.J Simpson as the sweet kindly and lovable bus driver Lee Hayes saves the day and his passengers from a trio of ruthless hijacker/kidnappers lead by a clean-cut and innocent looking Neil, Randall Carver. O.J or Lee Hayes does it with his take charge bravado, when the chips are down, and his cut and slice bus driving exploits that eventually puts the three hoodlums out of business permanently. Just expecting a average and boring ride to Las Vegas from Albuqerque Lee's bus ride ended up being anything but. Tailed in the open desert by two dune buggies the bus is driven off the road and almost overturns. With Lee skillful driving he gets back on track only to later have two of the the dune buggies drivers enter the bus at the next stop and then hijack it.These three desperado's, one was waiting for the bus at a prearrange site in the desert, were trying to kidnap Mrs. Brain a rich New Mexico socialite, for a $50,000.00 ransom, only to find out much later that Mrs Brain is really Mr. Brain's, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, mistress Joyce Landry, Pat Keating,instead. While on the bus Neil shot one of the passengers Finch, Phil Mead, who pulled a gun on his hijack partner Jamie, Leranzo Lammas. As Finch later lies dying from his wound he reveals to bus' tour director Harry Edwards, Art Johnson,that he has a stamp worth $90,000.00 sewn into his jacket, for safekeeping, thus having theses three jerks screw themselves out of making a quick and easy buck twice not once within a few hours.Taking over and getting everyone to pitch in Lee gets the disabled bus, the hijackers shot the tires out and cut the electrical cables, up and going in no time at all but as soon as he's heading for the nearest highway, some twenty miles away, the hoods are back on their dune buggies trying to get the $90,000.00 stamp that still on th bus and thus salvage whatever they can of their bungled and deadly bus heist. A very likable O.J Simpson together with his wife Nicole who has a very visible, she's the blond with the low-cut white top and gray dress, but non-speaking part as one of the bus passengers make up the cast of the film "Detour to Terror". There's also Rich Hill as Kurt a well known collage football player who's brutally abused and beaten by the vicious Jamie in front of all the bus passengers. Hurt and humiliated Kurt is made to stop feeling sorry for himself by Lee, who gave him a heart to heart as well as pep talk, and later saves the bus from being hijacked, again, with his new found courage and heroics thanks to Lee. Average made for TV movie that has become somewhat of a curiosity piece, since Mrs. Simpson's brutal murder in 1994, with O.J and Nicole Simpson together in a major motion picture for their first and only time.

If the prospect of a telefilm co-produced by Playboy (!) and O.J. Simpson sounds in any way titillating, forget it. Though there are a couple of broads around in skimpy dresses (who are ogled relentlessly by Simpson), that's pretty much it for the sexual angle. Here, the former football hero plays a bus driver (imagine finally getting the clout to produce one's own projects and opting to play a bus driver!) who's steering a gaggle of tourists from Albuquerque to Las Vegas. On board are smarmy and persnickety tour guide Johnson, fill-in photographer Holcomb, blowsy good-time-gal Francis, adulterous businessman O'Loughlin, football player Blatchford (what? O.J. didn't want that part?), slinky, shady ladies Deyer and Hanks and a couple of crusty, mouthy old ladies, among others. In only one of many story line idiocies, Lamas waltzes into the office of the bus line and hacks the computer, making it seem as though the tour in question has been cancelled, so that no one will be expecting its arrival in Las Vegas. Then he and two friends proceed to hijack the bus so that they can capture one of its wealthy passengers to hold for ransom. They trash the bus and leave Simpson and his cargo of tourists stranded 25 miles into the desert. It's up to Simpson to rise to the occasion and save the day. Filmed many years before his extraordinarily controversial murder trial, Simpson was, at this point, a highly likable and accessible screen presence, though never a remarkable actor. He guides the cast fairly well, though this implausible and insipid story never had a chance. Johnson, who can only linger in the shadow of the hulking Simpson and attempt to catch his eye, tries to play it mostly straight, despite some quirkiness. He does all right until the end when he has to ratchet up the drama, mostly to hysterically funny effect. Holcomb is attractive, but unspectacular. It's ridiculous that this photographer is suddenly Florence Nightingale to an injured passenger (based on some old first aid classes!), but she needed something to do, apparently. Francis has had some career lows, but this has to be one of the all-time lowest. Her character seems to be an amalgamation of Claire Trevor AND Jan Sterling from "The High and the Mighty" with some Bette Davis from "Dark Victory" thrown in for no good reason. It's doubtful that she's ever looked so preposterous on film than in this. O'Loughlin tries to insert a bit of humanity into his paper-thin character, but in one scene is knocked over causing his toupee to fall off as Simpson looks on confusedly. Blatchford wears the tightest pair of shorts that have ever been applied to an actor in the history of cinema. He also tries to bring a little dimension to his role, but it's pretty hopeless. It's sad to see Hanks (a former beach bunny sex kitten, but with a dignified role in The Vietnam War) reduced to appearing in a terrible role in an even more terrible TV film. Lamas, in one of his earliest roles, is so deliriously rotten, affecting a fall-down-funny, intermittent, inauthentic southern accent as he snarls at everyone. Fans of his will enjoy his impossibly tight jeans, but it's doubtful that he lists this turkey on his resume. Apart from the sheer idiocy of the movie in virtually every respect, it is quite a revelation to see, nestled unceremoniously in the cast, Nicole Brown Simpson as a non-speaking extra. Wearing a pale yellow halter top and a grey skirt, she is frequently glimpsed in the group scenes, especially those that are outdoors. She has no lines, but can be seen at one point, as she enters the bus after a rest stop, acknowledging Simpson as she boards the vehicle. He can be seen nodding to her. It's surprising that, after securing a place for her in the film, he didn't give her just one little moment with a line or something, but it lends this project a more unsettling air than it was intended to have to see her occasionally appearing in the frame. In any case, it's worth watching for a few laughs and to see Mr. Simpson in the light he formerly enjoyed before his ex-wife's brutal death.

People expect too dorn much from a movie now days. You have to remember that this was the Seventies when Cars went mad, dogs went wild, wild animals were on the loose, Towering Infernos were burning, Earthquakes were taking place on the screen, Ants were Gigantic, spiders were multiplying, and everything else rampaged, so this movie was not really badly scripted. You really could not expect too much script for a movie like this that was not on the big screen at all. The thieves ended up captured, but it was sort of suspenseful at times. You have to remember that there was not all the hightech stuff that they have in the cinema of today. I think this movie was a really good movie. come on people, you have to enjoy some cheezy stuff in life sometimes. remember the cheezy clothes you wore back in the 70's, gottcha......

This movie is an idiotic attempt at some kind of action thriller. A tour bus on its way to Las Vegas is attacked by a group of white trash hijackers driving dune buggies. They drive them out into the desert and then steal all of their valuables. The plot changes constantly. One minute they are looking to kidnap a rich ranchers daughter, the next they are looking for a collectible stamp worth 90,000 dollars. The dialogue is horrible.Please don't watch this movie.