Checkered Flag or Crash (1978)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Instant Favorite.

Expected more

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I searched long and hard for this movie, as I do for all of Joe Don's early work. This movie is magnificent! I watch it over and over. It's got Joe Don, Susan Sarandon, Larry Hagman and Parnelli Jones, and it casts Joe Don much better than a lot of his other movies.A GREAT thing about this movie is how creatively the actors talk--they NEVER use profanity, but come up with other ways to express what they are feeling. Any other "action" movie is full of foul language.Another great thing about it is all the Bugs and rail-jobs. Even Walkaway's car started out as a Bug. I've been a Bug person most of my life.And I LOVE the way Bo says "motor-cicle" instead of motorcycle. I say it that way myself very often.I guess the best thing about this movie for me is that it is set in the 1970's. That was a kinder, gentler time when Joe Don was young and SO gorgeous.

I collect old Joe Don Baker movies, and this one was hard to find. But it is definitely worth what I paid for it! "Walkaway" (Joe Don) cares about nothing but winning. Susan Sarandon is delightful--I didn't even know she had been an actress back then. And Larry Hagman is always good--even when he's evil! It was great to see Parnelli Jones in a movie.In all the Joe Don Baker movies I've seen, the thing I really appreciate is that he never uses any profanity, and usually the other actors don't either. That is very refreshing these days! The best things about this movie are: 1) All the old Bugs 2) the race cars are also Bugs, just cut down 3) other old cars 4) Larry says "motorcicles" which is how I say it many times and 5) Joe Don's attitude. The whole movie is hilarious, yet serious in that all these people are so determined to win. I really loved it when Bo (Larry H) was talking about his NASCAR career, and mentioned Junior Johnson.There was one person in the race who was driving something that looked like a bus of some kind, with bells hanging from it, and every time this bus appeared, certain music would play. This added sort of a sub-plot to the movie.There is NOTHING bad about this movie!! You won't be disappointed!I think I paid about $20 for this movie, and it is WELL WORTH IT! Be sure and see it if you get the chance!

Don't listen to these others posters - this is a great film. How can you go wrong with the great Joe Don Baker, Susan Sarandon (although this is one of the few films in her early career where you don't get to see her breasts. and what breasts those are - the lemon scene in Atlantic City is probably the defining moment of this great actresses career!) larry Hagman doing an early riff on JR Ewing as an unscrupulous Off Road Racing promoter, and Parnelli Jones - as himself.I always thought Ms. Sarandon had bought up all the prints of this movie - but if you get a chance to see it - definitely give it a look.

Feeble off-road racing action pic that raises a flicker of interest due to the presence of a young Susan Sarandon (who is given very little to do) and Joe Don Baker in his brief early career as a leading man. Joe Don stars as "Walkaway" Madden, a hard-core racer whose "crash or win" attitude brings him into conflict with his fellow racers. Sarandon is a journalist in the George Plimpton mode, out to get the inside view of a 1000-mile race held in the Philippines. Larry Hagman also features, in a bold casting against type, as a fast talking wheeler-dealing Southern entrepreneur who runs the race.The film bogs at the start and never recovers, due to woeful dialogue and absent character development. After journalist Wainwright (Sarandon)persuades a reluctant Madden to allow her to ride in his race car during the event, the next half hour or so consists of the two leads engaging in a stilted and repetitive dialogue about what to do if Wainwright develops motion sickness, interspersed with reasonably well-edited race footage.The 3-day race format imposes a rigid structure to the film, with race days interspersed with character "interaction" in the pits. There is a tiny romantic sub-plot with an anonymous black clad biker ("acted" by Playboy playmate Daina House) getting off with a stereotyped suave Latino Grand Prix driver. No sex scene, though - this is an action picture!The action footage is not bad and the stunt guys really earned their money on this one, but there are too many camera in the car shots on rough roads where the camera is jolting around so much that the picture is hopelessly blurred and the effect is quite nauseating. Perhaps this film inspired the camera work on "Blair Witch Project", I don't know. There are a few picture-postcard shots of delightful Filipino scenery, and I just wonder if some Marcos money was behind this film.In summary, a waste of the talents of Sarandon and Baker, who have both done vastly better when given better material. Despite being a documentary, "On Any Sunday" is a superior off-road racing film in every respect. Susan Sarandon fans would be better off sticking to her later roles if this is anything to go by. I imagine that casting agents saw this talented young but unconventionally beautiful actress and had no idea what to do with her. As for Joe Don Baker, yet another blot on this underrated actor's record. It's a shame he wasn't born in London instead of Texas. Watch "Edge of Darkness" if you don't understand what I mean.