STINGRAY 1978
Christopher Mitchum (Al), Les Lannom (Elmo), William Watson (Murray Lonigan), Bert Hinchman (Tony Abrosio), Sherry Jackson (Abigail "Baby Doll" Bratowski), Cliff Emmich (Roscoe), Sondra Theodore (Hitchhiker), Steve Snyder (Bug), John Carl Buechler (The Flamer)
Directed by Richard Taylor
The Short Version: STINGRAY is SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT with bloody shootouts. An Action-Comedy rubber-burner, this recently unearthed Director's Cut reinstates some 8 minutes of scenes and bloody violence cut from the film's original theatrical release. Chris Mitchum and Les Lannom drive fast with a million in drugs and cash unknowingly stashed in their Stingray. With the bad guys in hot pursuit, Sherry Jackson takes the wheel and never lets it go as the film's lead villain; a lady terrorist who shoots first and asks questions later. STINGRAY is high-gear entertainment for anyone revved and ready for fast cars and hard thrills.
After a drug deal goes bad, two dealers shoot the undercover cops then chuff the stuff and stash the cash in the backseat of a 1964 Corvette Stingray at a nearby car lot. Going back the next day to retrieve the money and drugs, they, along with their psychotic leader Abigail, discover two guys, Al and Elmo, buying the car. Upon leaving the lot, the two men get pulled over so Abigail does a drive-by, killing both cops while the boys end up taking the blame. With both the drug dealers and the police after them and their Stingray, the chase is on to both clear Al and Elmo's names and evade certain death.
Just when you think every Drive-in style cult flick has had a special edition lavished upon it, you find there's still some gems out there left to discover. STINGRAY (1978) is one of those Drive-in diamonds, dug up and made all shiny again from Dark Force Entertainment. Speeding at 90mph virtually the entire running time, director Richard Taylor only takes his foot off the accelerator in the last ten minutes when the movie goes on a little longer than necessary. Otherwise it's packed with chases and gunfire through the city and rural locations.
Christopher Mitchum (BIG JAKE, RICCO) co-stars with Les Lannom (SOUTHERN COMFORT), as a couple of happy-go-lucky guys who buy the title speedster and end up being chased and fired at all over Edwardsville, Illinois (and some Missouri spots) for reasons initially unknown. Elmo eventually finds the 1 million worth of cocaine hidden in the car and stupidly wants to sell it to make them both rich. 
Something else they're unaware of is that the bad guys had a tracer planted with the goods that allows them to find their location within a three-mile radius. If that weren't bad enough, the vest Tony put in the car that Elmo also finds and wears throughout the movie has a quarter of a million dollars stashed inside of it.
Once they pick up a beautiful hitchhiker (Playboy Playmate, Miss July 1977 Sondra Theodore), things take a slight turn for the better for our duo; they have skills behind the wheel, but less so of the decision-making kind. She makes so much sense one wonders if she isn't connected to the villains. Turns out she's just sharper-brained than Al and Elmo put together. The lovely lady is never even given a name; nor is she integrated into the plot in any major way other than just being some eye candy. Ms. Theodore's first role, she didn't do much else afterwards. A former Sunday school teacher, Ms. Theodore is probably most famous for being Hugh Hefner's girlfriend for a few years; even featured on the 1978 Playboy Pinball Machine.
Mitchum and Lannom do work well together, spending the entire movie avoiding being killed by bumbling bad guys and their loony leader. They do have a slight resemblance--from the hair and build--to Bo and Luke Duke (John Schneider and Tom Wopat) of the iconic DUKES OF HAZZARD (1979-1985) series. Funnily enough, Christopher's brother James co-starred in MOONRUNNERS (1975); the movie that the DUKES was based on.
Leading the charge against our heroes are a couple of drug-dealing buffoons played by William Watson (THE HUNTING PARTY, THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER) and Bert Hinchman (who passed away in May of last year). The movie begins in deadly serious fashion with the two crooks blowing away some undercover cops. From there the film quickly descends into comedy. However, the goofiness is intermittently interrupted whenever the script requires some poor victim to be shot or blown up. The jarring shifts in tone may distract some viewers and will surely add to the Drive-in experience for others.
Aside from the numerous car chases, crashes, and shell casings littering the highways, the best thing about the movie is the turbo-charged performance of brunette bombshell, Sherry Jackson. If you're familiar with her, you've never seen Ms. Jackson like this before. She takes the film hostage and is hellbent on never letting it go. Featuring in countless television programs, one of her best-known roles was as Andrea, the half-dressed android in the 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' episode of the original STAR TREK (1966-1969). She's a literal holy terror in this movie. And when you first see her, she's decked out in a nun's habit and has a mouth like a sailor.
Jackson's Abigail Bratowski is a trigger-happy domestic terrorist armed with an AR-18 rifle and Luger pistol. Easily agitated, she derives some laughs from the insults she gives to random strangers and when she's punching Tony in the face (Bert Hinchman's character) for saying the wrong thing. Then there's the moments where she derives shocks from casually blowing people away. One scene in a bar is pretty funny, though. John Carl Buechler (above at left) tries to get fresh with her and she sets his crotch on fire. Horror fans will recognize Buechler from his many makeup effects work on various horror films; and directing FRIDAY THE 13TH 7: THE NEW BLOOD (1988).
Since the movie is mostly one chase after another between the main
characters, the filmmakers do change things up beyond the rural and
concrete settings. At one point Al and Elmo get separated. During a
sequence at a gas station, Al speeds off and is pursued by Lonigan and
Tony while Abigail and the rotund Roscoe pursue Elmo on foot.
Eventually, Elmo and Armalite Abby hop on some dirt bikes out in the
woods belonging to a lovemaking couple and we now have two chases going on instead of one. It's around this time that the two dope dealing dum-dums contemplate ditching Abigail and making a go on their own.
Taking a detour from the typical good guy vs. bad guy scenario, director
Taylor's own script has karma playing a major role in how things are
wrapped up. For Al and Elmo, it's in picking up the beautiful
hitchhiker. For the double-dealing, homicidal antagonists, it's their
own greed that does them all in.
World-famous stunt car driver Carey Loftin is among the stunt guys behind the wheel for the standard, but energetic driving scenes. There's a cool high-diving stunt at the end, so likely champion diver Bobby Sargent pulled that one off. Rounding out the other stunt drivers and performers are Eddie Mulder, John Hateley and Jerry Brutsche.
Something
else STINGRAY has going for it is its fast-moving soundtrack; even if
some of the cues are far more comical than the film is as a whole. The
country twang fits just right and Jerry
Riopelle's main theme 'High Gear' is catchy as hell; so you'll
likely be humming it after the movie is over.
Despite the wildly erratic changes in tone, STINGRAY is a ton of fun and arguably one of the best Drive-in movies ever made. In the same camp as other stunt car mash-ups from this period
like MOVING VIOLATION (1976) and SPEEDTRAP (1977), STINGRAY stands out by having a bit more under the hood.This review is representative of the Dark Force Entertainment blu-ray. Specs and Extras: New HD master of the only surviving 35mm version of the Director's Cut; 1080p anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1; interviews with director Richard Taylor, actors Bert Hinchman, Les Lannom, and Sherry Jackson; Edwardsville, Illinois Tour; 'High Gear' music video; 40th Anniversary Q&A with cast and director; original trailer; running time: 01:45:00
