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{{short description|1974 film by Richard T. Heffron}}
{{For|the custom car used in the movie|The California Kid (custom car)}}
{{All plot|date=February 2024}}
{{For|the mixed martial arts fighter nicknamed The California Kid|Urijah Faber}}
{{About||the custom car used in the movie|The California Kid (custom car)|the mixed martial arts fighter nicknamed The California Kid|Urijah Faber}}

{{Infobox television
{{Infobox television
| image = CaliforniaKidPoster.jpg
| show_name = The California Kid
| caption = Film poster
| image = CaliforniaKidPoster.jpg
| genre = [[action film|Action]]<br>[[thriller film|Thriller]]
| image_size =
| writer = [[Richard Compton]]
| caption = "The California Kid" movie poster
| director = [[Richard T. Heffron]]
| genre = Action<br>Horror<br>Thriller
| executive_producer = Paul Mason
| writer = [[Richard Compton]]
| producer = Howie Horwitz
| director = [[Richard T. Heffron]]
| starring = [[Martin Sheen]]<br>[[Vic Morrow]]<br>[[Michelle Philips]]<br>[[Nick Nolte]]<br>[[Stuart Margolin]]
| executive_producer = [[Paul Mason (producer)|Paul Mason]]
| music = Luchi De Jesus
| producer = [[Howie Horwitz]]
| location = [[Piru, California]]<br>[[Ojai, California]]
| narrator =
| cinematography = Terry K. Meade
| starring = [[Martin Sheen]]<br>[[Vic Morrow]]<br>[[Michelle Phillips]]<br>[[Nick Nolte]]<br>[[Gary Morgan (actor)|Gary Morgan]]<br>[[Fredric Downs]]<br>[[Janit Baldwin]]
| editor = Robert F. Shugrue<br>Richard Belding
| music = [[Luchi De Jesus]]<br>[[Hal Mooney]]
| country = United States
| location = [[Piru, California]]<br>[[Ojai, California]]
| language = English
| cinematography = [[Terry K. Meade]]
| company = [[Universal Television]]
| editor = [[Robert F. Shugrue]]<br>Richard Belding
| network = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| company = [[Universal Television]]
| released = {{Start date|1974|09|25}}
| distributor = [[NBCUniversal Television Distribution]]
| runtime = 74 minutes
| network = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| released = {{Film date|1974|09|25}}
| runtime = 74 minutes
| country = United States
| language = [[English language|English]]
| budget = [[United States dollar|$]]1,000,000
| gross =
}}
}}


'''''The California Kid''''' is a 1974 TV movie starring [[Martin Sheen]], [[Vic Morrow]], [[Nick Nolte]], [[Michelle Phillips]], [[Gary Morgan (actor)|Gary Morgan]], and Janit Baldwin.
'''''The California Kid''''' is a 1974 American [[Television film|made-for-television]] [[action film|action]] [[thriller film]] directed by [[Richard T. Heffron]] and starring [[Martin Sheen]].


==Plot==
==Plot==
The story takes place in 1958, and involves a town, Clarksberg, with a famous speed trap. Disturbed Sheriff Roy Childress ([[Vic Morrow]]), whose wife and daughter were killed by a speeder, turns bad, with a habit of punishing speeders by deliberately pushing their cars off the mountain highway curves with his 1957 [[Plymouth Belvedere]].
In 1958, two Navy sailors on leave (one portrayed by Sheen's younger brother, [[Joe Estevez]]) are speeding in a 1951 [[Ford Custom]] to get back to base on time. When driving through Clarksberg, a town infamous for speed traps, they are pursued at high speed by Sheriff Roy Childress ([[Vic Morrow]]), who pushes their car over the edge of a sharp mountain curve with his 1957 [[Plymouth Belvedere]] police car, killing them.


Two Navy sailors on leave (one portrayed by Sheen's younger brother, [[Joe Estevez]]), speeding to get back to base on time in a 1951 [[Ford Custom]], are pushed to their deaths by the sheriff. Soon after, a stranger arrives, driving a [[hot rod]]ded black [[Ford Model B (1932)#1934 Ford|1934 Ford]] three-window coupe. He provokes Sheriff Childress into giving him a speeding ticket on purpose, establishes his credentials with the sheriff as a hot rodder and potential speed maniac, boasting it can do 75 mph in 10 seconds. He pays the ticket in front of Judge J.A. Hooker ([[Frederic Downs]]), and it is revealed he is Michael McCord ([[Martin Sheen]]), older brother of one of the sailors.
Soon after, a stranger named Michael McCord ([[Martin Sheen]]) drives into town in a [[hot rod]]ded black [[Ford Model B (1932)#1934 Ford|1934 Ford]] three-window coupe, known as "[[The California Kid (custom car)|The California Kid]]". McCord is pulled over by the sheriff for speeding and establishes himself with the sheriff as a hot rodder and reckless driver, boasting that his car can hit {{convert|75|mph}} in 10 seconds. McCord pleads guilty in front of Judge J.A. Hooker (Frederic Downs) and pays the ticket.


McCord later gets coffee at a local diner where Childress and Hooker are also eating. As the sheriff and waitress Maggie ([[Michelle Phillips]]) look on, McCord clips a newspaper article, places it on the counter, and leaves. The sheriff sees that McCord chose an article about the sailors' crash (its headline revealing that there have been 7 fatalities on the mountainous curves that year). Childress returns to the station to review the accident report and realizes that one of the sailors killed in the crash was also named McCord.
Believing his brother's death was no accident, he does his own investigating, with the help of Maggie ([[Michelle Phillips]]). He finds the wreck of his brother's [[Ford]] at the [[impound yard]], with the rear bumper dented as if by [[pushbar]]s. He checks out the lay of the land. Knowing how his brother was killed, he goes out to the Curve, testing its limits and tuning his car to better handle the terrain.


McCord finds the sailors' wrecked car at the [[Wrecking yard|impound yard]] and sees that its rear bumper was dented by [[Bullbar|pushbars]], reinforcing his growing suspicion that the crash was not an accident. He also repeatedly drives through the curves at the scene of the crash to familiarize himself with the road and his car, tuning his vehicle to better handle the curves. Maggie tells McCord that Childress has not been the same since his wife and son were killed by a hit and run driver five years earlier.
Lyle Stafford ([[Gary Morgan (actor)|Gary Morgan]]), the younger brother of the town's auto mechanic Buzz Stafford ([[Nick Nolte]]) is killed and his girlfriend Sissy ([[Janit Baldwin]]) badly injured by the sheriff after the duo go for a drive in a 1955 Mercury. Buzz wants to kill the sheriff for revenge, but McCord says there's another way. Then the sheriff tries to run McCord out of town, and the stage is set for the climactic duel.


Lyle Stafford ([[Gary Morgan (actor)|Gary Morgan]]), the younger brother of the town's auto mechanic Buzz Stafford ([[Nick Nolte]]), is killed and his girlfriend Sissy (Janit Baldwin) badly injured after Childress pursues their 1955 Mercury for speeding and runs it off the same curve. Buzz wants to kill Childress in revenge, but McCord convinces him to hold off, revealing that one of the sailors was his younger brother. Childress, aware that McCord is on to him, orders McCord to leave town.
McCord then runs the speed trap, challenging the sheriff, who tries to run him off the road. McCord is ready, knowing his car's limits for the curve, and the sheriff is a victim of his own obsession, going too fast to make the deadly turn. He drives off the cliff as Buzz and a deputy look on, while McCord slides to a stop on the sandy shoulder.

On his way out of town, McCord finds the sheriff waiting for him and goads him into giving chase. Childress tries to run him off the cliff, but McCord is unfazed, having modified his vehicle for the mountain roads. As Buzz and the sheriff's deputy look on, Childress loses control at the same treacherous curve and plummets over the cliff, becoming a victim of his own obsession, while McCord slides to a stop on the shoulder. Triumphant, McCord drives past the diner and waves to Maggie on his way out of Clarksberg.


==Cast==
==Cast==

[[Image:1960 Fury police car.jpg|thumb|Replica of a 1960 [[Plymouth Fury|Fury]], typical of the film's interceptor.]]
* [[Martin Sheen]] as Michael McCord
{| class="wikitable"
* [[Vic Morrow]] as Sheriff Roy Childress
|-
* [[Michelle Philips]] as Maggie
! Actor !! Role
* [[Stuart Margolin]] as Deputy
|-
| [[Martin Sheen]] || Michael McCord
* [[Nick Nolte]] as Buzz Stafford
* Janit Baldwin as Sissy
|-
* [[Gary Morgan (actor)|Gary Morgan]] as Lyle Stafford
| [[Vic Morrow]] || Sheriff Roy Childress
* Frederic Downs as Judge J.A. Hooker
|-
* [[Donald Mantooth|Don Mantooth]] as Jack (as Donald Mantooth)
| [[Stuart Margolin]] || Deputy
* [[Joe Estevez]] as Don McCord (as Joseph Estevez)
|-
| [[Frederic Downs]] || Judge J.A. Hooker
* [[Britt Leach]] as Johnny
* [[Norman Bartold]] as Howard
|-
* Barbara Collentine as Edith
| [[Joe Estevez]] || Don McCord
* Michael Richardson as Charley
|-
| [[Michelle Phillips]] || Maggie
* [[Gavan O'Herlihy]] as Tom
* [[Jack McCulloch]] as Pete
|-
* Ken Johnson as Harlie
| [[Janit Baldwin]] || Sissy
* Sandy Brown Wyeth as Leona
|-
* Tren Dolan as Stranger
| [[Monika Henreid]] || Gerry
* Monika Henreid as Gerry
|-

| [[Sandy Brown Wyeth]] || Leona
==Production==
|-
According to producer Howie Horwitz, two shots in the film required stunt drivers to remain in cars as they drove off roads and downslope.<ref>{{cite news |title=Crashes are different for movie |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune/140871787/ |work=The News Tribune |date=September 22, 1974 |location=Tacoma, Washington |page=96 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Cinematographer Terry Meade said that one of the shots was planned with a cameramen below the road, and that Meade swapped him out for a remotely controlled camera which was destroyed by the stunt car.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stunts in ''The California Kid'' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/journal-tribune/140872066/ |work=Journal Tribune |date=September 23, 1974 |location=Biddeford, Maine |page=17 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
| [[Barbara Collentine]] || Edith

|-
==See also==
| [[Nick Nolte]] || Buzz Stafford
* [[List of American films of 1974]]
|-

| [[Gary Morgan (actor)|Gary Morgan]] || Lyle Stafford
==References==
|-
{{reflist}}
| [[Donald Mantooth|Don Mantooth]] || Jack (as Donald Mantooth)
|-
| [[Britt Leach]] || Johnny
|-
| [[Norman Bartold]] || Howard
|-
| Michael Richardson || Charley
|-
| [[Gavan O'Herlihy]] || Tom
|-
| [[Jack McCulloch]] || Pete
|-
| [[Ken Johnson (actor)|Ken Johnson]] || Harlie
|-
| [[Trent Dolan]] || Stranger
|}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{imdb title|0071268}}
* {{IMDb title|0071268}}
* {{Amg movie|124275|The California Kid}}
* {{AllMovie title|124275|The California Kid}}


{{Richard T. Heffron}}
{{Richard T. Heffron}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:California Kid, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:California Kid, The}}
[[Category:1970s drama films]]
[[Category:1970s teen drama films]]
[[Category:1974 television films]]
[[Category:1974 television films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:1974 films]]
[[Category:American auto racing films]]
[[Category:American teen drama films]]
[[Category:American teen drama films]]
[[Category:ABC Movie of the Week]]
[[Category:ABC Movie of the Week]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about automobiles]]
[[Category:Films about automobiles]]
[[Category:Films directed by Richard T. Heffron]]
[[Category:Films directed by Richard T. Heffron]]
[[Category:Films set in 1958]]
[[Category:Films set in 1958]]
[[Category:Films set in California]]
[[Category:Films set in California]]
[[Category:1974 drama films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]

Latest revision as of 15:23, 6 March 2024

For the custom car used in the movie, see The California Kid (custom car). For the mixed martial arts fighter nicknamed The California Kid, see Urijah Faber.
The California Kid
Film poster
GenreAction
Thriller
Written byRichard Compton
Directed byRichard T. Heffron
StarringMartin Sheen
Vic Morrow
Michelle Philips
Nick Nolte
Stuart Margolin
Music byLuchi De Jesus
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerPaul Mason
ProducerHowie Horwitz
Production locationsPiru, California
Ojai, California
CinematographyTerry K. Meade
EditorsRobert F. Shugrue
Richard Belding
Running time74 minutes
Production companyUniversal Television
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 25, 1974 (1974-09-25)

The California Kid is a 1974 American made-for-television action thriller film directed by Richard T. Heffron and starring Martin Sheen.

Plot[edit]

In 1958, two Navy sailors on leave (one portrayed by Sheen's younger brother, Joe Estevez) are speeding in a 1951 Ford Custom to get back to base on time. When driving through Clarksberg, a town infamous for speed traps, they are pursued at high speed by Sheriff Roy Childress (Vic Morrow), who pushes their car over the edge of a sharp mountain curve with his 1957 Plymouth Belvedere police car, killing them.

Soon after, a stranger named Michael McCord (Martin Sheen) drives into town in a hot rodded black 1934 Ford three-window coupe, known as "The California Kid". McCord is pulled over by the sheriff for speeding and establishes himself with the sheriff as a hot rodder and reckless driver, boasting that his car can hit 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) in 10 seconds. McCord pleads guilty in front of Judge J.A. Hooker (Frederic Downs) and pays the ticket.

McCord later gets coffee at a local diner where Childress and Hooker are also eating. As the sheriff and waitress Maggie (Michelle Phillips) look on, McCord clips a newspaper article, places it on the counter, and leaves. The sheriff sees that McCord chose an article about the sailors' crash (its headline revealing that there have been 7 fatalities on the mountainous curves that year). Childress returns to the station to review the accident report and realizes that one of the sailors killed in the crash was also named McCord.

McCord finds the sailors' wrecked car at the impound yard and sees that its rear bumper was dented by pushbars, reinforcing his growing suspicion that the crash was not an accident. He also repeatedly drives through the curves at the scene of the crash to familiarize himself with the road and his car, tuning his vehicle to better handle the curves. Maggie tells McCord that Childress has not been the same since his wife and son were killed by a hit and run driver five years earlier.

Lyle Stafford (Gary Morgan), the younger brother of the town's auto mechanic Buzz Stafford (Nick Nolte), is killed and his girlfriend Sissy (Janit Baldwin) badly injured after Childress pursues their 1955 Mercury for speeding and runs it off the same curve. Buzz wants to kill Childress in revenge, but McCord convinces him to hold off, revealing that one of the sailors was his younger brother. Childress, aware that McCord is on to him, orders McCord to leave town.

On his way out of town, McCord finds the sheriff waiting for him and goads him into giving chase. Childress tries to run him off the cliff, but McCord is unfazed, having modified his vehicle for the mountain roads. As Buzz and the sheriff's deputy look on, Childress loses control at the same treacherous curve and plummets over the cliff, becoming a victim of his own obsession, while McCord slides to a stop on the shoulder. Triumphant, McCord drives past the diner and waves to Maggie on his way out of Clarksberg.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

According to producer Howie Horwitz, two shots in the film required stunt drivers to remain in cars as they drove off roads and downslope.[1] Cinematographer Terry Meade said that one of the shots was planned with a cameramen below the road, and that Meade swapped him out for a remotely controlled camera which was destroyed by the stunt car.[2]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Crashes are different for movie". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. September 22, 1974. p. 96 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Stunts in The California Kid". Journal Tribune. Biddeford, Maine. September 23, 1974. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_California_Kid&oldid=1212187388"