Cale Yarborough Movies
- 1984
NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough makes a return visit to Hazzard county, this time to provide words of comfort to a seriously ill youngster who is about to undergo surgery. Unfortunately, Yarborough somehow gets involved with bank robbers, who manage to frame both him and the Duke cousins for a high-profile heist. Wanna bet that the story is resolved by some fancy race-car calisthenics in the climactic chase scene? Oh, and look: Playing one of the bad guys is Saved by the Bell's "Mr. Belding", Dennis Haskins! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The action and stunts in this fourth racing vehicle for Burt Reynolds could be accurately foreseen by most youngsters. Stroker Ace (Reynolds) is a race car driver who gets the short end of a contract with a fried-chicken entrepreneur (Ned Beatty) but can be expected to end up with the woman (Pembrook) in compensation -- and actually did (Pembrook is played by Loni Anderson in her first movie with Reynolds). By this time, the formula of racing cars, wild stunts, blond co-stars (Goldie Hawn, Farrah Fawcett, and Dolly Parton were the most recent) was wearing thin and Reynolds starred in only one more "Cannonball" film, ending his car-chase series there. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1979
Veteran stock-car racer/designer and NASCAR champ Cale Yarborough appears as himself in this episode. The Duke boys (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) are thrilled when their idol Yarborough reveals his plans to test a new secret turbocharger in an upcoming race. Likewise thrilled, but for less savory reasons, is Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke), who promptly arrests the Dukes for breaking parole so that he'll be able to conspire with the crooked Jethro brothers (Tom McFadden, William Watson) to steal the turbocharger without any interference. This is the episode in which the lucky viewers are treated to the sight of not one, not two, but THREE "General Lee"s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
A grease monkey becomes so obsessed with stock-car racing that the rest of his life begins to fall apart in this character-driven drama. The one who suffers most from his fixation is his devoted wife whom he totally ignores until she gets a job and her husband begins thinking she is fooling around with her boss. In a jealous rage, he makes his accusation and during the ensuing scuffle kills his rival and takes off with the police in hot pursuit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Steve Grayson (Elvis Presley) is a swinging racecar driver whose manager Kenny (Bill Bixby) has bet his money on the horses. Most of the horses didn't win, causing Steve to be visited by IRS agent Susan Jacks (Nancy Sinatra). Gale Gordon plays Hepworth, her stuffy supervisor, and William Shallert has the role of Abel Esterlake, former racecar driver who helps Steve on the track. Steve engages in the stock-car races at the Charlotte Speedway to get back the money to keep him and his manager out of jail. Presley delivers 11 songs, the most notable being "Let Yourself Go." Elvis by now was just playing out the innocuous string of movies that his musically insensitive, cigar-chomping manager Colonel Tom Parker had contracted for him. Soon Elvis would undertake the most successful live comeback by any performer in history and leave these trashy features behind. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, (more)
