Smash-Up on Interstate 5
Encyclopedia
Smash-Up on Interstate 5 is a 1976
made-for-tv disaster film
directed by John Llewellyn Moxey
. Based on the novel Expressway written by Trevor Dudley Smith, the film chronicles the aftermath of a 39 car smash-up in California.
on the day of July 4, 24 hours before the summer vacation will officially commence. From the beginning, Highway Patrol officer Sam Marcum (Robert Conrad
) announces in a voice-over that a 39 car smash-up will be the cause of 62 injured people and fourteen deaths. A selection of the people involved are followed up to 48 hours preceding the accident. Other than Sam, who is chasing the murderer of his colleague on the highway, the film focuses on the elderly couple Al and June Pearson (Buddy Ebsen
and Harriet Nelson
), who are setting out to a beach resort to forget the fact that June is suffering from a terminal disease. Meanwhile, a woman named Erica (Vera Miles
) is troubled by a gang of bikers including rebellious Burnsey (Sue Lyon
), when she is rescued by young Dale (David Groh
). In other sub-plots, Lee Bassett (Scott Jacoby
) becomes a murder suspect when he is forced to pick up a young couple on the run, Penny and Pete (Bonnie Ebsen and George O'Hanlon, Jr.). Erica (Donna Mills
), a nurse with feelings for Sam, struggles with doubts of marrying him. Barbara Hutton (Sian Barbara Allen
), a young mother, is panicked when she finds her husband Jimmy (Tommy Lee Jones
), an officer, shot. All these stories come together when a massive car crash changes their lives for good.
43 hours before the accident, Erica meets with her colleague Trudy (Terry Moore
) at a sleazy bar, where she is introduced to a free-spirited life style. She is picked up by a doctor, Danny (Herb Edelman
), but leaves the bar without him, despite his attempts to flirt with her. Meanwhile, Penny and Pete rob a gas station, and a gunfight leaves Pete injured, and the gas station owner shot. Seventeen hours later, they steal a car, while the owner Lee Bassett drivers under gunpoint. Nearby, Sergeant Marcum holds a truck for speeding, driven by Randy (Barry Hamilton), and warns the owner, who is in the back having intercourse with a woman (Cindy Daly).
Two hours later, Erica is phoned by Danny, who is warning her that he will come over. To flee the home, Erica calls her daughter Susie, asking her if she can come over in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Pete shoots Officer Hutton when he attempts to hold him and Penny and Lee over. Unbeknownst to Pete, Hutton's wife Barbara has just got into labor and requests Jimmy's presence. Laureen, who assists the birth, is bothered by Sam yet again. She tries to explain that she does not want to marry a man with a dangerous job, considering her wish to start a happy family. The discussion is interrupted by the news of Jimmy's death, leaving Barbara heartbroken. Back at the car with the fugitive couple, Lee is able to steal Pete's gun due to Pete's severe injuries, and leaves only to steal another car, afraid that the police wil account him as an accessory to murder because of his past as a criminal. Penny, who does not know Pete very well, convinces Lee to take her with him.
Sometime later, a group of bikers start to harass Erica on the road. Medical school drop-out and truck driver Dale witnesses the situation and starts a fight, which lasts until the bikers hear police sirens. The police, though, are more occupied with Lee's car, which they find with Pete's now lifeless body in it. At the beach house, June enjoys and appreciates her husband's presence, though secretly suffers from her disease and refuses to take her medicine. Instead, she walks into the ocean and attempts to drown herself, only to be rescued by her husband.
Just over 15 hours before the accident, Erica grows accustomed to Dale and spends the night with him in a motel, even though she has some doubts about his young age. Nearby, romance also blossoms between Lee and Penny when she tells him about her troubled childhood. The following morning, only an hour before the smash-up, June tries to explain her suicide attempt, while Erica breaks up with Dale, afraid of commitment. Dale initially accepts the situation and drives off, but soon makes a U-turn to follow Erica, declaring his love to her from his car. Meanwhile, Sergeant Marcum is informed which van fugitive Lee and Penny are driving and starts a massive chase. The smash-up soon ensues, killing Lee, Penny, Al, and Burnsey's biker boyfriend Andy (Joel Parks), and badly injuring Dale. When Laureen arrives at the scene, she realizes how much she cares for Sam and they reconcile while taking care of the injured people.
1976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
made-for-tv disaster film
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
directed by John Llewellyn Moxey
John Llewellyn Moxey
John Llewellyn Moxey is an Argentinian film and television director. He is best known for directing film The City of the Dead and directing episodes of The Saint, Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote.-Life and career:Moxey was born in Argentina in 1925...
. Based on the novel Expressway written by Trevor Dudley Smith, the film chronicles the aftermath of a 39 car smash-up in California.
Plot
The film is set on Interstate 5 in CaliforniaInterstate 5 in California
Interstate 5 is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. state of California. It begins at the Mexico – United States border at the San Ysidro crossing, goes north across the length of California and crosses into Oregon south of the Medford-Ashland metropolitan...
on the day of July 4, 24 hours before the summer vacation will officially commence. From the beginning, Highway Patrol officer Sam Marcum (Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
) announces in a voice-over that a 39 car smash-up will be the cause of 62 injured people and fourteen deaths. A selection of the people involved are followed up to 48 hours preceding the accident. Other than Sam, who is chasing the murderer of his colleague on the highway, the film focuses on the elderly couple Al and June Pearson (Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
and Harriet Nelson
Harriet Nelson
Harriet Nelson was an American singer and actress. Nelson is best known for her role on the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.-Early life and career:...
), who are setting out to a beach resort to forget the fact that June is suffering from a terminal disease. Meanwhile, a woman named Erica (Vera Miles
Vera Miles
Vera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
) is troubled by a gang of bikers including rebellious Burnsey (Sue Lyon
Sue Lyon
- Lolita :Sue Lyon was 14 years old when she was cast in the role of Dolores "Lolita" Haze, the sexually charged adolescent and the object of an older man's obsessions in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film, Lolita. She was chosen for the role partly because her curvy figure suggested an older adolescent...
), when she is rescued by young Dale (David Groh
David Groh
David Lawrence Groh was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Joe Gerard in the 1970s television series Rhoda, opposite Valerie Harper.-Early life and career:...
). In other sub-plots, Lee Bassett (Scott Jacoby
Scott Jacoby
Scott Jacoby is an American actor. He won an Emmy Award for his role in the 1972 television film That Certain Summer. He is also famous for playing the lead role in the made for TV film Bad Ronald 1974....
) becomes a murder suspect when he is forced to pick up a young couple on the run, Penny and Pete (Bonnie Ebsen and George O'Hanlon, Jr.). Erica (Donna Mills
Donna Mills
Donna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
), a nurse with feelings for Sam, struggles with doubts of marrying him. Barbara Hutton (Sian Barbara Allen
Sian Barbara Allen
Sian Barbara Allen is a former American film and television actress.She studied at the Pasadena Playhouse . She appeared in You'll Like My Mother , starring Patty Duke, Rosemary Murphy and Richard Thomas...
), a young mother, is panicked when she finds her husband Jimmy (Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
), an officer, shot. All these stories come together when a massive car crash changes their lives for good.
43 hours before the accident, Erica meets with her colleague Trudy (Terry Moore
Terry Moore (actress)
Helen Luella Koford , better known as Terry Moore, is an American actress. Terry Moore made her film debut at age 11 and grew up with all the icons of the Hollywood era that made Hollywood what it is today, also known as "The Golden Age of Hollywood". Moore is an Academy Award nominated actress...
) at a sleazy bar, where she is introduced to a free-spirited life style. She is picked up by a doctor, Danny (Herb Edelman
Herb Edelman
Herbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
), but leaves the bar without him, despite his attempts to flirt with her. Meanwhile, Penny and Pete rob a gas station, and a gunfight leaves Pete injured, and the gas station owner shot. Seventeen hours later, they steal a car, while the owner Lee Bassett drivers under gunpoint. Nearby, Sergeant Marcum holds a truck for speeding, driven by Randy (Barry Hamilton), and warns the owner, who is in the back having intercourse with a woman (Cindy Daly).
Two hours later, Erica is phoned by Danny, who is warning her that he will come over. To flee the home, Erica calls her daughter Susie, asking her if she can come over in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Pete shoots Officer Hutton when he attempts to hold him and Penny and Lee over. Unbeknownst to Pete, Hutton's wife Barbara has just got into labor and requests Jimmy's presence. Laureen, who assists the birth, is bothered by Sam yet again. She tries to explain that she does not want to marry a man with a dangerous job, considering her wish to start a happy family. The discussion is interrupted by the news of Jimmy's death, leaving Barbara heartbroken. Back at the car with the fugitive couple, Lee is able to steal Pete's gun due to Pete's severe injuries, and leaves only to steal another car, afraid that the police wil account him as an accessory to murder because of his past as a criminal. Penny, who does not know Pete very well, convinces Lee to take her with him.
Sometime later, a group of bikers start to harass Erica on the road. Medical school drop-out and truck driver Dale witnesses the situation and starts a fight, which lasts until the bikers hear police sirens. The police, though, are more occupied with Lee's car, which they find with Pete's now lifeless body in it. At the beach house, June enjoys and appreciates her husband's presence, though secretly suffers from her disease and refuses to take her medicine. Instead, she walks into the ocean and attempts to drown herself, only to be rescued by her husband.
Just over 15 hours before the accident, Erica grows accustomed to Dale and spends the night with him in a motel, even though she has some doubts about his young age. Nearby, romance also blossoms between Lee and Penny when she tells him about her troubled childhood. The following morning, only an hour before the smash-up, June tries to explain her suicide attempt, while Erica breaks up with Dale, afraid of commitment. Dale initially accepts the situation and drives off, but soon makes a U-turn to follow Erica, declaring his love to her from his car. Meanwhile, Sergeant Marcum is informed which van fugitive Lee and Penny are driving and starts a massive chase. The smash-up soon ensues, killing Lee, Penny, Al, and Burnsey's biker boyfriend Andy (Joel Parks), and badly injuring Dale. When Laureen arrives at the scene, she realizes how much she cares for Sam and they reconcile while taking care of the injured people.
Cast
- Robert ConradRobert ConradRobert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
as Sergeant Sam Marcum - Sian Barbara AllenSian Barbara AllenSian Barbara Allen is a former American film and television actress.She studied at the Pasadena Playhouse . She appeared in You'll Like My Mother , starring Patty Duke, Rosemary Murphy and Richard Thomas...
as Barbara Hutton - Buddy EbsenBuddy EbsenBuddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
as Albert 'Al' Pearson - Herb EdelmanHerb EdelmanHerbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
as Danny - David GrohDavid GrohDavid Lawrence Groh was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Joe Gerard in the 1970s television series Rhoda, opposite Valerie Harper.-Early life and career:...
as Dale - Scott JacobyScott JacobyScott Jacoby is an American actor. He won an Emmy Award for his role in the 1972 television film That Certain Summer. He is also famous for playing the lead role in the made for TV film Bad Ronald 1974....
as Lee Bassett - Joe Kapp as Officer Estevez
- Sue LyonSue Lyon- Lolita :Sue Lyon was 14 years old when she was cast in the role of Dolores "Lolita" Haze, the sexually charged adolescent and the object of an older man's obsessions in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film, Lolita. She was chosen for the role partly because her curvy figure suggested an older adolescent...
as Burnsey - Vera MilesVera MilesVera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
as Erica - Donna MillsDonna MillsDonna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
as Laureen - Harriet NelsonHarriet NelsonHarriet Nelson was an American singer and actress. Nelson is best known for her role on the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.-Early life and career:...
as June Pearson - George O'Hanlon, Jr. as Pete
- Terry MooreTerry Moore (actress)Helen Luella Koford , better known as Terry Moore, is an American actress. Terry Moore made her film debut at age 11 and grew up with all the icons of the Hollywood era that made Hollywood what it is today, also known as "The Golden Age of Hollywood". Moore is an Academy Award nominated actress...
as Trudy - Bonnie Ebsen as Penny
- Tommy Lee JonesTommy Lee JonesTommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
as Officer Jimmy Hutton