zardoz-13 Clearly, Howard Hawks was not at the top of his game when he made "Redline 7000" (1965) with James Caan, John Robert Crawford, and Skip Ward. This tire-screecher ranks as one of the worst movies that the director ever helmed. This rubber-meets-the-road NASCAR saga pits racers against racers both on and off the asphalt, and racers against women. Although he has the leading role, James Caan hardly qualifies as the leading man. John Robert Crawford runs a close second as a rival NASCAR driver raised in poverty who refuses to follow in the footsteps of his humble father and grandfather to eke out a living off the land. Finally, Skip Ward is an internationally acclaimed driver making his transition from the European to the American racing circuit. Little about these three protagonists is charismatic, and they behave like louts. The women who fall in love with them love them unconditionally no matter what they have done. One driver loses a hand, but he recovers to drive another day, with two metal clasps on his left hand. Another driver comes close to killing a rival when he jams him up against the wall of the racetrack, and the car soars off the track to crash beyond the course with an explosion. Things might have been marginally better if Hawks had cast celebrity Hollywood actors rather than these unknowns. John Robert Crawford never made another movie after "Redline 7000." Morever, the racers aren't somebody that you'd want to share a drink with because they aren't that likable. The relationships that they share with the nubile dames are as melodramatic as a soap opera. "Spinout" scenarist George Kirgo spent most of his career toiling in television rather than the movies. He has penned dialogue that is neither quotable nor catchy. Interestingly, another scripter who worked on this movie was Steve McNeil whose sole cinematic credit is Hawks earlier effort "Man's Favorite Sport." According to Hawks, a movie was good if it had five strong scenes. Redline 7000" doesn't have a good scene. The pacing is off, too. Star wattage registers at the dim end, and the virtual anonymity of the cast serves to heighten this quality. They spent most of their time on interior sets reciting dialogue that is pretty dull. Most of the NASCAR racing footage looks like it was shot with a regular camera. The characters and most of the situations amount to clichés. It is still difficult for me to believe that Howard Hawks helmed this half-baked hokum.

dbdumonteil ...two more westerns and he would call it a day.Considering the classics he made during a long and fruitful career which encompasses such classics as "Scarface(shame of the nation)" or "only angels have wings "or "land of the pharaos","red line 7000" is a mediocre offering.Although praised by the French cahiers du cinema ,it's little more than a soap opera in the motor races.Characters ,be they male or female ,are uninteresting and the scenes with the cars pale next to John Frankenheimer's "grand prix" .A sequence featuring James Caan and Gabrielle the FRench girl would make a nice ad for Pepsi Cola.Only the unexpected ending brings some originality.But it's too little too late.

waylonsmithers9 I first saw "Red Line 7000" in college. I was taking a class on the films of Howard Hawks, and the professor showed this the first week because it is considered by many to be Hawks' worst film, and the professor didn't want anyone who added the class during the "drop/add" period to miss one of the major Hawks films.Well, all I can say is that by the time this film was over, it became one of my all-time favorites. Sure, it's corny at times, and melodramatic at others, but who cares? It's a delicious soap opera with fun performances, a strange musical number, and clever usage of public domain music (check out the rockin' version of "The Old Gray Mare"!).Of the many cast members, the standouts are Marianna Hill as the French girl, Gaby, and the divine Gail Hire as Holly McGregor. Ms. Hire was described by one critic as a "junior-grade Paula Prentiss." I was going through a major Paula Prentiss phase at the time I saw the movie, so I was completely captivated by Ms. Hire's Prentissian performance (although her voice reminds me of Barbara Stanwyck's).But, really, this film is just brilliant. I love the dialogue, the interactions of the characters, and that they all live at the Holiday Inn. The use of the Inn creates a sense of community and, along with the presence of the Prentissian Ms. Hire, links this film with "Where The Boys Are."A must-see film!

floydsmoot Red Line 7000, one of Howard Hawks's later films, is generally considered one of his worst, thanks to fake-looking racing scenes, hilariously inappropriate dialogue and musical sequences, and ghastly performances from never-weres such as James Ward, Laura Devon, Gail Hire and particularly John Robert Crawford. But the film is redeemed by the dynamic chemistry between James Caan and the exciting Marianna Hill in their individual scenes together. Caan shows in this film the intensity and talent that would make him one of the best actors of the early-1970s, and Hill's performance, on-par with other memorable Howard Hawks discoveries as Lauren Bacall and Angie Dickinson, makes you wonder why she didn't become a bigger star before fading into obscurity. Particularly memorable are Hill's two lusty dancing sequences, at the nightclub and later in front of the Holiday Inn Pepsi machine, as James Caan observes her from afar. Caan and Hill redeem Red Line 7000 from being a total disaster--the movie should have focused only on their characters and gotten rid of everybody else--but, even with its many weaknesses, the film is still more intriguing than the overrated Grand Prix (1966) anyday.