Very disappointing...

Redundant and unnecessary.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Speed traps, they can be a pain. But for a sheriff in a California town, it can be lethal. Getting a ticket is bad enough, but what this lawman does, it's even worse. 1958, Clarksburg, California, there's a curve known for high speed traps. And if you're not careful, you will get popped. That's what happened to some Navy men one day. But rather than getting pulled over, they get run off the cliff by the sheriff. In comes a stranger in a 1934 Ford coupe hot rod who would later challenge the sheriff. It turned out that the stranger is the brother of the Navy sailor killed in the accident. And speaking of accidents, the sheriff lost his family in one which made him totally unhinged. The sheriff really crossed the line when he chased the brother of the town mechanic and ran him off the road. Now with two angry brothers, it's time for the ultimate showdown. After spending time adjusting his car to that curve, he really puts it to the test. As for that sheriff, just say justice has been served. Martin Sheen plays it cool, Michelle Phillips shined on as the café worker. And Vic Morrow did well as the "bully with the badge". A very cool TV movie there!

Martin Sheen's brother (in this case, truly it is, in real life) is killed by a local sheriff, who enjoys pushing speeders off a cliff 2 miles from the state line.Martin drives a beautiful sports car, with "The California Kid" painted on the side, hence the name of the movie.This movie has at least 5 times where no words are spoken for several minutes, an interesting feature.Young Nick Nolte does a good job, especially after his brother drives off that infamous cliff. Stuart Margolin plays an understated role as a deputy sheriff. And Michelle (Mamas and the Papas) Phillips does an OK job as a waitress.This is a satisfying movie.

In 1958, Clarksberg was a famous speed trap town. Much revenue was generated by the Sheriff's Department catching speeders. The ones who tried to outrun the Sheriff? Well, that gave the Sheriff a chance to push them off the Clarksberg Curve with his Plymouth cruiser. For example, in the beginning of the movie, a couple of servicemen on leave trying to get back to base on time are pushed off to their deaths, if I recall correctly. Then one day, a stranger drove into town. Possibly the coolest hot rodder in the world. Michael McCord. Even his name is a car name, as in McCord gaskets. In possibly the ultimate hot rod. A black flamed '34 Ford coupe. The colors of death, evil and hellfire. He gets picked up for speeding by the Sheriff on purpose. He checks out the lay of the land. He is the brother of one of the Sheriff's victims. He knows how his brother died. The Clarksberg government is all in favor of the Sheriff. There's only one way to get justice served for the killing of his brother and to fix things so "this ain't a-ever gonna happen again to anyone": recreate the chase and settle the contest hot-rodder style to the death. He goes out to the Curve and practices. The Sheriff knows McCord knows. The race begins... This is a movie to be remembered by anyone who ever tried to master maneuvering on a certain stretch of road.

Martin Sheen, Michelle Phillips, Stuart Margolin and the late Vic Morrow are the human stars of this movie about a young man looking for answers about his brother's death. Mr. Sheen, Mr. Margolin and Mr. Morrow all turn in first rate performances in their respective roles; Ms. Phillips has the slightly less than enviable task of trying to spice up a made-for-TV movie (twenty-five years ago), by supplying the "sex interest" in an otherwise sexless film. The real star, however, is the "California Kid"; a 1934 Ford coupe, borrowed from "Jake" Jacobs, put before a camera and given a workout that'll leave the viewer panting, gasping and holding the edge of the seat with breathless anticipation.The action scenes are spectacular, (although some of the dialog is a bit lame) making for a fine evening's diversion. This is how all "car movies" should be made.Try to catch this one on the late movie channel; it's well worth the missed sleep.