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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!

To be honest it's not really a classic, even as the acting is above mediocre it is too slow to stand up nowadays. On the other hand for those out there who love old American cars it's a must see because the '34 Ford that's been driven by Martin Sheen became a classic in the custom world.

The story itself is easy piecy. Two marines die in a car crash, and suddenly in the small town with a dominating sherriff (Vic Morrow) Michael McCord (Martin Sheen) arrib-ves to investigate what happened. You can see from miles what is happening.

There's also a young Nick Nolte to see as a wrecking yard holder. This flick was a pure TV movie back then. If you can stand the slow moving story then it's worth picking uo for the '34 Ford and the '57 Plymouth police cruiser.

Worth noting is that Laurie Bird has a main lead, she was the girlfriend of Art Garfunkel but made suicide in '79.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

The executive producer Paul Mason was very fortunate to have acquired such a talented group of actors for this made for TV movie back in 1974. You won't get any better than Nick Nolte, Martin Sheen and Vic Morrow joining forces in this low budget movie. I quite enjoyed the drama and the action that The California Kid presented using the small town of Clarksberg as the back drop for the movie in 1958.

The Sheriff Roy Childress is played by Vic Morrow whose salary is drawn by how much the judge can fine the unsuspecting visitors who go over the posted speed limit even by 5 miles per hour. And if the speedsters try and avoid capture, well Vic Morrow just runs them off the cliff as they attempt to allude capture and make the state border.

A lot of the interaction takes place at the local town restaurant where the waitress Maggie played by Michelle Phillips serves the best hot coffee in town. Then one day a hot rodder named Michael McCord played by Martin Sheen comes driving in to town. We soon find out that Mr. McCord is not in town by accident, but seeking answers as to how is brother died falling over a cliff outside of town while driving with a friend.

Martin Sheen is such a super star that he can take a basic script and elevate the movie from a 2 star to a 4 star rating by himself. Adding to the star quality you have Nick Nolte as the local mechanic Buzz Stafford whose younger brother also recently died at the hands of the mean Sheriff Roy Childress.

The movie will keep you wishing for revenge for the young murder victims and that Sheriff Roy Childress will get his comeuppance. The late model 1950's circa cars ridden by Sheriff Roy and by Michael McCord are awesome to look at and watch during the speed racing scenes.

The epilogue leaves the fans with the feeling that justice has been served. How? Well you will just have to watch the movie for yourself. You won't be disappointed in this 1970's made for TV movie. Keep in mind that both Nick Nolte and Martin Sheen went on to the big screen and starred in some of the biggest box office movies over the next three decades. We were lucky to have them both on our television sets starring in The California Kid.

Prior to THE CALIFORNIA KID, the only work I had seen from Director Richard Heffron was the ST LOUIS BANK ROBBERY, which I found less than impressive.

Although of a completely different context, I found THE CALIFORNIA KID a far better film. Very tight script, focusing expressly on the actions of a backwater town sheriff who lost his wife and child to a hit and run driver, and proceeds to wreak revenge on all those he spots speeding through town and around a bend that has claimed some seven lives in the recent past.

There is also a suggestion of official corruption by the town mayor, who wants to keep the system going to not pay taxes.

Martin Sheen plays McCord, arriving in town in a souped up classic car with CALIFORNIA KID printed on the painted flames.

Vic Morrow plays the vindictive sheriff with a professional approach to duty, and he wastes no time giving McCord a ticket for doing 38 miles/hour in a 35 miles/hour zone.

Inevitably, McCord is less than pleased and ever more determined to learn more about his brother's demise in one of the aforesaid fatal bend accidents, and finds evidence that his car may have been pushed out of the road from behind.

He also wastes no time establishing that the sheriff's car has big metal bars on his front bumper that might well be used to push cars off the road.

A very young Nick Nolte plays a local mechanic who gets paid for towing vehicles involved in accidents.

Good production values, strong script and cinematography, make this a top notch TV film.

One detail I did not understand: why McCord did not want to leave his boot prints on the sand by the point where his brother's car flew off the road.

I also found the death of Nolte's brother a bit contrived, but it does not damage the film.

Well worth watching. 7/10.

Did honorable Sgt Saunders go home after the war and run for sheriff of a small California town? Somehow this made for TV movie from 1974 eluded me. See pre-liberal panty-waiste Martin Sheen in a James Deanesk role avenging the murder of his motorist brother take on an anything but honorable Vic Morrow playing a sleazy and corrupt town sheriff who hates speedsters and will do anything it takes to run them off the road with the front bumper of his '57 Plymouth. This jewel which takes place in 1957 but filmed in 1974 is filled with goofs and anachronisms galor and solid acting by the above as well as Nick Nolte and former Mama Phillips taking up time and space as the local coffee shop waitress and Rockford Files alum, Stewart Margolin playing it straight as Morrow's lacki deputy.

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.

Whom it may concern on the seventies all studios were technically bankrupt, so TV demands and sponsored to make several fine pictures to fill out their program schedule due the studio decreased to the utmost their productions, so this is a small explanation why countless TV movies in this period of time.

This picture concerns a revenge, when Michael McCord (Martin Sheen) together his newest brother a former marines passing through for Clarksburg in a hurry to reach in time at base were run off in the dangerous curve at road leading to the death his beloved brother in the cliff, actually the psycho local Sheriff Roy Childress made it deliberately due in recent past your whole family were killed at Clarksburg avenue by car accident and the perpetrator running away and never was recognized, only by this the bruised Sheriff and the Judge J. A. Hooker became his accomplice to apply heavy fines at local traffic or in the road for lowest speed to raise their salaries over those unwarned visitors or just crossing the city.

After a while come up McCord in a stylized black flaming 1934 Ford Coupe with a powerful adapted inside aiming for if was an accident or made in purpose, after many tries to reach at deadly curve near 100 miles per hours, all them became thwarted in so sharp turn, although the smart Sheriff already knows why McCord is there, hard to foresee if California Kid could be reach commercially on Brazil, due it was almost unknown having the ratings at IMDB as a source of popularity, in America it was already released in Blu-Ray, a fine movie that I saw at my wanders years when I'd already had catch by the seventh art many years before.

The scoundrel Vic Morrow fits perfect to the role, yes that one who had a nerve to left to his daughter Jennifer Jason Leigh meager 12 dollars of Vic's inheritance, previously which both had a falling out, aftermaths Jennifer changes his surname for good, without forget the still young and forthcoming star Nick Nolte in a small role

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 1985 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 7.

"The California Kid" is the 200th installment of "The ABC Movie of the Week" and as such you would have thought that they would have shown one of their very best movies. Instead, it was a film with a few exciting moments...and a lot of padding. In essence, the film could have been condensed to half an hour!

The story begins with Michael McCord (Martin Sheen) going through a crappy little town near the state line. The cops here lie in wait and the town is just a gigantic speed trap. But with one cop (Vic Morrow) it's more. He LIKES it when a speeder tries to outrun him and cross the state line...as he gives chase and runs them off the road to their death. He gets off on doing this. But despite ticketing McCord, McCord doesn't even try going full bore towards the state line...until the sadistic cop kills once again.

This DOES sound exciting, doesn't it. Well, it isn't. The pace is the problem...it's just too slow, too padded and never really delivers.

For those of us Baby Boomers who arrived too late on the scene to appreciate James Dean et. al., Martin Sheen showed us The Way in this great feature.

The premise is easy enough: cool hood meets small town sheriff and All-Hell ensues, but the nuts and bolts of this movie enthrall the car nut in all of us.

No, this isn't Casablanca, nor is it great Literature, but it IS a serious movie about cars, rebellion, and the genius that is Martin Sheen.

Enjoy this and appreciate it for what it is, and for what Martin will become. I loved this movie growing up as a teen in the 70's, and you will too.

I was about thirteen when this movie came out on television. It is far superior in action than most movies since. Martin Sheen is excellent, and though Nick Nolte has a small part, he too provides excellent support. Vic Morrow as the villain is superb.

When Sheen "tests the water" in his '34 Ford (COOL) along the mountainous highway it is spectacular!

The ending is grand.

I'm disappointed in the low vote this received. I figure the younger generations have more interest in much of the junk that is coming out these days.

Good taste eludes the masses!

I caught this movie about 8 years ago, and have never had it of my mind. surely someone out there will release it on Video, or hey why not DVD! The ford coupe is the star.......if you have any head for cars WATCH THIS and be blown away.

The tiny town of Clarksberg isn't just a speed trap. It's an organized criminal operation. The revenue brought in from speeding tickets keeps the town running. Enforcing the speed limit is the the job of psychopathic Sheriff Roy Childress (Vic Morrow), who has been helping unwary speeders to their early graves.

Enter Michael McCord (Martin Sheen), aka: THE CALIFORNIA KID, who comes to town in his bada$$ '34 Ford hot rod. Unbeknownst to Sheriff Roy, McCord, as cool as his car is, is more than just some visiting hot-rodder. Nope, McCord is in Clarksberg for a reason, and no amount of hassle seems to dissuade him.

Playing like a motorized western, McCord and Childress face off in a duel of wills.

Let the fun begin.

THE CALIFORNIA KID is an eight-cylinder, top-of-the-line made-for-TV thriller, from a time when these quality films were made on a regular basis. Sheen and Morrow are superb, as are Nick Nolte and Michelle Phillips in supporting roles.

Entertaining from its start to its glorious, high-octane finish...

This is an absolute popcorn classic! I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned on the popcorn classic's segment on On Cinema at the Cinema. Joe Estevez is great in this! 5 bags! (10 stars for IMDb)

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 my original review of this film, I mistakenly referred to the vehicle's owner as "Jake Jacobs". Somehow, I got Mr. Jacobs confused with his partner and friend, Mr. Pete Chapouris, for which I apologize to both gentlemen.

It should be noted that Mr. Chapouris is the builder of "The California Kid" and he is also a well-known and respected hot-rodder out of California.

(The original coupe is on display at "Pete & Jake's Hot Rod Parts", in Peculiar, MO, under the care of Mr. Jerry Slover. According to reports, the "California Kid" and its stable mate, "Jake's Coupe" have been driven more than 250,000 miles since their original construction as hot-rods).