Stingray

The previous poster succinctly and successfully described the plot of a movie that is what show business should be today. The one liners from "icy calm" Lonnigan are priceless and the driving is superb. Jerry Taylor, the director, did it right when he put the long Stingray chase scene to the beat of the unknown country song "Hi Gear" sung by Gerry Riopelle. "We won't be slowing down because we're driving these wheels into the ground" This film is a must see and should be stored on DVD!!!!

I found this movie interesting enough to view through it's entirety. Decent chase scenes, some humorous moments, and a catchy soundtrack. Being from the St Louis metropolitan area where the film was made, I recognized many of the locations where scenes were shot. Overall, I would give it 4 stars as a drive-in Trailer-Park classic... The only strikes I would put against it would be the lack of wardrobe (all the characters wore the same threads throughout}, and the script seems to have been made up as they went along. It appeared to me that Richard Taylor {writer and director} had a difficult time thinking of an ending. It seemed to me that it was made up on the fly (plus the sun was starting to set-probably was the last day of shooting and he had to think of something... Decent acting with a sometimes weak script, I would still recommend it. Sherry Jackson as beautiful as ever, and decent performances by William Watson, Bert Hinchman, and Cliff(fatty} Emmich.

Since this thought to be desensitized viewer found himself feeling uneasy while watching this forgotten drive-in movie, I can only imagine what viewers back in the more innocent 1970s thought of it. I will say that the St. Louis locations do add an original backdrop. And the movie is professionally made, from the cinematography to the camera-work. But the tone of the movie is all over the map. On one hand, there is a good amount of harsh violence. But on the other hand, there are also plenty of moments when the movie attempts to yuck it up with broad comedy. The movie should have been one extreme or another, not both at the same time. Another turn- off is that there aren't any particularly sympathetic characters, one big reason being that the movie puts more focus on the bad guys rather than the protagonists. If you are simply looking for good action and vehicle work, the movie also disappoints there, with dull chases and uninspired action of other kinds. You'll feel a "sting" in your wallet if you plunk down hard earned dollars to watch this movie.

This regional take on cops vs. Robbers vs. Good guys actually pays off pretty well. Two drug punks kill two men who attempted to set them up on a drug deal. They escape with the money and drugs and are forced to stash it in a Corvette Stingray of all places. Two pals (Al and Elmo) purchase the car and the crooks chase after them, as well as a slew of clueless cops who are trying to make sense of the situation.

Written, edited, and directed by Richard Taylor, this harmless comedy with violent undertones works well thanks to its casting: Christopher Mitchum, Sherry Jackson, Les Lannom, William Watson, Cliff Emmich, and Playboy playmate Sondra Theodore. The car chases are structured rather simply, despite that the film's stunt coordinator was none other than old-timer Carey Loftin. The one-liners, most of them supplied by Watson, are actually pretty funny, as well.

With what feels like a semi improvised script, "Stingray" is essentially one long car chase. There are some pretty nice stunts along with the requisite police car destruction, and a few pretty tepid explosions. The cast is likable, the acting not so likable, and there are at least a bunch of laugh out loud moments. For an exploitation film with zero nudity, the rest has to be entertaining, and "Stingray" is fast enough moving that interest is for the most part maintained. I will say that the film didn't end where I thought it would, but getting in some nice St. Louis / Mississippi River footage wasn't that bad a bonus. For an action comedy you could do a lot worse than this drive in low budget effort. - MERK