The Last American Hero

Why is it that the only people commenting on "Last American Hero" do not live in America? Even when the film was first released in 1973, the panoramic view of Jeff Bridges' fast moving car swirling up the autumn leaves of the American wooded hills accented by Jim Croce's engrossing song of "I've Got a Name" gave "Last American Hero" an overwhelming nostalgic and "American" feel, at least to those of us who saw it in theaters overseas. And for both sheer physical appearance and charisma of the human personification of "American", nothing could beat Jeff Bridges and Valerie Perrine, especially when they stood out against the secondary American characters played by Gary Busey, Ned Beatty, and William Smith. For me one of the most inspiring piece of movie banter of all time is presented in the film when Jeff Bridges as Elroy meets his father in jail and in reference to Elroy's somewhat whiny note of "What are we going to do now?", the father angrily yells at him, "What's your name?!" "Elroy Jackson Junior!" Jeff Bridges yells back. "You'll find a way," the father responds in a confident, reassuring, American tone.

This is what the Dukes of Hazzard could have been,or at least this help inspired the Dukes.Junior Jackson drives a Mustang fastback,he runs moonshine in it,he outruns the revenoors in it,he races it on the track (sorta like the General Lee?).When his racing ambition outgrows the Mustang,he buys a Chevy (ugg) and proceeds to move on to an established team.This is the story of Junior Johnson,long time NASCAR racer and car owner.His family runs moonshine,but is trying to conform to modern tastes.Juniors talent makes him a star,and catches the eye of cute in the face V Perrine.A very southern story,a very southern feel,a great big slice of a time gone by.Bridges is excellent as Junior.Don't think anybody could have done as well.His smirks and facial expressions (or lack thereof) are classic.Very underrated film.Should have been given more attention.

This is one of my favorite gear head movies.Some really great footage of 311 Speedway and Hickory Speedway.In 1993 I visited 311 Speedway for my first time with a sprint car team to race there.I couldn't believe how I knew just about every inch of the property because of the Last American Hero movie.It was a great experience.This movie captures the vibe that was alive in the early 70's of muscle cars and the will to make it to Winston Cup Racing.It's a fantastic,laid back,country folk,style movie that builds to a dream ending dream!Sam Ard's #00 gets a lot of attention as well as Bobby Allison's #12 owned by Junior Johnson gets a lot of footage as well.Enjoy if you can.I have since 1973....

Elroy Jackson Junior (Jeff Bridges) drives fast along the back roads of North Carolina delivering moonshine whiskey for his father (Art Lund). Their still explodes and father is sent to jail. Junior starts racing dirt tracks and demolition derby for small time operator Hackel (Ned Beatty) to raise money for his father's legal defense. He builds his own cars. His brother Wayne (Gary Busey) tries to get him a garage mechanic job and his mother is worried about safety. He meets sweet Georgia peach Marge (Valerie Perrine) working one of the races. The races get bigger and bigger.

This has a great sense of the backwoods world of racing. Bridges is terrific as a man waiting to explode. It's got good car sequences. It also has the great Jim Croce song "I Got a Name". The story needs a bit more drama. Junior needs to overcome something insurmountable. It all feels rather predetermined but it's compelling nevertheless.

Jeff Bridges stars in this fact-based movie as Junior Jackson, a former moonshine runner who goes straight from the back roads of the Carolinas to the muddy dirt tracks of NASCAR in an era when the sport was hardly known north of the Mason-Dixon line and the drivers liked their cars fast and their women even faster.

There was an old saying that NASCAR never did condone fighting amongst the drivers, but I can see where they got the saying that, "If you have to do it, though, make sure it's at the start-finish line." I did a little research on Jackson's career and the story here holds to the fact that he wasn't one of the "cleanest" drivers in NASCAR, but it does help to have that little bit of controversy among your driver(s) when it comes to putting butts in the grandstands. I was fortunate enough to visit the Legends of Racing Museum in Daytona a few weeks ago and met Jack Anderson, a former driver from that era, and I listened to some of the stories surrounding the times and it seems that everything holds true, which makes this a film portrayed very well in every sense of the word. If you're a fan of stock car driving at any level, this movie is for you! 8 out of 10 stars!