Truckin' Man

Starting with its title, which contains a typo ("Truckers Woman," with no apostrophe) this little gem is the ne plus ultra of truly bad film-making. The cast consists of an oddball group of truly bad "actors". Michael Hawkins (who is actually Christian Slater's father)gives a hilariously off-kilter performance as the ersatz butch "Mike Kelly". His leading lady (Mary Cannon) is probably the most unattractive actress ever to be featured in a "starring" role, and couldn't act to save her life. She wears a helmet-like, streak-frosted fright wig throughout, even in her unfortunate nude scenes (she repeatedly exposes only one breast, mysteriously). Doodles Weaver (Sigourney's uncle) play's Mike Kelly's sidekick, Ben, and is obviously smashed throughout. Also, in a bone-chillingly over-the-top performance as "Diesel Joe," Larry Drake (who later won multiple Emmys for his role on TV's "L.A. Law") is hilarious. The writing, the dismal sets and appalling 70's polyester fashions all combine to make this one heck of a great bad film. I'm surprised more folks haven't caught onto this one yet. It's on DVD now on the Turner Classic Movies site...I suggest you RUN to get a copy!

Seriously, what is up with all the trucker films of the 70's, there is absolutely nothing all that enthralling about watching big rigs. Granted, there is Smokey and the Bandit, but that was not a pure trucker film where middle aged men drop out of college to pursue a career in trucking because their father was killed in an accident/possible murder. The film is very 70's and you get a guy trying to take out the trucker mafia plus some aggressive flirting that borders on sexual assault, yup, it's a 70's film!

The story literally has a guy die in his truck and his 'son' drops out of 'college' to become a trucker and follow in his dad's footsteps. Probably for the best seeing as how the son looked to be about the same age as his dad, must have been struggling to find a major. Well, an old man who really liked the main guy's dad suspects that the person that worked on his truck rigged it because he was planning on opening another terminal as the current one was fraught with corruption. Well trucker dude's son is going to get to the bottom of it no matter how much plaid he inexplicably has to wear!

No real stars of note in this one other than Doodle's Weaver, who I only really know his name and seen a couple of films of and Larry Drake who looked so pudgy in this thing. He would actually become much more healthy looking later in life, here he is in Dark Night of the Scarecrow mode. The main guy looks like a game show host in his late 30's or early 40's and nothing like a college student and the women are all mildly attractive.

So, this is a film that you are going to have to enjoy watching the wheels on the truck go round and round because there is not too much more than that. A brawl or two and a shootout at the end involving more barrels and pushcarts than guns are about all the action to see. We also get to see a lot of the 'hero' trying to make it with this girl and then proceed to do everything in his power to be a creep to her. This trucking man is a jerk and his woman needs to move on!

After his father is mysteriously killed while driving a tractor-trailer, "Mike Kelly" (Michael Hawkins) quits college and joins the same trucking firm to find out why. It's during this time that he meets an attractive woman named "Karen Fontane" (Mary Cannon) at a roadside diner and they begin to have a romantic affair not too long afterward. Meanwhile, Mike begins to encounter some suspicious people working at the company and combined with the heavy-handed tactics of the boss "Frankie" (Sid Rancer) begins to makes things quite difficult for management and things rapidly spiral out-of-control afterward. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was obviously a low-budget production with relatively unknown actors and rather poor picture quality as well. Yet despite these obvious faults this type of movie managed to fill a void at drive-in theaters who were often desperate for cheap films during this particular time in America. That said, while this may not have been a good film by any means, it wasn't terribly bad either and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Truck driver Mike Kelly is sure his father's death was no accident. He sets out to prove his crooked boss had a hand in the accident.

This cheap, poorly made movie is barely worth writing about. Just about everything in Truckers Woman (or the more apt title, Truckin' Man) is bottom-of-the barrel - production values, acting, sets, sound . . . you name it and it's probably pretty bad. And unlike a lot of movies of this ilk, it's not sleazy enough to even be a good exploitation film. I will, however, give Trucker's Woman credit on two fronts. First, when it comes to the characters Mike Kelly and Karen Fontaine, they're relationship is somewhat oddly compelling. Second, the music fits perfectly with the film. A low-budget trucking movie set in the South should have a whiney, twangy country music soundtrack.

2/10

I recently watched Trucker's Woman (1975) on Prime, and it was quite the grindhouse experience. The film follows a young man whose father is killed while driving his big rig. Determined to uncover the truth and seek revenge, he takes up trucking himself. Along the way, he encounters a beautiful woman and a cast of colorful characters who might hold the clues he's looking for.

Directed by Will Zens (The Fix), this films stars Michael Hawkins (Midnight Run), Doodles Weaver (The Birds), Mary Cannon (Raw Deal*), Larry Drake (Darkman), and Don Cummins (Escape from Alcatraz).

This film embodies many of the hallmarks of the grindhouse genre. You get grainy, low-budget cinematography, stiff dialogue, and inconsistent performances. The film's plot is rather clichéd, with a predictable and straightforward storyline. Mary Cannon stands out for her beauty, and there's an attempt at a memorable shower scene early on, though it falls short. The action scenes are corny, and the conclusion is predictable.

In conclusion, Trucker's Woman is a low-budget film that fully embraces its grindhouse roots, but it doesn't offer much beyond that. I'd score it a 4.5/10 and recommend skipping it.