A Estrada do Medo

If you think you might be getting into a jovial SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT type film thanks to HIGH-BALLIN's ad art, think again. What the film delivers is a dark, moody piece set in snowy Canada that doesn't seem to know what direction it exactly wants to go in. Reed plays Duke, an independent trucker who just happens to be next on the list of a bunch of local truck hijackers. Fonda is Rane, an old trucking buddy come to visit for a spell and ends up helping Duke take on the hijackers. Is it supposed to be a comedy? Well, there are some funny moments. Hard ass action flick? Well, there are some cool stunts. Romantic drama? Well, yeah, there are some tender moments. For some reason though, there is that aforementioned dark tone that somehow squeezes out any ounce of humanity and replaces it with an ominous aura that lays itself out on the characters and the landscape. Maybe it's 1970's Canada, as I got the same feeling watching Cronenberg's FAST COMPANY. It may sound as if I don't like this film but I do. It's different and odd, especially for it's genre. Definitely worth a look.

A group of hijackers are harassing truckers. Iron Duke (Jerry Reed), and Pickup (Helen Shaver) are two of the independents worried about the situation as well as being pressured to sell by the ruthless trucking boss King Carroll. Visiting stunt driver Rane (Peter Fonda) is riding shotgun with his friend Duke when they are attacked.

This is a Canadian action exploitation B-movie. The plot is pretty simple elevated by solid actors. Its action is reminiscent of gonzo Australian B-movies. There is a good amount of destruction. Camera work is not that imaginative but effective enough for the era. At various points, it takes its sweet time which is unhelpful in an action thriller. Overall, it's not aiming that high and it mostly its target.

I can't see why people are downing this movie because it doesn't really fit in a genre like Action or Comedy. This is a movie, it tells a story, and some parts are funny, there is some action, there are some serious moments and it is a little dark. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll see some action.

Overall it's a story about a big trucking company trying to squash the independent truckers out of business with Jerry Reed and Peter Fonda fighting against The Man for all the colorful, CB jive talking' independents out there.

The main problem with the movie, in my eyes, is the dreary and bleak scenery and Jerry Reed's overuse of "Son" as a form of address. There are some parts of the plot that are weak and not well explained, like the female lead "Pick Up". She eats at truckstops with the truckers and is on the CB and acts like a trucker but she just drives a pick up truck with exhaust risers and a camper on back. What is her job? Just cruisin' the highways pretending to be a trucker? She almost seems like a trucker groupie/wannabe, a step up from a lot lizard. Also not clear is why the big trucking company wants the independent drivers to quit and start working for the big company. The independents still haul loads for The Man and have to pay his fees. It is never really made clear.

This movie was entertaining all the way through the only real downer was the scenery. Wherever they are up in Canada is dirty, snowy and downright depressing.

If you like trucker movies and Jerry Reed, give it a spin. It isn't as awesome as Convoy it still is a good view.

Reed and Fonda make a great combo in this truckin' action movie, you wouldn't want it any other way. Reed with a beard, so much resembles one of my Dad's friend's in this movie, it's almost uncanny, like in the way he answers people, especially in one response. Fonda, an ex truckie, a biker here of course, joins Reed on one last route, after a bit of friendly persuasion by Reed. Only this trip becomes one for survival. Truckies are being hijacked and robbed of their shipment and trucks, the players, are people in their own backyard, one a friend of a guy who gets in a fight with Fonda, the instigator, making a funny remark about his non use of roll on. The fight, where the players use irons is disappointing as it's over before it's even begun. The loser, if you can call him that, and it's not Fonda, was trying to crack on to female trucker, prior, a hot number (Helen Shaver) who really gave him a serve with her sweet talking mouth, while nibbling cutely on some jerky. Fonda becomes the hero, taking down this operation, one scene has him and Shaver surviving a shooting in a motel room. This is a fun adventure movie but a good drama too. Another scene where Reed, Fonda, and Reeds's little son, Tanker are being set upon by bad guys, firing bullets was compelling, where Fonda gets up on the second deck of the trailer at the back of the rig, and unhooks these cars, where they come flying back off the trailer into the path of the bad guys, one car making a backfire explosion which I thought was cool. Reed says to himself in the middle of all this chaos. "Oh boy, why couldn't I had a girl". It also had a good showdown between Fonda and his foe's mate, who holds Shaver at gunpoint. Also what was great, was we got to spend some time at home with Reed's family, which very much reminded me of when I was a kid and how I used to sit around the table, talking with Dad's friends. Even though this movie's dated, it's worth a look, another reason why American International Pictures was a cool movie company. Reed's performance here is impressive too.

Peter Fonda and Jerry Reed make a great team in this well-made Canadian-filmed action flick, which is very much of it's era. Made during the height of the time (late-70s) when movies about 18-wheelers and CB radios were all the rage (you may remember Reed from another HUGE hit of that time, "Smokey & The Bandit"), "High-Ballin'" plays alot like a modern-day western, with Fonda riding into town after an extended absence to help his buddy and former road partner Reed, an independent trucker, take on hijackers who are trying to run him and other independents out of business and into work for a local trucking kingpin.

There's nothing too fancy about the straight-forward story, but there's excellent camraderie between Fonda and Reed, as well as good supporting work from Helen Shaver as a saucy female trucker/groupie, and Harvey Jason as the chief henchman of the trucking company kingpin, King Carroll. It was also interesting to see Carroll played as a man who, while playing a not entirely honest hand, doesn't necessarily want to resort to violence in trying to achieve his means. There are several impressively staged action sequences along the way, as well as some nice cinematography showcasing the snowy Canadian locations. Director Peter Carter keeps everything moving at an interesting clip.

"High-Ballin'" is no masterpiece for the ages, but it's an entertaining time-killer and definitely a movie of it's time.