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.

Not much to see here. A couple guys swashbuckling with big Ken-Tool tire irons. At least this is a movie that accepts the existence of snow. Jerry Reed plays "the Iron Duke," a trucker who wants to make a few more runs and then stay at home. Peter Fonda perhaps should have played a trucker and not brought the biker element into this movie. After the chase with the racecar-laden auto transporter there isn't much to see. One memorable scene is Duke's poignant attempt to defend himself with nothing but a tire knocker. If you like trucker movies, it's your duty to watch High-Ballin' at least once, though. Isn't driving a truck in Canada exciting enough without a typical far-fetched plot? I guess the ultimate truck driving movie would have no plot at all and would be just one big roadeo.

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.

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.

This film begins with a trucker driving down the highway when he sees a young woman on the side of the road having apparent car problems. Although his intentions are not necessarily unselfish, he pulls over to see if she needs help anyway. While the two are talking, some men creep up behind him and, after knocking him out, steal his rig and drive off. The scene then shifts to a nearby truck stop where one particular trucker named "Duke" (Jerry Reed) is having a heated conversation with several other independent truck drivers about the rash of hijacking that have recently taken place. Things quickly turn heated when a young woman known simply as "Pickup" (Helen Shaver) enters the room which results in a fight between one of the truckers and Duke's good friend "Rane" (Peter Fonda). Unfortunately, once the fight ends no real consensus is reached on the main problem at hand as everyone quickly goes their separate ways. To that effect, although Duke definitely has some ideas on how to stop these hijackings, what he doesn't realize is that at least one of the truckers within his group is actually in league with the hijackers and this will soon cause even worse problems for all involved. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film started off relatively well but became more and more unrealistic the longer it ran. To be fair, it wasn't a total waste of time, but even so I have a bit of difficulty rating it any higher than I have. Slightly below average.