Corvette Summer
| Corvette Summer | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover of "Corvette Summer" | |
| Directed by | Matthew Robbins |
| Produced by | Hal Barwood |
| Written by |
Hal Barwood Matthew Robbins |
| Starring |
Mark Hamill Annie Potts Eugene Roche Kim Milford Richard McKenzie William Bryant Philip Bruns Danny Bonaduce |
| Music by | Craig Safan |
| Cinematography | Frank Stanley |
| Edited by | Amy Holden Jones |
Production company |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Plotto Productions |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9,000,000 |
Corvette Summer is a 1978 American adventure comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It marked Mark Hamill's first screen appearance after the unexpected success of Star Wars the previous year. Hamill stars as a California teenager who heads to Las Vegas to track down his beloved customized Corvette Stingray. Co-star Annie Potts, playing the quirky young woman he meets along the way, was nominated for a Golden Globe award in her first movie role.
Plot summary
Kenny Dantley (Mark Hamill) is a car-loving Southern California high school senior. For a project in his shop class, Kenny helps build a customized Chevrolet Corvette Stingray with right-hand-drive. Shortly after the new set of wheels is unveiled, the car is stolen from the streets of Van Nuys. After hearing that the car is in Las Vegas Kenny immediately sets out on the trail of the thieves. On the way, he meets the seemingly confident Vanessa (Annie Potts), who is a self-described "prostitute-in-training".
Kenny finds work in a Vegas car wash, and spots his car on more than one occasion. He follows it to a local garage, where he has a run-in with the garage owner, Wayne Lowry (Kim Milford), before being rescued by Vanessa. Kenny’s high school teacher, Ed McGrath (Eugene Roche) comes to Las Vegas, and Kenny is crushed to learn that the teacher he admired had arranged for the theft of the Corvette to help supplement his low earnings as a teacher. When McGrath suggests Kenny go to work for Lowry, Kenny agrees to it. He will make good money, but secretly plans to steal the Corvette back from Lowry.
Eventually, Kenny completes his plans, steals the car back, saves Vanessa from an unusual scenario in a hotel, wins a wild car chase, and returns in triumph with the Corvette—and Vanessa—to his old high school.
Production history
Working titles for the film were Stingray and The Hot One.[1] Scenes of Kenny's high school were filmed at Burbank High School (Burbank, California) in the San Fernando Valley, and Verdugo Hills High School outside of Los Angeles.
The novelization of Corvette Summer was written by Wayland Drew. The book was published by the New American Library of Canada in 1978.
The film's theme song, "Give Me the Night", was sung by Dusty Springfield.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Mark Hamill | Kenneth W. Dantley, Jr. |
| Annie Potts | Vanessa |
| Eugene Roche | Ed McGrath |
| William Bryant | Plainclothes Police Lecturer |
| Richard McKenzie | Principal Bacon |
| Kim Milford | Wayne Lowry |
| Philip Bruns | Gil |
| Danny Bonaduce | Kootz |
| Jane A. Johnston | Mrs. Dantley |
| Albert Insinnia | Ricci |
| Stanley Kamel | Las Vegas Con Man |
| Jason Ronard | Tony (Wayne's Chain Wielding Henchman) |
| Brion James | Jeff (Wayne's Carwash Henchman) |
| John Miller | Principal |
| Dick Miller | Mr. Lucky |
| Isaac Ruiz | Tico |
| Jonathan Terry | Van Nuys Policeman |
| Wendie Jo Sperber | Kuchinsky |
The Corvette
There were two Corvettes made for the film, a main car and a "backup" model, both built for MGM by Dick Korkes of Korky's Kustom Studios. The main car was often displayed during the film's publicity tour, and both cars were later sold by MGM to private parties. The original car was sold to an Australian collector and "restored" to look different from how it appears in the film.[2] An original mold of the car was displayed at the Corvette Americana Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and is now part of the collection of the National Corvette Museum. The "backup" car remained in the U.S., was owned for a while by Mike Yager of Mid America Motorworks in Effingham, Illinois, and was on display there between periodic car shows. Yager sold the car to a private collector in late 2009.
Critical reception and box office
Critic Frank Rich of Time magazine thought the movie was an appropriate summer "popcorn flick". He wrote "As long as one doesn't demand too much of it, Corvette Summer delivers a very pleasant two hours of escape."[3] TV Guide agreed, calling the film "all in all a very funny movie with enough solid, believable story to take it beyond the realm of teenage summer fare."[4]
Janet Maslin of The New York Times, however, wasn't as taken with the film. She wrote, "The movie takes a slender, boyish conceit—of the sort that is suddenly so popular among Hollywood's current batch of boy wonders—and invests it with silliness rather than whimsy."[5]
Overall, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 57% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on seven reviews.[6]
Corvette Summer generated a total domestic gross of $15,500,000.
Awards and nominations
- in 1979 Annie Potts was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Motion Picture Acting Debut—Female" for her work in the film.
Allusions in popular culture
In Episode 513 ("The Brain That Wouldn't Die") of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mike Nelson exclaims, "Luke, join me or you'll star in Corvette Summer." This is an allusion to Mark Hamill's role in the Star Wars films. The Beck song "Corvette Bummer" is an allusion to the film.
References
- ↑ "FAQ & Trivia", The Unofficial Corvette Summer Web Site. Accessed May 17, 2009.
- ↑ Street & Strip magazine (Australia) #7.
- ↑ Rich, Frank. "Hot Car," Time magazine (September 25, 1978). Accessed May 17, 2009.
- ↑ TV Guide review. Accessed May 18, 2009.
- ↑ Maslin, Janet. "Screen: Saga of a Car In 'Corvette Summer': A Double Debut," New York Times (August 4, 1978). Accessed May 18, 2009.
- ↑ Corvette Summer, Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed May 17, 2009.
External links
- Corvette Summer at the Internet Movie Database
- Corvette Summer at the TCM Movie Database
- Corvette Summer at AllMovie
- Corvette Summer fan site
- Korkys Kustom Studios