''The Last American Hero'' (also known as ''Hard Driver'') is a 1973 American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

based on the true story of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

driver

Junior Johnson Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was an American NASCAR driver of the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966. In the 1970s and 1980s, he became ...

. Directed by

Lamont Johnson Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards. Early years Johnson was born in Stockto ...

(no relation), the film stars

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

as Junior Jackson, a character based on Johnson. It is based on

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

's essay "The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!", which was first published in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' magazine in March 1965 and included in his debut collection of essays, ''

The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby ''The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby'' is the title of Tom Wolfe's first collected book of essays, published in 1965. The book is named for one of the stories in the collection that was originally published in ''Esquire magazine'' i ...

'', later that year. The film's theme song, " I Got a Name", sung by

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to p ...

, was released in September 1973 as a single, peaking at No. 10 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and No. 4 on its

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

chart.

Plot

Junior Jackson is a restless young man who finds himself the family breadwinner when his father, a career

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

r, is arrested and sentenced to one-year imprisonment. Junior is an outstanding driver, so he enters a

demolition derby Demolition derby is a non-racing motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehic ...

promoted by Hackel, the owner of the local racing track, hoping to win the prize money. Hackel is a cheapskate, but he is sufficiently impressed by Junior's driving skills and attitude (he modified his vehicle with a piece of railroad iron that he rammed into the other cars) that he allows Junior to enter a stock-car undercard race the next week. Junior does well in it and subsequent higher level races, which inspires him to enter the main race at the next top tier event. Junior is given some valuable advice on how to enter by Marge, a secretary to the race organizer who has a soft spot for Junior, and when he performs well during the trial laps his entry is assured. During the race Junior does very well for a while, but eventually his overtaxed engine blows and Junior has to retire in frustration. Since the prize money at that level of racing is excellent, Junior decides that is the career for him. However stock car racing is expensive—Junior needs to buy his racing car and pay for its upkeep, and also provide for his brother, Wayne, and three friends who serve as his pit crew and travel companions. Burton Colt, the owner of a team that has not won any races lately, offers Junior a chance to drive for him, but the financial terms are stacked against Junior, and Colt insists that Junior will have to use the team's crew. Junior declines the offer. To raise money he spends his nights transporting moonshine, which his father does not approve of, knowing it will inevitably land his son in prison as it did him. Junior's mother, meanwhile, does not want him to race because she thinks it's too dangerous a pursuit. A lesser complication for Junior to deal with is that although Marge is very fond of him, she is also attracted to other top drivers on the stock car circuit, including Kyle Kingman, Junior's racing and now romantic rival.

Cast

Reception

The film was favorably reviewed by

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', even though ''The New Yorker'' had a long-standing feud with Wolfe. It has an 71% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

Home media

The film was released on DVD in 2006 with both full and widescreen presentations alongside its theatrical trailer; as of 2022, it was also available for streaming.

References

External links