''Checkered Flag or Crash'' is a 1977 American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

about

off-road racing Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.). North America Desert racing D ...

through the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

jungle, starring

Joe Don Baker Joe Don Baker (February 12, 1936 – May 7, 2025) was an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" characters on both sides of the law. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles in the Westerns '' Guns of the Magnificent ...

and

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

and featuring

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American actor, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera ''Dallas'', and the handsome astronaut Major Anthon ...

Alan Vint Alan Richard Vint (November 11, 1944 – August 16, 2006) was an American character actor. Vint was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He appeared in a number of supporting roles during the 1970s in films such as '' The McMasters'' (1970), ''Two-Lane Bl ...

and

Parnelli Jones Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones (August 12, 1933 – June 4, 2024) was an American professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race, and ...

. It was written by Michael Allin and directed by

Alan Gibson Norman Alan Stewart Gibson (28 May 1923 – 10 April 1997) was an English journalist, writer and radio broadcaster, best known for his work in connection with cricket, though he also sometimes covered football and rugby union. At various times ...

Plot

Hard-charging race car driver "Walkaway" Madden (

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

), nicknamed that because of his history of walking away from car crashes, just wants to win the big Manilla 1000 off-road race. Photojournalist C.C. Wainwright ( Sarandon) intends to ride with him in that race. But Walkaway just wants to get rid of her. Fast-talking promoter Bo Cochran ( Hagman) wants the race completed by any means necessary.

Cast

as ''Walkaway Madden'' *

as ''C.C. Wainwright'' *

as ''Bo Cochran'' *

as ''Doc Pyle'' *

as ''Himself'' *Logan Clarke as ''Ringer'' * Daina House as ''Rider in Black''

Production

Susan Sarandon, Larry Hagman, and members of the crew dyed Easter eggs on Easter while under the influence of

psilocybin mushrooms Psilocybin mushrooms, or psilocybin-containing mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms or as shrooms, are a type of hallucinogenic mushroom and a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain the prodrug psilocybin, which turns into t ...

References

External links

* * * 1977 films 1970s adventure comedy films American adventure comedy films 1970s English-language films American auto racing films Films directed by Alan Gibson Universal Pictures films 1977 comedy films 1970s American films English-language action films English-language adventure comedy films {{1970s-US-film-stub