Audience Member
White working class trucker's movie, and that's awesome. Great exacting of justice in this one. Light years better than Convoy.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
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dustin d
Given White Line Fever's low ratings, I was expecting a schlock fest, and braced myself to laugh at a so-bad-it's-good film. What was actually delivered was a finely made action/fantasy. (I say "fantasy" because while this is purportedly set in the real world, nothing about it rings true.) The movie features a plucky working-class hero/Brad Pitt lookalike (or, since this was from the '70s, I should say Brad Pitt is a Jan-Michael Vincent lookalike), who is sincere enough in the role he prevents the movie from descending into camp.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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delysid d
a movie that all truckers ought to love
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
05/17/20
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Audience Member
Totally fun exploitation flick from the 70s. Vincent is a good ol'boy who's not taking no guff from a bunch of corrupt truckers. There's some truly impressive stunt work in this.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
11/29/19
Full Review
Audience Member
Jan-Michael Vincent plays an idealistic long-haul truck driver who wants no part of shipping illegal un-taxed cigarettes and slot machines (which by today's criminal standards seems positively quaint) for corrupt shipping company owner L.Q. Jones. He the finds himself blackballed and unable to find work until he holds Jones at gunpoint, forcing him to give him a delivery job. He gets a job, but also finds every trucker in the state out to get him. Co-staring Slim Pickens, R.G. Armstrong, Dick Miller, and Martin "Sweep the Leg" Kove, "White Line Fever" is super fun hixploitaiton with good ol boys cussin', fighting' and driving big rigs. I've always loved Jan-Michael Vincent's early work and in reflection upon his career have been fascinated and somewhat haunted a quote from Vincent, lamented that he could have been another James Dean if he'd made only three movies and then died, instead of seeing his career and personal life spiral out of control with drugs, alcohol, and multiple arrests (he's now even minus a leg). If we only remembered Vincent for "The Mechanic," "The Big Wednesday" and possibly this film, he's probably right. We'd have been remembered as a talented, handsome, leading man with a bright future ahead of him, instead of someone who squandered their career and talents. But back to "White Line Fever," this film was written and directed by Roger Corman protege Jonathan Kaplan, who'd later go on to write and direct some major films, including "The Accused" and "Unlawful Entry," so it's an early work by a quality filmmaker, which bring quality to this unabashedly low-brown exploitation drive-in material. Overall, "White Line Fever" is one of Jan-Michael Vincent's better films and is solid entertainment if you're in the mood for "Convoy" meets "Walking Tall."
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Jan Michael-Vincent, fresh out of the air force, takes on a big loan to buy a truck and support himself and his wife Kay Lenz as an independent trucker. He goes to work for family friend Slim Pickens, but discovers that in order to get a job, he has to agree to smuggle contraband. When he refuses, he finds himself beat up and tossed in cow shit by bully Martin Kove. He tries to get work elsewhere, but finds that the word is out about him and he's been blackballed. He takes matters into his own hands heading him on a collision course with L.Q. Jones, the man behind the cartel. Director Jonathan Kaplan made a bunch of grade A exploitation films ("Truck Turner", "Over the Edge"), this one's good, but not among his best. It has a strong opening but really hits a rut in the middle third. A lot of the down time is compensated for by the amazing cast that also includes R.G. Armstrong and Dick Miller.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
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