La strada della coca

My review was written in June 1986 after watching the movie on Lightning video cassette.

"Sno-Line" (filmed in 1984 under the title "Texas Sno-Line") is a competently handled Texas-style action film which suffers from too many subplots. Feature was released in June 1985 on its home turf in Beaumont and Corpus Christi; it became a home video title early this year.

Vince Edwards stars as Steve King, an upwardly mobile gangster who uses a dairy business as his front. Using money borrowed from N. Y. gangster Ralph Salerno (the late Phil Foster), he's making a multi-million dollar cocaine buy from Duval (Paul Smith) with which to create a sno-line across Texas in terms of his coverage of drug users.

King is at war with good ole boy gangster Bedford (Billy J. Holman) and a group of young punks led by Michael (Casey Clark) and Eddie (Gary Lee Love). All hell breaks loose when the punks rob King's casino, run by beautiful Audrey (June Wilkinson) and accidentally steal King's drug buy money in the bargain. Bedord's men waylay Duval and hold him prisoner. King and his minions go on the warpath for a bloody finale loaded with silly plot twists and a most unconvincing happy ending for several survivors.

Picture is watchable, but its constant cutting back and forth between stories involving various members of an overly abundant cast diffuses one's interest. In addition to the variou gangsters and their machinations, there is a dull love story involving wayward young Michael and his girlfriend Tina (Charity Ann Zachary). A simplifying rewrite on Robert Hilliard's script would have helped.

Edwards is fun as a bad guy for a change while massive Paul Smith obviously relishes the opportunity to take on half a dozen opponents at a time. Veteran sex symbol June Wilkinson is looking good, but her role is underwritten and, alas, she keeps her clothes on throughout. Supporting cast is sprinkled with locals, some sporting thick accents. Much of the production team and cast recently encored to film the comedy "Vasectomy, a Delicate Matter".

The idea of a drug connection in Southeast Texas is not unique. But, some of the characters (James "Bubba" Busceme, Gary Lee Love, "Bones") made the film a lot more interesting to watch. Other than that the film is sort of slow developing. The action in the swamp and the street chases with the police are great, though. The plot is easy to figure out and the outcome is predictable. This film is easy to watch if one is from Beaumont, Texas (where the film was shot). But, other than that....it's mostly a middle of the road variety.

This Texas-made tale of corruption, greed and Mafia vengeance tries for a number of parallel stories that culminate in two scenes of action and violence. This is itself is admirable, as most modestly budgeted films of this type are lucky to accomplish a single storyline. The umbrella story is of Steve King, financed by The Mob, attempting to open a direct "sno-line" between Texas and New York (contrary to the Tagline on IMDB, he is not a "District Attorney"). The first arc is that of a number of King's employees attempting various heists on their boss' holdings. Second occurs when a rival of King wants him eliminated from his Texas Coast territory. The last involves the appearance of a mysterious con-woman and her manipulation of King into being his confidant and co-hort.

The production employs a number of reliable mid-card and B-movie performers, including stalwart Vince Edwards as King, man-mountain Paul Smith as a West-Indies drug smuggler, and the voluptuous June Wilkinson as King's new consort. The dialog is smart, with detail given to the procedures of both the smuggling operations and the employee thefts.

What I find most interesting is that there are no "good guys" in the traditional sense: all are basically corrupt...there are just some that are "more" corrupt than others. The audience is almost forced to support the least heinous of the various culprits, and the film makers want viewers to identify with the young couple who carry a suitcase full of money stolen from King (the fact that the boyfriend's actions lead to the killing of all his friends appears to be irrelevant). There are crosses and double-crosses, all handled with a deftness that belies scrutiny. There are ingenious twists; the final two scenes will leave a smile on the audience's face.

Recommended for fans of regional film making, June Wilkinson and Paul Smith.