Deadhead Miles

A quirky (and hard to find) comedy who's script seems to be right out of a Dave ("Six Days on the Road") Dudley's truckers' song. Filmed in the unadorned, late-'60s/early-'70s low-budget, realist style (like 'Easy Rider', 'Two Lane Blacktop' or 'Five Easy Pieces'), this little cult movie is a strange pop-art odyssey through roadside America circa-1971. It is the story of an oddball trucker's last ride as told through Cooper (Alan Arkin) and his new but stolen Peterbilt 359 big-rig. The plot (?) is a lean one. The story unfolds to us by our observing the conversations and adventures of Cooper and his unexpected hitchhiker (Paul Benedict). Together they attempt to earn some cash by hustling up some short-haul jobs while dodging the authorities. Arkin performs some eccentric scenes and delivers some quotable lines. Is Cooper fresh out of the nut-house or is he just a sad little character trying to give his dream one last try? Music is by Dave Dudley. Cameos abound with actors from the past (Bruce Bennett, George Raft, Ida Lupino) and the future (Loretta Swit, Charles Durning, Hector Elizondo, Richard Kiel). Written by Terrence Malick. This film will not impress everyone. I would recommend it to anyone who considers himself an "eng-ine man" AND is into small, quirky cult films.

Deadhead miles features,of course, one of the most gifted and underrated actors, Alan Arkin. However, the film, called a comedy, is merely a sad commentary on one rather bizarre trucker's life and experiences that no real trucker would endure. Technically flawed, the film when it was first released to theatres, went about as far as a Peterbilt tractor in reverse but with the engine stalled. After its first attempt at theatrical release, it gained a new soundtrack which still did not provide enough ooomph to move a rather incredulous, vapid plot even in first gear. Without revealing the ending, as someone who has spent a lifetime in the trucking industry, all I can say is no trucker in his right mind would have done what Alan Arkin did, although his characterization might justify his bizarre actions. On a scale of one to ten, as a trucker-oriented movie, I give it a minus nine, and that's being generous.

Truly weird and whacked out.

Watch it for Arkin's great over-the-top acting. Watch it just to hear the Dave Dudley soundtrack. Watch it for the great New Mexico scenery. Watch it for that beautiful Peterbuilt. Watch it for the scene where Arkin throws bottles out of his cab at various objects along the road.

Why this movie isn't a cult flick is most likely only due to fact that it's so hard to find. It's virtually unrentable, and it's never on tv anymore.

I caught this movie on A&E over ten years ago between classes while in college. I'd seen Catch-22, so I knew Alan Arkin and liked his work.

It's hard to describe this movie beyond a trucker movie. Very seriously, it's like an episode of Seinfeld... a lot of random stuff happens, most of it disconnected, a lot of it odd, but the vast majority is really funny once you sink into it. Honestly, I forget a very large portion of the movie, but the impression of how interesting it was has stuck with me for over a decade... that has to say something.

Arkin is perfect in it as a pill-popping, cantankerous driver trying to stay awake while driving a load cross country. Paul Benedict (Bentley from the Jeffersons) plays a tramp. Looking over the cast, Richard Kiel (Jaws from the Bond films), Loretta Swit (M*A*S*H), John Milius (writer of Apocalypse Now, etc), Hector Elizondo, Charles Durning... this had a great cast of character actors. I would love to see this film again, but I seriously doubt it will ever get a DVD release unless someone famous sponsors it like Tarantino has the martial arts films released under his Rolling Thunder company.

I saw this film at the old LA International Film Festival back in 1984. It has also use to play on Bravo once every 3-4 hours back in the late eighties when they use to run those god awful early Fassbinder home movies the rest of the time. The Terrence Malick script has some of the funniest lines ever written but probably could have used a serious re-write, the directing is pretty awful but Alan Arkin's usual overacting acting style is really quite effective most of the time. Better than Two Lane Black Top not in the same league as Vanishing Point this road movie is more for open minded cult movie types than typical filmgoers. Also, look for a John Milius cameo as a state trooper.