An unknown, psychotic driver uses his van to kill unsuspecting female drivers on the freeway.An unknown, psychotic driver uses his van to kill unsuspecting female drivers on the freeway.An unknown, psychotic driver uses his van to kill unsuspecting female drivers on the freeway.
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Director and veteran stunt co-ordinator Hal Needham has crafted a tense mystery thriller on a TV budget, incorporating a raft of well-executed stunts, and some big names in the cast. The 'tanned one' plays his usual character (i.e. George Hamilton) and while Hack is a bit like her surname, there's good support from veterans Rush, Gorshin, Graves, Vigoda and co in the wings. Even pretty Morgan Brittany is realistic as an over-zealous, aspiring actress, keen to emphasise her near-fatal encounter with 'The Fiddler'.
There seems to have been an attempt to convey the message of journalistic objectivity, and professional integrity in media, but neither Hack nor Hamilton are credible enough to carry that pretext. Their cheesy white dentures and auto-cue reading skills enough to convince you they're news mannequins, but nothing more. Despite this, Needham plays his aces at the right times, employing his experienced cast for scene fillers, and handing the rest of the movie over to the outstanding stuntwork to deliver the action sequences, which are superior to those employed in many feature films. The sense of hysteria that he builds in the narrative is well weighted for a fitting climax, and the audience isn't left disappointed. Worth a look.
Women drivers are being run off the road and killed by a strange man who a TV reporter (S. Hack) dubs the "Freeway Fiddler" because he always plays fiddle music before going into action; she can't finger the misogynist van driver (and indeed we never see the driver, but the resemblance between this and "Duel" pretty much ends there) but she plots to catch him before he can continue his reign of terror. The result: It's (wo)man vs. machine in a race to the death.
Writer William Wood and director Needham don't deliver a great feminist tract, nor is this an actors' showcase; but they do keep the automotive action coming, and it's not a message TV movie by any means. It's basically a pulp novel on the screen, and it's not bad - something that certainly can't be said for some of the director's bigscreen movies ("Megaforce," anyone)?
Her story is not taken too seriously by TV or the police - until another woman is killed in similar circumstances, also by a dark van.
The police seem to have no leads, so a TV reporter starts investigating the similarities between the cases.
As the deaths mount, she takes hazard-driving lessons. When she finally locates the driver's whereabouts, he's missing, but chases her onto the freeway.
This movie has some loud music. It's no a horrible movie, but it's directed like a TV movie which takes something away from the film. The print I saw was so bleached out the color was nearly gone and sometimes it seemed like I was watching a b&W movie.
The verdict: 6.
Did you know
- TriviaShelley Hack's TV debut.
- GoofsThe hubcaps on Jan's Datsun disappear and reappear at random times throughout the movie, sometimes this happens within the same scene.
- Quotes
Jan: Who is the Freeway Fiddler? Well of course, no one knows yet, but tonight we at least have an educated guess on that answer from Dr. Rita Glass, chief of psychiatric services at Los Angeles General Hospital, and a frequent consultant in police matters. Thank you for being with us tonight, Doctor, what can you tell us about the Fiddler?
Dr. Rita Glass: Well Jan, of course I don't know anymore about what the Fiddler looks like than anyone else, but what I can offer tonight is a sort of psychological profile based on what we already know about the killer. Let's take the attacks themselves. We already know that the victims are all women traveling the freeway alone. We also know that they were all reasonably attractive, and there is strong evidence to suggest that in each case the driver of the car performed some sort of maneuver which was perceived by the killer as an act of aggression, causing the killer to say in effect 'Hey, you women are just getting too big for your britches'.
Jan: Judging from what you just said then, what can we theorize about the Fiddler's psychological profile?
Dr. Rita Glass: He is a severely repressed personality, easily threatened, unsure of his masculinity. That he may have been dominated as a child by his mother or some other female authority figures. That he is emotionally stunted, and in a very deep sense, feels like a child. I would also have to guess that he has a strong death wish, a need to be hurt, or killed, perhaps as a punishment for being such a bad boy. After all, he cannot attack these women in such a way without placing himself in extreme danger.
Jan: Thank you, Doctor. Drawing on the doctor's profile then, we can make the following suggestions to women: Don't travel the freeway unless absolutely necessary, and don't travel alone. And if you do find yourself on the freeway, drive defensively, particularly if there is a van in the area. Remember, the Freeway Fiddler has already killed 9 women, and will almost surely, kill again.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Penny Dreadful (2005)
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