The Gumball Rally (1976)

22% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(4,269 ratings)

For better or worse, The Gumball Rally was the catalyst for a short-lived cycle of "illegal cross-country race" flicks. As thick-headed cop Roscoe (Norman Burton) does his best to stop the titular rally, a vast and varied contingent of contestants prepare to burn rubber from New York to California.… More For better or worse, The Gumball Rally was the catalyst for a short-lived cycle of "illegal cross-country race" flicks. As thick-headed cop Roscoe (Norman Burton) does his best to stop the titular rally, a vast and varied contingent of contestants prepare to burn rubber from New York to California. The best-looking of the racers is played by top-billed Michael Sarrazin; Franco, a delightfully narcissistic Italian road jockey played by Raul Julia, also competes. Producer/director Chuck Bail was formerly a stunt coordinator, which helps to explain the incessant car crashes and near-misses in the film. Surprisingly, the doggedly low-budget Gumball Rally was produced by First Artists, a company formed by such major stars as Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, and Steve McQueen for the purpose of creating "prestige" film fare. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Charles Bail
Genres: Action & Adventure, Comedy

In Theaters: Jul 28, 1976 Wide
On DVD: Aug 30, 2005

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Former stunt coordinator Chuck Bail produced and directed but he didn't have much of a plot.
Richard Eder, New York Times
People who pay money to see this effort to find knee-slappers in the 55 mile-an-hour speed limit will also make amiable fools of themselves.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Although we are all going to have the greatest difficulty even remembering the name of The Gumball Rally in three months' time, it is a pleasant, slick, inoffensive entertainment.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
One of many coast-to-coast car-race films indistinguishable from the others.
, Time Out
It relies almost exclusively on the exceptional stunt work, the plot only occasionally dropping into first gear for some boring and irrelevant dramatic stuff.
Shane Burridge, rec.arts.movies.reviews
The cars are the stars

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jacob E

This is one of those movies you find on accident and before you know what hit you (in this case, hit you at 180 miles per hour), you're watching a bizarrely hilarious film from the 70's that should be awful. Basically, it was Cannonball Run before Cannonball Run and it has… More
This is one of those movies you find on accident and before you know what hit you (in this case, hit you at 180 miles per hour), you're watching a bizarrely hilarious film from the 70's that should be awful. Basically, it was Cannonball Run before Cannonball Run and it has Raul Julia (more on him later). For those of you who don't know what this means, here's the basic plot. A group of people from across the country (one of them is from Italy) partake in a race every year called The Gumball Rally, an illegal race that sees how fast people can race from New York City to L.A. The results are usually hilarious, with a few gags that fall flat, but the best part of the show is Raul Julia. Raul plays an Italian Grand Prix racer with a Ferrari and a love of all women. He's a very funny and narcissistic character that steals every scene he is in, and ultimately almost steals the whole show. Another star worth noting is a very young Gary Busey, and yes, he's just as crazy in this movie as he is now. As expected, the car chases and inevitable wacky stunts that occur are very fun to watch and extremely funny with an almost cartoony edge to them. If you're bored one weekend and need to kill some time, this isn't a bad way to do it. Not the best comedy of the 1970's, but definitely not the worst.
AJ V

One of the first of the cross country illegal car racing movies. Like most of them, there is a big cast, and a bunch of stars, and the movie is very funny for the most part. It also has it's unfunny parts, though.
Anthony L

I loved this as a kid but the premise has been spoilt now by evil rich kids.
Dean M

This movie I haven't seen since I bought the DVD this year. It's really hilarious and outrageous illegal road race. Whoo! And a silent moustache motorcyclist is heaps of funny in his accidents.

Cast

            Michael Sarrazin as Bannon

            Norman Burton as Roscoe

            Gary Busey as Gibson

            John Durren as Preston

            Susan Flannery as Alice

            Harvey Jason as Lapchick

            Steven Keats as Kandinsky

            Tim McIntire as Smith

            Joanne Nail as Jane

            J. Pat O'Malley as Barney

            Tricia O'Neil as Angie

            Lázaro Pérez as Jose

            Nicholas Pryor as Graves

            Vaughan Taylor as Andy

            Wally Taylor as Avila

            Raul Julia as Franco

            Edward Ansara as Head Waiter

            Colleen Camp
            
            Rod Colbin
            
            Chuck Courtney as Motorcycle Rider

            Ann Doran as Mrs. Ontley

            Med Flory
            
            John Furlong as Man on Freeway

            Whitey Hughes as Corvette Team

            Casey Kasem
            
            John Lawlor as Jake

            Gary Littlejohn as Motorcycle Rider

            Ken Scott
            
            Larry Silvestri as Corvette Team

            Joe Tornatore
            
            Wes Dawn as Jaguar Team

            Eddy Donno as Mel (Van Team)

            Gray Johnson as Truck Driver

            Lou David as Mugger

            Jack Oliver as Oscar

            John Morton as Jaguar Team

            David Hinton
            
See full cast