Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) 20th Century Fox/Action RT: 93 minutes Rated PG (language and violence) Director: John Hough Screenplay: Leigh Chapman and Antonio Santean Music: Jimmie Haskell Cinematography: Michael D. Margulies Release date: May 17, 1974 (US) Cast: Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, Vic Morrow, Roddy McDowall, Kenneth Tobey, Eugene Daniels, Lynn Borden, Janear Hines, Elizabeth James, Adrianne Herman, Tom Castranova, James Gavin, Al Rossi, Ben Niems, George Westcott. Box Office: $28.4M (US)
Rating: ***
The 1974 car chase actioner Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite movies. He even included a scene in Jackie Brown (1997) where Bridget Fonda’s character is watching it on TV, a meta move seeing that it stars her dad Peter Fonda. ANYWAY, it’s easy to see why QT likes it so much. For one thing, it has a good shot of Susan George’s bare sole. We know how much the filmmaker loves ladies’ feet. For another, it has plenty of action and cool stunts. Bear in mind it was made long before CGI came along and mucked things up. What you see is actually performed by real people, professionals, so don’t try any of it at home, kids.
I remember seeing the promos for Dirty Mary Crazy Larry when it aired on network TV circa 1977. I didn’t actually see it until 1998 when I taped it off Cinemax. I liked it enough to keep it in the VHS archives, but never rewatched it until this past weekend. I needed a good Saturday late-night movie and it fit the bill perfectly. It’s exactly the kind of film you’d see on the late show in the 70s and early 80s. It’s very entertaining even with its nihilistic ending.
Peter Fonda (Easy Rider) stars as Larry, a hopeful NASCAR driver who pulls off a successful supermarket robbery with his partner, mechanic Deke (Roarke, Hells Angels on Wheels). They get away with $150,000 and a surprise passenger, a local girl named Mary (George, Straw Dogs). She decides to come along for the ride after spending the previous night at a motel with Larry. She’s not one to be left behind. Together, the three of them attempt to evade capture by the local PD led by unorthodox sheriff Capt. Franklin (Morrow, The Bad News Bears) who pulls out all the stops to apprehend the trio.
Some would argue that the real star of Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is the blue 1966 Chevrolet Impala modified by Deke and driven by Larry. I’m not a gear head, but I know a sweet ride when I see one. It’s cool, a sweet ride! And Larry handles it like a pro. He definitely earns the “Crazy” before his name in the title. Then he swaps it out for a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 440. Nice! In addition, one of the cops chasing them drives a high-performance Doge Polara interceptor. It makes for a great chase scene in a movie filled with them.
The director of Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is John Hough. He’s a versatile filmmaker. Look at some of his credits: Twins of Evil (1971), Treasure Island (1972), The Legend of Hell House (1973), Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), Return from Witch Mountain (1978), Brass Target (1978), The Watcher in the Woods (1981), The Incubus (1982), Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983), American Gothic (1988) and Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988). Some of these are really good with Escape to Witch Mountain being the best. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry comes next. It’s a well-made piece with interesting characters. Hough keeps things moving along nicely; he knows when to speed things up and when to chill for purposes of character development.
The supermarket robbery is well orchestrated. In order to ensure compliance, Deke shows up at the store manager’s house and holds his family hostage while Larry collects the dough. It bears mentioning that the manager is played by Roddy McDowall (The Legend of Hell House) who opted to appear uncredited so as not to steal the thunder from his co-stars. ANYWAY, it’s a tense bit with the wife (Borden, Frogs) and daughter (Hines, Private Duty Nurses) bound and gagged uncertain if they’ll make it out alive.
Fonda is great in the lead. He makes a charismatic crook with an underlying layer of instability. George is also good as Dirty Mary. Her character can be annoying, but she’s always appealing and smarter than she lets on. She’s one step ahead of the men. She knows when they’re going to try to ditch her and takes measures to make sure they come back for her. Roarke does nicely as the partner who serves as the voice of reason at times. Morrow is in top form as the lawman on their case. He has no intention of letting them get away. He goes so far as to keep a police helicopter in the air until it runs out of fuel. I guess Larry isn’t the only crazy one.
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry tells an entertaining story. Hough doesn’t do it alone. He orchestrates it, but the screenplay is the work of Leigh Chapman (The Octagon) and Antonio Santean (Viva Knievel!) itself based on the 1963 novel The Chase by Richard Unekis. I can’t speak to the original source, but the script is solid. It doesn’t waste time on a lot of unnecessary exposition. We’re told only what we need to know about the characters. We come to like them. Then comes the nihilistic ending. Who saw that coming?
It’s funny how QT and I see eye-to-eye on so many movies. I discovered quite a few good ones thanks to him referencing them in his movies. Jackie Brown introduced me to Detroit 9000 (1973), Beast with a Gun (1977) and, of course, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry. It’s a cool flick! Thank you, QT!
