Jump (1971) User Reviews

Swell!

[veryterigreene · 2 February 2003]

Jump is not only hilarious and full of social satire, but the film craft is wonderful. Shaped, balanced, paced well, never too busy. Not to mention psychedelic. Pared down to the essentials, so it hits hard and big. Never got the widespread attention it deserved. One of the best of the time, or of now.

I saw it because the ad said it was made by the folk who made Joe, which was some serious and well-made stuff. And sure enough.

If you like Jump, or if don't, you should see Bliss (not the late 90's Hollywood fluff, but the mid 80's Australian movie-of-the-year). Bliss is one of my three favoritest movies ever.

tg

Racing

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 14 August 2022]

Chester Jump (Tom Ligon) dreams of being a racecar driver but for now, he's fixing cars for Babe Duggers (Logan Ramsey; Mama Fratelli was his real-life wife). So until he gets there, he's going on a rambling journey through Florida, picking up service industry women, challenging other men to races, fighting with his family and just trying to get by.

Then he goes from dirt to stock racing, finally succeeding in a demoliton derby before he walks away alone.

Take a look at that poster.

None of that happens in this movie.

What does are long arguments between Chester and his father, playd by an incredible Conrad Bain years before he was Mr. Drummond. He's drunken, brutal and bleak. Jack Nance, Judd Hirsch and Sally Kirkland are also here in very small parts.

Also known as Fury On Wheels, this film was directed by Joseph Manduke (Omega Syndrome, the movie version of Beatlemania) and written by Richard Wheelwright in his only screen credit. It was shot at the now closed Golden Gate Speedway and many of that scenes locals were used as extras and as stunt drivers.

As for the character of Dutchman, you may recognize the voice. He's "Voice of God" Norman Rose, who like Bain was also in Who Killed Mary What's Her Name? He was also the voice of radio drama Dimension X, the voice in the Juan Valdez coffee commerical and the narrator for the American version of Message from Space.

Robert Koster, who was the second unit director, played the Scarecrow in Dark Night of the Scarecrow, while cinematographer Gregory Sandor also worked on Sisters, The Born Losers and The House on Bare Mountain. Working as the script and continuity supervisor? William Kerwin's sister Betty. And the most interesting trivia of all is that the music producer for Jump was Martin Mull, years before he'd start acting.

Not what you may expect

[Wizard-8 · 7 March 2015]

A word of warning to people who are considering watching this movie. Despite the reissue title ("Fury on Wheels") and the video box art showing off speeding and crashing cars, there's actually very little vehicular work on display in the actual movie. Instead, the movie for the most part is a pretty serious drama. Actually, all of this drama manages to generate some good scenes, like the hero and his father singing along to the radio, the hero trying to reason with his Bible- thumping sister, and the great scene where the hero's boss chews him and his fellow workers out. Although there are good moments like those sprinkled throughout, the movie as a whole doesn't seem to go anywhere. In fact, it ends at a point where things feel somewhat unfinished, which is kind of frustrating. This is not a bad movie, but it does feel incomplete. By the way, while the video box states that Judd Hirsch is in the movie, I didn't see him appear at any point.