''Corky'' is a 1972 American drama film starring
Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player
* Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer
* Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player
* Rob Blake (born 196 ...
and directed by
Leonard Horn
Leonard Horn (August 1, 1926 – May 25, 1975) was an American director of prime time television programs in the 1960s and 1970s and helped shape a number of "classic" adventure and sci-fi series, including '' Mission: Impossible'', '' Mannix'' ...
.
Plot
Corky Curtiss is a Texas race-car mechanic obsessed with the sport. He is permitted to drive in local races on weekends, but boss Randy Dover replaces him with another driver because of his costly reckless ways.
With little money to support wife Peggy Jo and two kids, Corky needs his job but can't control his resentment. He enters a race on a figure-eight track and deliberately causes a crash that sends replacement driver Steve to the hospital. A furious Randy fires Corky from his mechanic's job.
Corky abandons his wife and heads for Georgia in his pink Plymouth Barracuda with a friend, Billy. He enters and wins a small race along the way, but drinks and gambles away the prize money at a roadhouse.
A sympathetic Randy realizes that Peggy Jo has been left with no money and prospects, so he gives her Corky's back wages plus a job. She also finds a second job and takes classes trying to earn a high-school diploma.
By the time Corky reaches Atlanta, he is almost dead broke and is not given a chance to drive at the speedway. Selling his tires, Corky picks a fight with a junkyard owner who sics attack dogs on him. He also insults passersby who offer assistance to his disabled vehicle. Billy objects to his behavior, then leaves with the strangers when Corky punches him.
Back home in Texas, penniless and despondent, Corky realizes that his wife has begun working for Randy and accuses her of having an affair. He goes to the garage with a gun and shoots a couple of Randy's mechanics. Trying to flee from police, the pink car bursts into flames with Corky inside. His last thoughts are fantasies of being a famous race driver.
Cast
*
Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player
* Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer
* Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player
* Rob Blake (born 196 ...
as Corky Curtiss
*
Charlotte Rampling as Peggy Jo Curtiss
*
Patrick O'Neal as Randy Dover
*
Christopher Connelly
Christopher Connelly (September 8, 1941 – December 7, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role as Norman Harrington in the successful prime time ABC soap opera '' Peyton Place''. He stayed with the series during its entire f ...
as Billy
*
Pamela Payton-Wright
Pamela Payton-Wright (November 1, 1941 – December 14, 2019) was an American actress.
Life and work
Payton-Wright was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Eleanor Ruth (née McKinley) and Gordon Edgar Payton-Wright. After graduati ...
as Rhonda
*
Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to:
In sports Association football
* Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer
* Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player
Other codes of football
*Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...
as Boland
*
Laurence Luckinbill
Laurence George Luckinbill (born November 21, 1934) is an American actor, playwright and director. He has worked in television, film, and theatre, doing triple duty in the theatre by writing, directing, and starring in stage productions. He is kn ...
as Wayne Nesbitt
*
Paul Stevens as Tobin Hayes
*
Bobby Allison
Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks ...
as Himself
*
Donnie Allison
Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the bro ...
as Himself
*
Buddy Baker as Himself
*
Richard Petty as Himself
*
Cale Yarborough as Himself
*
Charlie Briggs as Red
*
Jack Garner
Jack Garner (born Jack Edward Bumgarner; September 19, 1926 – September 13, 2011) was an American actor. He was the elder brother of James Garner.
Early life and career
Garner was born in Norman, Oklahoma, the son of Mildred Scott (née Meek) ...
as Driver
*
Lulu Roman
Lulu Roman (born Bertha Louise Hable on May 6, 1946) is an American comedian, singer, and author. She is known as a regular on the comedy-music show ''Hee Haw'', which debuted in 1969.
Roman was born with a thyroid dysfunction in a home for un ...
as Sue
*
John Marriott as Junkman
*
Glen Wood
Glenn Alexandria Wood (July 18, 1925 – January 18, 2019) was an American NASCAR driver from Stuart, Virginia.
Early life
He and brother Leonard Wood co-founded the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953, and won four races over an elev ...
as Himself
Production
Producer Bruce Geller was so upset at post-production changes made to the film by MGM management that he asked for his name to be taken off the film. This was refused.
See also
*
List of American films of 1972
This is a list of American films released in 1972.
''Cabaret'' won 8 Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Actress. ''The Godfather'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
__TOC__ A–C
D–G
H–M
N–S
T–Z
See also
* ...
References
External links
*
1972 films
American auto racing films
Films set in the 1970s
1972 drama films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
American drama films
Films scored by Jerry Styner
Films directed by Leonard Horn
1970s English-language films
1970s American films
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