''Deadman's Curve'' is a 1978 American
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
biographical film
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
based on the
musical careers of
Jan Berry and Dean Torrence. The film was developed from a 1974 article published in ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' by
Paul Morantz
Paul Robert Morantz (August 16, 1945 – October 23, 2022) was an American attorney and investigative journalist.
He was known for taking legal cases alleging brainwashing by cults, self-help groups and for sexual misconduct by psychotherapist ...
, who also helped write the
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
.
Plot
As Jan and Dean rise to the top of the music industry, a horrible car accident leaves Jan incapacitated and their dreams shattered. With the help of Dean and others, Jan slowly recovers, learning again to walk and talk. A comeback to the music industry is seen as a slim chance, but with Jan willing to try, and with Dean right by his side, the duo aim for another shot.
Cast
*
Jan Berry
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...
:
Richard Hatch
*
Dean Torrence
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...
:
Bruce Davison
Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...
*Annie:
Pamela Bellwood
Pamela Bellwood (born Pamela King) is an American actress known for her role as Claudia Blaisdel Carrington
Claudia Blaisdel Carrington is a fictional character from the ABC prime time soap opera ''Dynasty'', created by Richard and Esther Shapiro ...
*Dr. Vivian Sheehan:
Floy Dean
Delbert Floy (February 28, 1927 – September 27, 2005) was an American politician who served in the Iowa Senate from 1965 to 1969.
He died on September 27, 2005, in Mason City, Iowa
Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo ...
*Susan:
Denise DuBarry
Denise DuBarry Hay (March 6, 1956 – March 23, 2019) was an American actress, businesswoman, film producer, and philanthropist. She co-founded Thane International Inc., a direct response industry company along with her husband, Bill Hay, in 19 ...
*Billy:
Kelly Ward
Kelly Ward (born November 17, 1956) is an American actor and voice director for television animation. He is most famous for his role as T-Bird Putzie in '' Grease'' (1978).
Biography
Ward was born in San Diego. He is the son of Don and Bonn ...
*Bob "The Jackal" Smith:
Bob "Wolfman Jack" Smith
*Rainbow:
Susan Sullivan
Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1944) is an American actress. Sullivan is best known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Another World'' (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom ''It's a Living' ...
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
and Beach Boys
Mike Love
Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-bari ...
and
Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...
make cameo appearances, and Berry himself and his parents appear in the audience at the end of the movie.
Production
In May 1977 CBS announced they would make the film.
"Doing the film was a chance to let the world know there was a reason Jan was no longer making records," said Dean. "He had gotten tired of hearing 'I thought you'd just retired from the business and faded into obscurity'."
The film ends with Jan and Dean singing again triumphantly after the audience boos at them for lip synching. In reality, they attempted to perform in 1972 but were booed for lip synching. They did perform again in 1974. The film makes it seem like this happened on the same night.
Reception
The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' called it "shallow entertainment". ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said the film was made "efficiently, if not imaginatively" with an "outstanding" performance from Davison.
Paul Mavis, of ''Drunk TV'', reviewing ''Deadman's Curve'' after the death of Richard Hatch, wrote that although the made-for-TV movie skipped quite a few facts, and did little with Dean Torrence's character, the Jan & Dean music was still there, along with Richard Hatch's fine performance: "Cocky and exuberant at first, and then cold, sneering and manipulative as a domineering rock star, Hatch surprised me with the nasty edge he summoned up.... It’s a beautiful turn by Hatch in the classic biopic form: confidence, talent, and drive lead to success, but the ego needed to climb to the top proves to be an Achilles heel, leading to abuse of friends, loved ones, and self, and then to the inexorable downfall, before a painful but enlightening personal redemption."
Ratings
The movie was the 40th highest rating show of the week.
Featured Songs
All songs featured are the original recordings, except where indicated
*"
Dead Man's Curve
Dead Man's Curve is an American nickname for a curve in a road that has claimed lives because of numerous crashes.
Examples
* A curve on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles memorialized in the hit song "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan and Dean. The son ...
"
*"
Jennie Lee" (Jan & Dean version)
*"
Baby Talk
Baby talk is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called caretaker speech, infant-directed speech (IDS), child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed language (CDL), caregiver register, parent ...
"
*"
Surfin'"
*"
Barbara Ann
"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The more famous version was recorded by the ...
"
*"
The Little Old Lady from Pasadena
"The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)" is a song written by Don Altfeld, Jan Berry and Roger Christian, and recorded by 1960s American pop singers, Jan and Dean. Singer/songwriter P.F. Sloan sings the falsetto part usually sung by Dean Torrence, ...
"
*"
Sidewalk Surfin'"
*"Like a Summer Rain" (a Dean Torrence recording from the ''Save For a Rainy Day'' LP)
*"
Surf City"
Jan and Dean's latter-day back-up band,
Papa Doo Run Run
Papa Doo Run Run is a band from Cupertino, California, United States, that specializes in covers of songs from the heyday of surf music in the 1960s.
History
Papa Doo Run Run (PDRR) was founded in 1965, as The Zu, then changed their name to Good ...
(featuring Dean Torrence), went into the studio to record some additional songs for the soundtrack. Songs included "
Pipeline
Pipeline may refer to:
Electronics, computers and computing
* Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on
** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...
," "
Wipe Out," "
I Only Have Eyes for You
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written for the film ''Dames'' (1934) when Dick Powell introduced it. Several successful recordings of the song were made in 1934; later, there we ...
," "
Get a Job", "
A Teenager in Love
"A Teenager in Love" is a song written by Doc Pomus and partner Mort Shuman. It was originally recorded by Dion and the Belmonts, and released in March 1959. It appeared on their album ''Presenting Dion and the Belmonts'' (1959). It reached numb ...
," and "
One Summer Night", all of which can be heard playing in the background as incidental music.
Release history
"Deadman's Curve: The Jan and Dean Story" was released on VHS Format by Interglobal Home Video.
References
External links
*
{{Jan and Dean
1978 television films
1978 films
American biographical films
American rock music films
Biographical films about musicians
CBS network films
Films set in the 1950s
Musical films based on actual events
Films directed by Richard Compton
Cultural depictions of rock musicians
Cultural depictions of American men
1970s English-language films
1970s American films