''The Sweet Ride'' is a 1968 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

with a few surfer/

biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports ** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...

exploitation film elements. It stars

Tony Franciosa Anthony George Franciosa (né Papaleo; October 25, 1928 – January 19, 2006) was an American actor most often billed as Tony Franciosa at the height of his career. He began his career on stage and made a breakthrough portraying the brother of t ...

, Michael Sarrazin and Jacqueline Bisset in an early starring role. The film also features Bob Denver in the role of Choo-Choo, a

Beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...

piano-playing draft dodger. Sarrazin and Bisset were nominated for the

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for Most Promising Newcomer, Male and Female respectively. ''The Sweet Ride'' was directed by Harvey Hart and written by

Tom Mankiewicz Thomas Frank Mankiewicz (June 1, 1942 – July 31, 2010) was an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television whose credits included ''James Bond'' films and his contributions to '' Superman: The Movie'' (1978) a ...

, based on a 1967 novel of the same name by William Murray, a native of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, who had moved to southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1966.

Plot

The story, told in flashbacks, concerns a middle-aged tennis bum (Franciosa) who shares a beach house with Sarrazin and Denver. Their carefree life becomes complicated, and later turns tragic, after they become involved with a mysterious young woman (Bisset) and a biker gang. The

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

band Moby Grape contributed to the soundtrack, and appeared, credited, in the film, performing the song "Never Again" in a

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

nightclub called the Tarantula. Other famous Sunset Strip locations include Gazzarri's and

Scandia Scandza was described as a "great island" by Gothic-Byzantine historian Jordanes in his work ''Getica''. The island was located in the Arctic regions of the sea that surrounded the world. The location is usually identified with Scandinavia. Jor ...

, as well as location filming in Malibu, according to reviews of the film. Dusty Springfield sings "Sweet Ride" over the film's opening credits.

Cast

as Collie Ransom * Michael Sarrazin as Denny McGuire * Jacqueline Bisset as Vickie Cartwright * Bob Denver as Choo-Choo Burns * Michael Wilding as Mr. Cartwright *

Michele Carey Michele Carey (born Michele Lee Henson; February 26, 1942 – November 21, 2018) was an American actress who was best known for her role as Josephine "Joey" MacDonald in the 1966 Western film ''El Dorado''. She appeared in movies and guest-starr ...

as Thumper Stevens * Lara Lindsay as Martha *

Norma Crane Norma Crane (born Norma Anna Bella Zuckerman; November 10, 1928 — September 28, 1973) was an American actress of stage, film, and television best known for her role as Golde in the 1971 film adaptation of ''Fiddler on the Roof''. She also star ...

as Mrs. Cartwright *

Percy Rodriguez Percy Rodriguez (born Percy Rodrigues; June 13, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was a Canadian actor who appeared in many television shows and films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was of Afro-Portuguese heritage and was born in the Saint-Henri neigh ...

as Lieutenant Harvey Atkins * Warren Stevens as Brady Caswell * Pat Buttram as Texan *

Michael Forest Gerald Michael Charlebois (born April 17, 1929), better known as Michael Forest, is an American actor who provides the voices for many animated titles. Early life Born in Harvey, North Dakota, he moved with his family at a very early age to Se ...

as Barry Green *

Lloyd Gough Lloyd Gough (born Michael Gough; September 21, 1907 – July 23, 1984) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Life and career Born Michael Gough in New York City, he was a noted character actor. Married to actress-turned-activi ...

as Parker *

Stacy King Stacy King is an American former character actress of the 1960s. Red-haired and tall, King had guest-starring roles in ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' and '' The Beverly Hillbillies'' on television, and featured roles in ...

as Big Jane *

Corinna Tsopei Kyriaki "Corinna" Tsopei ( el, Κυριακή (Κορίννα) Τσοπέη; born 21 June 1944) is a Greek actress, model and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 1964. Career On 20 June 1964, Tsopei was crowned Miss Star Hellas by Miss Star Hellas ...

as Tennis Girl *

Charles Dierkop Charles Richard Dierkop (born September 11, 1936) is an American character actor. He is most recognized for his supporting roles in the films ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973) and the television series ''Pol ...

as Mr. Clean *

Arthur Franz Arthur Sofield Franz (February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade, H. Paynter Jr. in ''The Caine Mutiny (film), The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Early life Franz ...

as Psychiatrist * Paul Condylis as Sergeant Soloman (uncredited) * Lou Procopio as Diablo (uncredited) * Ralph Lee as Scratch (uncredited)

Production

Jacqueline Bisset was cast on the basis of her short appearance in '' Two for the Road'' starring

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...

and

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960) ...

. By the time ''The Sweet Ride'' was released she had been cast in '' The Detective'' starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

and '' Bullitt'' starring

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

. Tom Mankiewicz, who wrote the screenplay, later said the problem with the film was "it tried to touch all the bases at once: drama, comedy, porn, dropouts, surfing, true love, a touch of perversion, and the general malaise of 1960s young people. Frankie and

Annette Annette may refer to: Film and television * '' Walt Disney Presents: Annette'', 1950s television series * ''Annette'' (film), a 2021 musical film Other * Annette (given name), list of people with the name * Annette Island, Alaska * Tropical Stor ...

it definitely wasn't."Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Crane, ''My Life as a Mankiewicz'', University Press of Kentucky 2012 p 94 Mankiewicz also says producer Joe Pasternak had suffered a stroke shortly before filming which impacted his effectiveness.

Box Office

According to Fox records the film required $3,950,000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $2,600,000 so made a loss.

Musical score and soundtrack

The score was composed, arranged and conducted by Pete Rugolo except the main title written by Lee Hazlewood and performed by Dusty Springfield with the soundtrack album released on the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

label.Edwards, D., Eyries, P. and Callahan, M
20th Century Fox Album Discography, Part 2: TCM 3100/SFX 4100 Series
accessed October 6, 2016

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Tony Wilds noted: "Rugolo hits many of the same areas that made several

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

soundtracks great, but unlike Schifrin, Rugolo lacks the killer pop instinct. It all sounds like soundtrack music (the average cut is only about two minutes long), and there's nothing here that hadn't been done better elsewhere, earlier.".

Track listing

All compositions by Pete Rugolo except where noted. # "Sweet Ride (Main Title)" ( Lee Hazlewood) - - 2:02 # "Vicky Meets Danny"- 2:30 # "Collier's Riff" - 1:35 # "Come Bossa With Me" - 1:53 # "Thumper" - 1:20 # "My Name Is Mr. Clean" - 2:09 # "Lost Wages Brash" - 1:50 # "Turn Me On" - 3:08 # "Sock Me Choo Choo (Sweet Ride Theme)" (Lee Hazlewood) - 1:50 # "Bedroom Time" - 3:08 # "Where's The Melody" - 1:00 # "Swing Me Lightly" - 2:31

Personnel

* Pete Rugolo -

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, conductor * Dusty Springfield -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(track 1) *Unidentified Orchestra

References

External links

* * *
The Video Beat!

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet Ride 1968 drama films 1968 films 20th Century Fox films American drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Harvey Hart Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films set in Malibu, California Films set on beaches Outlaw biker films Films with screenplays by Tom Mankiewicz American surfing films Beach party films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films