Fast Charlie and the Moonbeam

Moviecut—Fast Charlie and the Moonbeam

source: Fast Charlie and the Moonbeam

The early 1920's. Rascally World War I deserter and con man Charlie Swattle (a sturdy and likeable performance by David Carradine) participates in a tough and dangerous cross country motorcycle race. Feisty waitress and single mother Grace Wolf (a fine and appealing portrayal by Brenda Vaccaro) helps out and winds up falling in love with Charlie. Director Steve Carver relates the enjoyable story at a brisk pace, offers a flavorsome evocation of the period setting and rural environment, maintains an amiable easy'n'breezy tone throughout, and stages the rousing race scenes with aplomb. The excellent cast of familiar faces helps a lot: L. Q. Jones as the cantankerous Floyd, R. G. Armstrong as the equally huffy Al Barber, Terry Kiser as stammering screwball mechanic Lester Neal, Jesse Vint as cocky no-count rival Calvin Hawk, and Noble Willingham as hearty, but corrupt race sponsor Pop Bauer. A nice little movie.

This weak action comedy is lacking in laughs and chemistry between its stars, David Carradine and Brenda Vaccaro, a bit of formula that steals from a variety of genres and comes off smelling like second hand fumes. It's another case of man meets woman, woman hates man but follows him anyway, falls in love with him and then sticks around in spite of the fact that he's a shyster. Set after the end of World War I, this deals with a motorcycle race, and how Carradine gets the single mom Vaccaro and her son tagging along with him. He tries to get away on a number of occasions but she seems to know how to stop him. Every year in film, there are over a hundred films that seem doomed to become dusty VHS tapes or never transfered to DVD. Not sure if this is one of those, but it seems to be working on a dime store budget, grainy and flat, showing that acting with feistiness or involved in seemingly wacky situations doesn't mean that the situation is actually funny. You can't even really enjoy the location outdoor footage because there's no sense of depth in the camera movement. When you don't really care if the leading characters come out the winners, you know you've found a loser.

David C. and Brenda V. are pretty good as they ride across the country and play lovers head games. The somewhat reluctant "Pit Crew" are really good in their supporting roles with the escaped prisoner my favorite character of all. If you like motorcycles and enjoyed "Easy Rider", you should see this movie. I'd also like to take this opportunity to recommend "Me and Will" for a night when it's just you and your favorite biker chick. Ride easy Bro's.

I have seen this movie on television and loved it. It has come up in conversation many a times with my motorcycling brothers.Being an antique motorcycle collector I would love to own a copy pf this movie Do you know where I can buy a copy of this movie?

David Carradine plays Fast Charlie Swattle, a motorcycle racer and kind of a con man. He tells everyone he's a World War I hero, but he's not. The race ran to California from Missouri or somewhere and was an important race for a motorcycle manufacturer to win. Fast Charlie rides a Moonbeam made by Pop Bauer in Moonbeam, Oklahoma. He gets somebody out of a jail by enticing the cop with a Model T Ford American Graffiti-style. Brenda Vaccaro plays Grace Wolf, a woman he discourages from marrying "Howard Hardware Store." Names in this movie include L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Jesse Vint and Noble Willingham. Pretty good recreation of the early 1900s.

I have never seen the movie but it was filmed in Oklahoma and my dad rode the vintage bikes in the back ground and i would love to find a copy of the movie.this would be great if i could find a copy he was like 17 at the time and the film would bring back great memories. if you can help please e-mail me at fftate263@yahoo.com not sure why i must type in ten lines to post this but i will i don't have anything else to say so this is all filler please help me if you can i have spent a lot of time looking for it a have had no luck thank you for your time.I don't get on the computer much except to check my e-mail so if you have any information for my it would be great if you would e-mail me thanks for the help and your time if anyone has a copy i would be grateful fftate263@yahoo.com

source: Fast Charlie and the Moonbeam

source: Dra åt pepparn, Charlie