1972 Directed by Vernon Zimmerman
A long-distance trucker, dressed like a sea captain, aimlessly sails the American highways in his 18 wheeler mumbling manic, southern accented non sequiturs; carnivalizing roadside stops and happenstance towns while out-weirding cops and weigh stations with his new cryptic, over-coated hitchhiker buddy.
Alan Arkin Paul Benedict Charles Durning Hector Elizondo Bruce Bennett Ida Lupino George Raft Loretta Swit Oliver Clark Patrick Campbell Lawrence Wolf William Duell Madison Arnold Donna Anderson Patrick Dennis-Leigh Hal England Virgil Frye Dan Resin Diane Shalet Ted Gehring Philip Kenneally John Milius Bill McCutcheon Richard Kiel John Quade John Steadman Joyce Perry
USAR
USA
I totally see why this didn't jive in the 70s. Loads of character, but pretty unfocused comedy. Little is laugh out loud funny (although I did laugh super hard at the 'I bet I can look up at you from the bottom of my glass' gag), but is still interesting, strange, warm and differently funny. Just like in The Dion Brothers you can sense Malick's love of southern eccentricity and humanity. There's several points where I was reminded that despite all the major shit that shoots in the south, there is very little characteristics of characters of the area populating the work. And here despite all the irreverence there is a clear love of the ridiculous oddballs. They aren't sideshow…
Can't decide what's more astonishing: the fact that Alan Arkin was cast as a boisterous, flamboyantly ignorant redneck long-haul trucker, or that Alan Arkin is really, REALLY good at playing an ignorant redneck trucker. He is an improv savant, and the director wisely steps away and lets the cameras roll while Arkin fires off hayseed bonmots like a minigun, whistling Dixie and never once breaking character. He makes it look as easy as deep-fried Twinkies washed down with a pitcher of Pabst.
This movie is a real trip. Don't look for a story, because it ain't that kind of flick. It's just a series of amusing-to-hilarious moments focusing on a really interesting individual, played by Alan Arkin in one of his best performances ever.
Arkin's character marches to the beat of his own drum, and best of luck trying to figure out the rhythm of said drum. It's a road movie, with Arkin driving around in a big rig, but he's not so much a trucker as he's just a guy who managed to get a hold of a truck and is gonna drive it cross-country until...well, I don't know what. He's just gonna drive, this guy who operates on a frequency…
Terry writing weird shit as per usual. Who knew Alan Arkin could play a redneck trucker and do it well...
Alan Arkin's performance is very "This killed onstage at Second City!" bristling up against the naturalism of the many roadside attractions, a theme song by trucking music king Dave Dudley, plus a lot of familiar character actors!
I LOVE ALAN ARKIN
Cora: “I can’t believe Richard Kiel was in this movie as a person named Big Dick”
"Don't they affect your brain?"
"I wish they could."
I love this weird little character study because its another fantastic example of an Arkin making various loud noises to emphasise his character's emotions movie in all its beautiful glory. Every line delivered in Deadhead Miles is delivered like someone baking a handmade artisanal batch of fancy macarons for the queen's birthday party if that even makes sense. Surprisingly underrated!
a real curiosity that barely got a release. it's like two lane blacktop in a eighteen wheeler, featuring alan arkin going wild with one of his broadway buddies. apparently malick scripted it but i wonder if he "wrote" it (ala his recent output), as the two leads share a real improvisatory vibe. no real deadheads but plenty of truckin' 😒
If you like trucker movies or 70's counterculture road movies, you need to check this one out before you forget about it and it goes away forever. A large percentage of the population ain't going to get this Malick-penned undiscovered little gem, but for those who do, it's going to hit hard. I came for the truck driving and Malick script, stayed for Alan Arkin's ridiculous performance, and fell in love with the Paul Benedict brilliance. Let's start with that script which seemed aimed straight for my funny bone. There's very little story here, just episodic free-form truck-driving tomfooleries, but there's a great feeling of nostalgia and a celebration of the open road. The story has a very made-as-you-go feel,…
Kind of a perfectly loose lil hangout road movie for me. Alan Arkin playing for the cheap seats and having the acting appetite to eat the world and more as a "sailor dressed redneck trucker" (what a cool string of words). Glad this kept my spirits crusing high unlike the other Malick comedy, Pocket Money.
