DEATH CAR ON THE FREEWAY

Shelley Hack

DEATH CAR ON THE FREEWAY (1979 telefilm). Director|: Hal Needham. 

Jan (Shelley Hack) is a newswoman who learns of two incidents where women were targeted and nearly killed by a man in a dark van on the freeway. Jan is convinced the two incidents are related, but has trouble convincing her boss (Frank Gorshin of Hot Rod Girl) until there are more incidents, resulting in the deaths of several woman. Jan's husband, Ray (George Hamilton), who wants her back even though he treats her like a child and she insists she needs her independence, is scared that the creep on the freeway will now target her. Although Lt. Haller (Peter Graves) wants Jan to back off, she decides to initiate her own investigation, which she may come to regret.

Peter Graves: Where;s my team? 

Death Car on the Freeway certainly has an interesting cast, in addition to Hamilton, Gorshin and Graves. Dinah Shore is cast as a tennis pro who is nearly forced off the road by the psycho, Harriet Nelson of Ozzie and Harriet fame is a landlady, and Barbara Rush is an older colleague of Jan's. As for Shelley Hack, she's cute, but one gets the sense that she was told how to say each and every line before she stepped in front of a camera. Former stunt man and crash coordinator Hal Needham directed the film with his usual lack of panache, and he also plays a guy who teaches Jan about defensive driving. The movie is modestly entertaining, but although there are a few suspects as to whom the psycho driver is, you wait for a twist that never comes. The feminist sub-text is interesting and very typical of the period. 

Verdict: Watch Duel instead. **1/2.