From Our Vaults:
Matthew Robbins directed Corvette Summer, a road comedy adventure, featuring Mark Hamill’s first screen appearance after the success of Star Wars the year before.
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Theatrical release poster
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Hamill stars as a California teenager who heads to Las Vegas to track down his beloved customized Corvette Stingray.
Rising actress Annie Potts plays the quirky woman he meets along the way.
Corvette Summer received a mixed critical response, but it was a box office success, making about $36 million at the worldwide box office, on a high budget of $9 million.
Narrative Premise:
Kenny Dantley, a car-loving Southern California high school senior, rescues a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray from inside an operating car crusher in a scrapyard. For a project in his shop class, he helps rebuild it as a customized right-hand-drive with flashy bodywork.
However, after the new wheels is unveiled, the car is stolen from Van Nuys. Upon hearing that the car is in Las Vegas, Kenny sets out to take back the stolen car.
On the way, he meets the seemingly confident drifter Vanessa, who is a self-described “prostitute trainee.”
Credits:
Produced by Hal Barwood
Directed by Matthew Robbins
Written by Barwood and Robbins
Cinematography Frank Stanley
Edited by Amy Holden Jones
Music by Craig Safan
Production: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Plotto Productions
Distributed by United Artists (North America)
Cinema International Corporation (international)
Release date: June 2, 1978
Running time: 104 minutes
Budget $9 million
Box office $36 million
