Another Robert Conrad Film

Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976): Conrad as a traffic cop.
This is a well-crafted television film that utilises the ensemble piece and the shift in time. It is also unintentionally hilarious. Beginning with a mass car crash in slow motion, we see the various characters that we will come to know intimately. Jumping back a few days, we see where all our characters are at the beginning of the 4th of July weekend. The overriding question is how they will end up on Interstate 5 at that very moment. The characters include: an old married couple, a divorced woman looking for love, a trucker, a teenage drifter, a wounded criminal and his ‘girlfriend,’ and a biker and his girlfriend. The traffic cops include a father-to-be (Tommy Lee Jones) and his best friend (Robert Conrad). It is established early on that Hutton’s (Tommy Lee Jones) wife is due to give birth any day now. And that his wife’s sister is the girlfriend of Sam (Conrad). Laureen (Donna Mills) and Sam are at a crossroads in their relationship with Laureen refusing to marry him while he is still a traffic cop. Her fears are confirmed when, moments before his wife goes into labour, Hutton is shot dead by Pete (George O’Hanlon). The pacing in this killing is brilliant, almost a parody of police tropes. The killing of his best friend causes Sam to be determined finding his killer. Lee (Scotty Jacoby, famously in Bad Ronald, 1974) is mixed up in the crime as he is held at gunpoint by Pete. He manages to overpower Pete, parking the car in a secluded area and running off with Penny (Bonnie Ebsen, Pete’s girlfriend). Lee becomes prime suspect number one in the killing of Hutton.

Other subplots include Al and June (Buddy Ebsen and Harriet Nelson), an elderly couple. Al surprises June with a beach house he has purchased, revealing that he is taking a sabbatical from the university. It becomes evident from the beginning that June is dying, and Al is trying to make their final year together perfect. It is an endearing subplot, with a few unintentional laughs: such as when June clutches her chest in pain or when she attempts suicide by walking into the sea. However, you do generally care for them and believe they have the perfect marriage.

The third subplot involves Erica (Vera Miles), a divorced woman who is struggling to navigate the dating scene. When she is nearly attacked and (presumably) raped by a group of bikers lead by Burnsey (Sue Lyon), she is rescued by Dale (David Groh), a young truckdriver. The two begin an intimate love affair, and Dale attempts to reassure Erica that the age gap is not an issue. The following morning, they part ways, but Dale is determined to make the relationship work. He races in his truck to catch up with her.

When the crash happens again it is seen in real time, causing the mayhem of the crash to be captured brilliantly. We now know these people intimately; we care about some of them. Who will die? Who will survive? I won’t spoil this for those of you planning on watching the film. The structure and script really help us to care about what happens to the characters. You spend the entire film trying to work out who will survive.

Back to the Conrad. Robert Conrad is good in this, even if his screen time is minimal. He is a cool lead, intertwining with the various subplots. He doesn’t take his shirt off or punch anyone, but this is one of his coolest macho roles of the late 1970s.

Plot: 4
Script: 4
Intentional laughs: 0
Unintentional laughs: 4
Conrad’s performance: 4
Co-stars performance: 4
Macho rating: 4
Shirtless: 0
Tight trousers: 3
Fighting Conrad: 0
Total: 27/50