Fireball 500

Fireball 500
Directed by	Leo Townsend
Written by	William Asher Leo Townsend
Starring	Frankie Avalon Annette Funicello Fabian Chill Wills
Release date(s)	7 June 1966
Running time	92 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Followed by	Thunder Alley

Fireball 500 was a stock car racing film, blended with the beach party film genre. A vehicle for stars Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and Fabian, it was one of a string of similar racing films from the 1960s. Written by William Asher and Leo Townsend, and directed by Townsend, it tells the story of Dave Owens (Avalon), a stock car racer forced to run moonshine.

Production notes

The "Fireball 500" is a 1966 Plymouth Barracuda, heavily customized by George Barris, with a 1966 Hemi 426 Plymouth engine that develops up to 425 h.p.^[1]

Footage from Fireball 500, specifically shots of the 4B car (Jim Douglas' car) toppling over on its roof, show up later in the demolition derby scenes at the beginning of The Love Bug.

Funicello and Fabian starred together again (without Avalon) the following year in AIP's follow-up feature, Thunder Alley.

Music

The film's soundtrack is by Les Baxter, and features six songs written by Guy Hemric and Jerry Styner. Frankie Avalon sings "Fireball 500," "My Way" (not to be confused with the song made popular by Frank Sinatra), "Turn Around," "A Chance Like That" and "Country Carnival." Annette Funicello sings "Step Right Up."

See also

• Viva Las Vegas (1964)
• Red Line 7000 (1965)
• Spinout (1966)
• Grand Prix (1966)
• Thunder Alley (1967)
• Speedway (1968)
• The Speed Lovers (1968)
• Pit Stop (1969)

References

1. ^ George Barris' site at Barris.com [1]

Source

• Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2006, p.428. New York: Penguin/New American Library, 2006.
• internet movie database

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