Trackdown (1976)

Director:

Richard T. Heffron

Writers:

Paul F. Edwards (writer)
Ivan Nagy (story)

Release Date:

4 June 1976 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

What if some street punks grabbed her? What if no one would help -- not the cops, the law or the courts? One man had that decision. What he did was illegal. But it was the only way he knew how.

Plot:

When his sister Betsy packs up and leaves the family's Montana cattle ranch to find fame and fortune in Hollywood...

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Sunset Strip | Runaway | Gang Rape | Forced Prostitution

Cast

James Mitchum	...	Jim Calhoun
Karen Lamm	...	Betsy Calhoun
Anne Archer	...	Barbara
Erik Estrada	...	Chucho
Cathy Lee Crosby	...	Lynn Strong
Vince Cannon	...	Johnny Dee
John Kerry	...	Sergeant Miller
Roberto Rodríguez	...	Feo
Ernie Wheelwright	...	Rosey
Zitto Kazann	...	Curtain
Elisabeth Chauver	...	Billie
Rafael López	...	Barba
Gilbert De la Pena	...	Chino
Joe La Due	...	Ben
James R. Parkes	...	Joe Andrews

Runtime:

Germany:97 min | USA:98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 (1977) | Sweden:(Banned) | West Germany:16 | USA:R

Company:

Essaness Pictures

Soundtrack:

Runaway Girl

a forgotten action classic.

United Artist seems to have ignored this 1976 classic for it's not even on video! Karen Lamm runs away from her Montana home to go to the city and gets raped by mexican gang and sold to a high class beverly Hills pimp Johnny Dee (well played by Vince Cannon). Jim Mitchum plays her brother who goes to Los Angeles looking for her with a help from Cathy Lee Crosby and Erik Estarda. Great finale, Good action, like a suspenseful action sequence on the roof of and in the elevator at Johnny dee's building, to the finale, which involves a high speed car vs a rifle (which also had some "distance" bloopers)! Great cast (with early performance as Ray Sharkey), and Hollywood later sort of remade it with "THE COWBOY WAY" with Woody Harreson 14 years later. Intresting note is Ivan Nagy is credit was "story by", when he is the director that was boyfriend of Heidi Fleiss in real life.

I think the film is not on video because of musical copyright problem (Kenny Rogers sings the end credit song). The Late Vince Cannon could've been good villian actor, it's too bad he never did much films. The film was re-released by the producers (not United Artist) in 1980 with Estadra on the cover holding a knife with Cathy Lee Crosby also on the poster. The new poster said something like "He's a killer, He's lover, and only Cathy Lee Crosby can tame him". False advertisement, but the film is worth a good release back then as it still stood up to the action films of 1980. And it is still a great exciting action film with a important message!