Movie Review: Deadline Auto Theft

Deadline Auto Theft
H.B. Halicki Mercantile Co., USA, 1983. 

This one is included in Mill Creek Entertainment's Fast as Hell 3 Movie Collection.

Insurance inspector/ car thief Maindrian Pace (H.B. 'Toby' Halicki) is back. He steals Judi Gibbs' boy friend Carl's (Dan Grimaldi) car. Unfortunately Judi happens to be daughter of  Police Captain Gibbs (Hoyt Axton) and a chase follows culminating in the L.A. River Flood Control Channel. Again the cops have it difficult to keep their cars on the road. Captain Gibbs declares war on Maindrian. 

Maindrian steals Bricklin SV-1

Captain Gibbs

Judi Gibbs and Carl (Dan Grimaldi)

The rest of the story is mainly repeat of "Gone In 60 Seconds" with some new scenes with Captain Gibbs. Maindrian and his gang have to steal over 40 cars in couple of days for a South-American drug lord. Stealing Ford Mustang codenamed Eleanor results to the final chase.

Boat accident

L.A. Channel chase

Eleanor

This is mainly a Godrey Ho style cut&paste rip-off of Halicki's own previous films, using very little new footage. Basically it looks like the "Gone In 60 Seconds" film that was being filmed in "The Junkman."  Probably those who haven't seen other Halicki's films may enjoy it more but I fast forwarded many parts I had already seen (roughly twenty minutes of the film are new material). After jumping the shark in "The Junkman" Halicki uses a disappointingly lazy method to make "Deadline Auto Theft." 

Funniest moments came when trying to spot the characters from the previous films. Jack Vacek and Bruce Cameron appear as lazy flood channel maintenance workers Merle and Farley. "The Junkman's" assassin Blackbird (Rita Rickard) is now cast as a policewoman. Also the other assassins appear in small new roles. Sgt. Hawkins (John Halicki) form the original "60 Seconds" is now given a female partner Dupree (Maureen Coddington). Kelly Busia appears as Real Estate Girl.

Hawkins and Dupree

Real Estate Girl (Kelly Busia)

Rating: Bad 

Starring: H.B. Halicki, Hoyt Axton, Marion Busia, Jerry Daugirda, George Cole, Lang Jeffries, Dan Grimaldi, Judi Gibbs, Pat Hartigan, Butch Stockton, Phil Woods, James McIntyre, Ronald Halicki, Markos Kotsikos, Maureen Coddington, John Halicki, Jack Vacek, Bruce Cameron, Sharon McCreedy, Hal McClain, Jonathan E. Fricke, Sak Yamamoto, J.C. Agajanian Jr., Garland Brown, Dennis Stouffer, George Barris, Edward Booker, Kelly Busia, Anthony Cole, Mark Cole, Michael Cole, Joe Halicki, Rudy Halicki, John Olsen, Tony Ostermeier, William Pounds, Cindy Reynolds, Don Simmons, Ron Simmons, Thomas Syslo, Clay Wright, Frank Zeigon, Edward Abrahms, Wally Burr, Emily Fladland, Philip Kachaturian, Jack Popejoy, Bud Wackeen, Bunny Walsh, Terence H. Winkless, Christine Wright, Chip Giannettino, Phil Boroff, Christopher Stone, Freddy Canon, Richard L. Muse, Lynda Day George, Rita Rickard, Susan Shaw, Bud Wacen, Christine White, Edward Havens 

Director: H.B. Halicki