An almost-endearing product of its time, now notable mainly for the cars, the teen slang, and appearances by veteran Fay Wray and newcomer Connie Stevens (who quickly erased this title from her resume). After a rumble with bikers over at the local malt shop, clean-looking teen Gary Clarke, a sports car enthusiast with bleached blond hair, defies Mom and Gramps by entering a race down at the track. The suburban kids (boys with crew-cuts and tucked-in shirts, girls with ponytails and sweater-and-skirt combos) appear to dig calypso rock, dancing to the jukebox and making out under the stars in their convertibles; the motorcycle gang (unshaven boys with leather jackets and slicked black hair) are eager to spoil the fun. A.I.P. nonsense on a low-budget. It's like a pulp paperback in motion, or a cartoony version of "The Wild One". *1/2 from ****
Review of Dragstrip Riot
