A group of hijackers are harassing truckers. Iron Duke (Jerry Reed),and Pickup (Helen Shaver) are two of the independents worried about the situation as well as being pressured to sell by the ruthless trucking boss King Carroll. Visiting stunt driver Rane (Peter Fonda) is riding shotgun with his friend Duke when they are attacked.

This is a Canadian action exploitation B-movie. The plot is pretty simple elevated by solid actors. Its action is reminiscent of gonzo Australian B-movies. There is a good amount of destruction. Camera work is not that imaginative but effective enough for the era. At various points, it takes its sweet time which is unhelpful in an action thriller. Overall, it's not aiming that high and it mostly its target.

I didn't expect anything remotely classy here so I wasn't disappointed when all the rural stereotypes started pouring out of this cheesey drive-in style film that like many films of the 70's hasn't seen the light of day since other than a few syndicated TV showings. This does nothing but perpetuate the idea that country living is for the unenlightened, the crass, the politically incorrect, the good ole' boy, the misogynistic, the homophobic, the racist, and that's on their good days.

Every slur for everyone of those groups are present with the disrespectful treatment of women (as evidenced by how some truckers talk about a short uniform wearing waitress in front of her back) and the assumption that Peter Fonda is gay based on the boots he's wearing. Fonda and Jerry Reed are a bit higher in class than the other truck drivers, simply because they get top billing and must get the audience rooting for them, which I'm sure that all 10 people who saw it did.

Set in Ontario, this deals with a series of truck highjackings, so expect lots of chases and cursing and ham radio operators. Honestly, the coyote chasing the road runner is smarter than what ends up on the page of the script here, and even snowy Canadian winter photography can't raise this up to be at least pretty to look at. This ends up being more than 90 minutes of the same things over and over again, as if that dirty old truck driver from "Thelma and Louise" became a major character in his own movie. This should be called "High Bailin'" because I can't imagine many viewers watching any more than half an hour of this.

Fiercely independent trucker Duke (a lively and engaging performance by Jerry Reed) and his equally free-spirited biker buddy Rane (a solid and likeable portrayal by Peter Fonda) square off against a gang of thug hijackers who are all working for corrupt trucking magnate King Carroll (smoothly played by Chris Wiggins). Sassy gal Pickup (an appealing turn by Helen Shaver) helps the guys out.

Director Peter Carter relates the enjoyable and engrossing story at a steady pace, maintains a tough'n'serious tone throughout, makes nice use of the desolate wintry Canadian landscape, and stages several exciting action set pieces with skill and flair. Reed and Fonda display a pleasing and utterly charming natural chemistry in the lead roles. Moreover, the bad guys are really rough customers (David Ferry in particular is a perfectly hateful stand-out as the vicious Harvey),which substantially raises the stakes and hence gives this film a considerable amount of additional weight and tension. An on the money movie.