Loved this movie as a kid and now meah ugu not so much!. Sheen comes to town to find out about his brothers death from a speed trap in a small California town. Interesting back in the day, but so over done now. Well acted and directed but short on the script. What makes The California Kid interesting is this dead man curve Sheen must get by to fight the evil Sherriff in a chase for Sheen's life. Did not mind the flick but ugh just another 70's made for t v film.

1958. The sleepy small Southern town of Clarksburg. Evil Sheriff Roy Childress (the almighty Vic Morrow in peak nasty form) cracks down super hard on speeders by forcing said offenders off a cliff to their untimely deaths on an especially dangerous stretch of road. Childress meets his match when cool young hot rod driver Michael McCord (a splendidly smooth and brooding portrayal by Martin Sheen) shows up in town in his souped-up automobile with the specific intention of avenging the death of his brother (Sheen's real-life sibling Joe Estevez in a brief cameo). Director Richard T. Heffron, working from a taut and intriguing script by Richard Compton (the same guy who directed the 70's drive-in movie gems "Welcome Home, Soldier Boys" and "Macon County Line"),relates the gripping story at a brisk pace, neatly creates a flavorsome 50's period setting, and ably milks plenty of suspense out the tense game of wit and wills between Childress and McCord. The uniformly fine cast helps a lot: Sheen radiates a brash James Deanesque rebellious vibe in the lead, Morrow makes the most out of his meaty bad guy part, plus there are excellent supporting performances by Michelle Phillips as sweet diner waitress Maggie, Stuart Margolin as a folksy deputy, Nick Nolte as amiable gas station attendant Buzz Stafford, Gary Morgan as Buzz's endearingly gawky younger brother Lyle, Janit Baldwin as sassy local tart Sissy, Britt Leach as stingy cab driver Johnny, and Frederic Downs as the stern Judge J.A. Hooker. The climactic vehicular confrontation between Childress and McCord is a real pulse-pounding white-knuckle thrilling doozy. Terry K. Meade's sharp cinematography, the well-drawn characters (for example, Childress became obsessed with busting speeders after his wife and kid were killed in a fatal hit and run incident),the groovy, syncopated score by Luchi De Jesus, and the beautiful mountainside scenery all further enhance the overall sound quality of this superior made-for-TV winner.

To be honest it's not really a classic, even as the acting is above mediocre it is too slow to stand up nowadays. On the other hand for those out there who love old American cars it's a must see because the '34 Ford that's been driven by Martin Sheen became a classic in the custom world.

The story itself is easy piecy. Two marines die in a car crash, and suddenly in the small town with a dominating sherriff (Vic Morrow) Michael McCord (Martin Sheen) arrib-ves to investigate what happened. You can see from miles what is happening.

There's also a young Nick Nolte to see as a wrecking yard holder. This flick was a pure TV movie back then. If you can stand the slow moving story then it's worth picking uo for the '34 Ford and the '57 Plymouth police cruiser.

Worth noting is that Laurie Bird has a main lead, she was the girlfriend of Art Garfunkel but made suicide in '79.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5