The Last Chase
| The Last Chase | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Martyn Burke |
| Produced by | Argosy Films |
| Written by | C.R. O'Christopher |
| Starring | Lee Majors Burgess Meredith Chris Makepeace Alexandra Stewart |
| Distributed by | Crown International Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April, 1981 |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
The Last Chase is a 1981 science fiction film starring Lee Majors, Burgess Meredith and Chris Makepeace, and directed by Martyn Burke. It was produced by Argosy Films.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The setting is the USA at an unspecified future time. The country has been devastated by two major catastrophes: a virulent plague which killed tens of millions of citizens, and exhaustion of the world's fossil fuel supply. In the resulting chaos, democracy collapsed and an authoritarian dictatorial government seized power. Personal freedom has been abolished. Ownership of private vehicles has been outlawed. Surveillance cameras are ubiquitous.
Franklyn Hart (Majors), a reclusive former race car driver, has lost his family to the plague. The totalitarian government has made him a propaganda spokesman for mass transit; he spends his days publicly renouncing his race-driving past, deploring the selfishness of private vehicle ownership, and exalting the virtues of public transportation. In private, however, Hart is barely able to contain his contempt for his governmental masters and the lies he is forced to repeat. He is despondent over the loss of his family, and of all the basic rights and privileges he and everyone else used to take for granted — in particular, owning and driving automobiles.
Hart has restored an orange Porsche roadster to drivable condition in secrecy by raiding junkyards in the dead of night. His goal is to drive his car from New York City across the country to "Free California", an independent territory that has broken away from the rest of totalitarian America. Young electronics whiz Ring McCarthy (Makepeace) discovers Hart's plan, and Hart reluctantly agrees to bring him along on his perilous trek across America's abandoned highways. They escape from Manhattan just ahead of police, who have also discovered the "plot."
Although there is no more petroleum, Hart has access to a virtually inexhaustible supply of gasoline, the few inches of residual fuel remaining at the bottom of every subterranean storage tank in every abandoned gas station in the country. He uses a portable hand-operated pump to refuel from these tanks as necessary.
The government, represented by a Gestapo-like figure named Hawkins (George Houliatos), must stop Hart and McCarthy at any cost, because their daring adventure has become a nationwide sensation, and is beginning to trigger calls for a return to personal autonomy and democratic government. However, ground pursuit is impossible because there are no other functional road vehicles capable of chasing down a race car. (Police patrol cars are now, basically, electric golf carts.)
Hawkins orders a retired Air Force pilot named J.G. Williams (Meredith) to track down and destroy the car in a war-relic F-86 Sabre jet. At first, Williams is caught up in the thrill of flying a fighter jet once again, and the excitement of the chase, and gives little thought to the ultimate consequences of his mission. He locates his target and strafes it, wounding Hart. Hart and McCarthy take refuge in a wooded area where they find a community of armed locals who take them in, hide the car, and treat Hart's wounds. Soon, however, a team of mercenaries under Hawkins' direction finds and attacks the community. Hart and McCarthy fire up the Porsche and escape during the firefight.
Back on the open road, Williams easily locates them again; but now he is having second thoughts. As an old rebel himself, he is starting to identify with Hart's situation. Prodded by Hawkins, Williams initiates several more confrontations, but each time he backs off, leading Hart and McCarthy to wonder what he is up to. McCarthy, the electronics whiz, rigs a radio receiver and listens in on Williams' cockpit radio communications. McCarthy establishes a dialog using Morse code via a hand-held spotlight. Eventually Williams admits that he is sympathetic to their cause.
Unfortunately, Hawkins is also monitoring Williams' radio communications, and after learning that Williams has no intention of carrying out his mission, he orders the activation of a Cold-War-era laser cannon at a position ahead of Hart's car. Williams attempts to warn Hart, but his radio communications have been jammed. Williams releases his external fuel tanks ahead of the car, hoping the inferno will stop the car short of the cannon's range; but Hart, assuming Williams has changed his mind yet again and is now attacking him, drives on. Williams strafes the laser, but cannot destroy it, so he sacrifices himself in a kamikaze-style attack, destroying his jet and the laser installation, and allowing Hart and McCarthy to drive on to California.
[edit] Home video
The movie was originally released on VHS and Laserdisc by Vestron Video which was sold to LIVE Entertainment in 1991, LIVE Entertainment changed their name to Artisan Entertainment which is now part of Lions Gate Entertainment.
[edit] In other media
In May 1989, The Last Chase was the subject of episode K20 of the cult KTMA show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
[edit] See also
- Firebird 2015 AD, a 1981 film of similar theme starring Darren McGavin.
