# The Car (1977 film)
**The Car** is a 1977 American horror film directed by Elliot Silverstein, in which a black, seemingly driverless muscle car terrorizes the small desert town of Santa Inez, Utah, and deputy sheriff Wade Parent ([James Brolin](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-brolin)) tries to stop it. [Universal Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures) released it on 13 May 1977 with a PG rating and a running time of 96 minutes.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 13 May 1977, Los Angeles and New York openings; PG rating; 96 minutes; color by Technicolor, filmed in Panavision[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) |
| Director and writers | Elliot Silverstein; screenplay by Dennis Shryack, Michael Butler, and Lane Slate[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) |
| Stars | James Brolin (Wade Parent), Kathleen Lloyd (Lauren Humphries), John Marley (Everett), with R.G. Armstrong, John Rubinstein, Kim Richards, and Kyle Richards[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) • [2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/the-car) |
| The car | Three customized Lincoln Mark III cars built by auto customizer George Barris, each with a 455-cubic-inch engine, costing $20,000 and weighing 5,550 pounds[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) |
| Filming | Began 28 Jul 1976 in Kanab, Utah; interiors at Universal Studios from 8 Sep 1976[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) |
| Critical reception | 30% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (20 reviews); Metascore 21 on Metacritic; 6.2/10 on IMDb from about 13,000 votes[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_car) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-car/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075809/ratings/) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film opens with a quotation from the satanist Anton La Vey: "Oh great brothers of the night, who rideth out upon the hot winds of Hell, who dwelleth in the devil's lair; move and appear!"[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) The devil then arrives in Santa Inez in the form of a black muscle car. Its first victims are teenagers Suzie Pullbrook and Pete Keil, bicycling on a mountain road; the car strikes Suzie and sends her over a cliff, then knocks Pete from a high bridge.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR)
Deputy sheriff Wade Parent, introduced in a morning scene with his girlfriend Lauren Humphries, a teacher at the town school, and his daughters Deborah and Lynn Marie, investigates the killings. According to the studio synopsis, Wade comes to realize that the driver of the indestructible vehicle is pure evil, and that he may be the only one who can stop it.[2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/the-car) Witnesses say the black sedan has no one behind its wheel, and when the car threatens a local school parade, the lives of the town's children and of Lauren are endangered.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_car) The film concludes with scenes of the car driving around Los Angeles, apparently waiting for new victims.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075809/plotsummary/)
## Production
**Script and title.** In November 1975, Variety reported that First Artists Productions had bid up the price of an original script called *Wheels*, by two relatively unknown writers, Dennis Shryack and Michael Butler, to $300,000. Universal Pictures won the bidding contest. In February 1976 Universal changed the title to *The Car* because [United Artists](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-artists) owned the rights to Arthur Hailey's best-selling novel, also titled *Wheels*.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) A final-draft script dated 18 July 1976, marked production No. 02094, survives in the trade.[7](https://www.royalbooks.com/pages/books/163598/kim-richards-james-brolin-ronny-cox-melody-thomas-scott-elliot-silverstein-michael-butler-dennis/the-car-original-screenplay-for-the-1977-film)
**The vehicle.** Auto customizer [George Barris](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-barris-auto-customizer) built the black car, working with stunt coordinator Everett Creach, who described the design goal as "flexible but heavy, huge, dark and aggressive." "The car" was not one vehicle but three separate customized Lincoln Mark III cars with 455-cubic-inch engines, each costing $20,000. Barris and Creach used 18-gauge steel, painted the cars charcoal gray, and laminated the windows so the drivers could see out but nobody could see in; each car weighed 5,550 pounds. Universal's production notes added that the designers lowered the Lincoln's roof and raised its side fenders to enhance its "sinister nature," and installed special safety devices to protect the drivers.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR)
**Shooting.** Filming began on 28 July 1976 in Kanab, Utah. After five weeks of location work in St. George and Kanab, the company moved to Universal Studios for interiors beginning 8 September 1976.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) The crew also included cinematographer Gerald Hirschfeld, editor Michael McCroskey, production designer Loyd S. Papez, and composer Leonard Rosenman; producers were Marvin Birdt and Elliot Silverstein.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR) • [8](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0075809/) Music heard in the film includes "Mule Skinner Blues" ([Jimmie Rodgers](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmie-rodgers) and George Vaughn), sung by James Brolin, Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun," and Sousa's "[The Stars and Stripes Forever](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stars-and-stripes-forever)."[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR)
## Reception
Contemporary and later critics were largely negative. On Metacritic the film scores 21 out of 100, labeled "generally unfavorable," based on 8 critic reviews, while its user score stands at 6.7.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-car/) Rotten Tomatoes lists a 30% Tomatometer from 20 reviews against a 53% audience score from more than 5,000 ratings.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_car) Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the performances "thin and overwrought," and Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote that there was "nothing under the surface" guiding the car.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-car/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_car) Time Out's reviewer found it "interminably drawn out" and lacking the "minatory charge" of Spielberg's *[Duel](https://www.edgepedia.org/duel-1971-film)*.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_car) Audience ratings have been warmer: IMDb records 6.2/10 from about 13,000 votes.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075809/ratings/)
## Place among killer-vehicle films
*The Car* belongs to a 1970s cluster of films about malevolent machines, arriving between [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s television feature *Duel* (1971), about a murderous truck, and [John Carpenter](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-carpenter)'s *[Christine](https://www.edgepedia.org/christine-1983-film)* (1983), about a possessed Plymouth.[9](https://www.midnightonly.com/2013/03/02/the-car-1977/) • [10](https://phlconnect.ched.gov.ph/admin/uploads/add217938e07bb1fd8796e0315b88c10/2016BookAutonomousDriving.pdf) A film-history account notes that it closely copies the plot of *Jaws*, with the rogue killer changed from a shark to a car possessed by a demon.[9](https://www.midnightonly.com/2013/03/02/the-car-1977/) The film has since remained available on home video and streaming; Universal lists it on digital and DVD, and in the mid-2020s it circulated on subscription services including AMC+ and Shudder in the United States.[2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/the-car) • [11](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/the-car-1977-24655) An NBC television edit includes additional scenes padded in for commercial breaks, which do not appear on the official 1999 DVD and VHS releases.[12](https://www.imdb.com/Title/tt0075809/)
## References
1. [The Car (1977), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55882-THE-CAR)
2. [The Car, Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/the-car)
3. [The Car, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_car)
4. [The Car Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-car/)
5. [The Car (1977) - Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075809/ratings/)
6. [The Car (1977) - Plot, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075809/plotsummary/)
7. [The Car - original screenplay, Royal Books](https://www.royalbooks.com/pages/books/163598/kim-richards-james-brolin-ronny-cox-melody-thomas-scott-elliot-silverstein-michael-butler-dennis/the-car-original-screenplay-for-the-1977-film)
8. [The Car (1977), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0075809/)
9. [The Car (1977), Midnight Only](https://www.midnightonly.com/2013/03/02/the-car-1977/)
10. [Autonomous Driving (Springer, 2016), chapter by F. Kröger](https://phlconnect.ched.gov.ph/admin/uploads/add217938e07bb1fd8796e0315b88c10/2016BookAutonomousDriving.pdf)
11. [Where to watch The Car (1977), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/the-car-1977-24655)
12. [The Car (1977), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/Title/tt0075809/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Horror thriller films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license