Jump
Cast & Crew
Joe Manduke
Tom Ligon
Logan Ramsey
Collin Wilcox-horne
Norman Rose
Lada Edmund Jr.
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
As Chester Jump drives home to his rural family, he recalls his mother Ernestine, a deeply religious woman, and father Lester urging him to earn money and contribute to the household rather than work on his beloved Chevy. Despite Chet's attempt to help support his family and pay rent on the barn he uses as a makeshift garage, they consider him selfish. At the local drive-in restaurant, Chet flirts with waitress Enid, but when two couples drive up in a hotrod, he abandons her to goad them into racing him on a road by the airport. Betting all of his money, $170, he explains the dangerous crossover course, then reveals he has tricked them by switching his engine into its hidden overdrive capacity. Chet easily wins the race, and when the car owner has only a personal check to pay him, Chet takes car parts as collateral, promising to return them if the check does not bounce. Back home, Lester, who drinks too much, criticizes his son for using expensive electricity in the barn at night and racing his car, but afterward the two retire to the porch together to drink beer and listen to the radio. There, Lester worries about Chet's sister Mercy, who has dropped out of high school to sit around all day reading the Bible. Finally, Lester asks Chet with pride about his racing, but when he asserts that Chet will never be able to soup up the old Chevy enough to win, Chet says he is willing to bet on himself. In town, Chet visits his girl friend, Beulah, for dinner, but when he reveals he plans to quit his packing plant job to race full-time, she realizes he will leave her, and throws him out spitefully. At home, Lester, who still recalls the deprivations of the Depression and his years of working twelve hours per day in the mines, is furious at the news that Chet is quitting, while Ernestine urges him to give her his cash and quotes the Bible to him. Chet then pleads with Mercy to return to school, counseling her that there is a whole world outside the house, but she preaches to him from her beloved Bible, causing him to leave in dismay. That night, he returns to Enid, who agrees to go to a bar with him later. There, they meet and drink with Charlie and his three upper-class friends, but when Charlie snootily declares that American racing requires no skill, Chet challenges them to an all-night race to Tampa, Florida for $300. As the race begins, Enid finds herself thrilled by the danger. After Charlie is stopped for speeding, Chet effortlessly bests the others, after which they all go to breakfast together. Soon after, Chet enters a local dirt race, his first professional attempt, and although his car falters, his performance attracts the attention of Babe Duggers, the owner of a chain of car dealers and garages. Babe, along with wife April Mae, offers Chet a sponsorship and the use of his garage in exchange for Chet working as his mechanic. When Chet agrees, Babe gives him $1,000 in credit, "for a small monthly interest." Chet begins working closely with a German mechanic named Dutchman, who teaches the young upstart about the sophisticated instruments. Impressed with Chet's work and his Chevy, Dutchman grows close to Chet and supervises the work on his car. With Babe's loan, Chet is able to buy a quick change rear end, and with the additional power, wins his next race. April Mae calls him into the office to present his trophy, and there asks him to drive her around on Sunday. Although Chet is uncomfortable with the plans, he feels compelled to say yes. Later, after Babe delivers a fiery rant to his mechanics, berating them about their poor service and threatening to fire them, another employee reveals to Chet that every man in the shop, including Dutchman, is in debt to Babe and forced to stay on. That weekend, April Mae invites Chet to watch Babe filming a commercial in which he entices viewers to buy his expensive remade cars. Although April Mae scorns and ridicules Babe, Chet is saddened by his boss's duplicitousness. Soon after, he enters his first significant race, and is pulling ahead when his brashness results in him being shut out by the more experienced drivers. Babe immediately reassigns him to a dangerous, small-time rally in which the last car standing is the one that wins. Chet manages to hold on and win the violent competition, but upon finishing, climbs out of his battered Chevy and walks off the track in disgust.
Director
Joe Manduke
Cast
Tom Ligon
Logan Ramsey
Collin Wilcox-horne
Norman Rose
Lada Edmund Jr.
Sudie Bond
Conrad Bain
Bette Craig
Vicki Lynn
Jack Nance
Ron St. Germain
Johnny Hicks
The Kentucky Mountain Boys
James Tallent
Drew Denbaum
Judd Hirsch
Paul Sorvino
Sally Kirkland
Crew
Louis Antzes
Peter Casperson
Barbara Claman
William P. Cressler
Jonathan L. Croll
Drew Denbaum
Jeffrey Devlin
Christopher C. Dewey
Christopher C. Dewey
Rena Donze
Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards
Dennis Friedland
Keith Gardner
Harold Glaze
Larry Goodwin
Al Gramaglia
Andy Greenhut
Charles Hansen
Barbara Kerwin
Betty Kerwin
Bill Kerwin
Robert Koster
David Lang
Frank Lewin
Allan Macdougal
Rafael Macia
George Manasse
Michael Moyse
Martin Mull
John Murray
George T. Norris
Norman Paul
Sandy Perales
Minervino Rojas
Fred Roos
Dan Sable
Greg Sandor
Michael Scott
Gordon Solie
Greg Solie
Jess Sorali
Hugh Valentine
Sal Vitale
Richard Wheelwright
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
After its initial release, Jump was re-released under the title Fury on Wheels, the title of the print viewed. Although the onscreen credits include a copyright statement for May Films Ltd., the film was not registered for copyright until December 20, 1999, at which point May Films received the registration number RE-815-170. Jonathan Edwards' onscreen credit reads: "Music performed by." Edwards wrote and sang several of the songs heard throughout the film. Although two songs were identified, the titles of the remaining compositions have not been determined.
The opening credits appear over a sequence in which "Chester Jump" is driving and recalling various conversations with his parents, establishing the family's poverty and reliance on religion. Those conversations appear on one side of a split screen while the image of Chet driving continues on the other side of the screen.
Jump was shot on location in Tampa, FL. A October 28, 1970 Variety article noted the production would cost around $500,000 and all post-production work would take place in New York laboratories. The film marked director Joseph Manduke's first feature.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1971
Released in United States 1971
