Released in 1975 on the heels of three other road movies (Harry and Tonto, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and Macon County Line, all 1974), the film went into pre-production in late 1973 with the hiring of stars Mackenzie Phillips (who had just done American Graffiti and would become a familiar TV face on One Day at a Time) and M*A*S*H (1970) actress Sally Kellerman formally announced on November 26 and 29 respectively. Arkin had been announced in the industry trades on May 14, 1973, after taking over for Jack Nicholson, who was engaged on other projects and wouldn't be able to make the delayed start of filming later that year. Of the principal cast, the New York-based Arkin was the only non-Los Angeles native; he had to be flown in and resided at the Bel Air Hotel for the first portion of the shoot.
The film's production was slated to be shot in Hollywood from December through early January, then moving to Las Vegas, Nevada and a handful of Arizona locales including Phoenix, Sedona and Tucson. The production finally wrapped in mid-February, but it wouldn't open until exactly one year later as a Warner Bros. release. The film turned out to be a very modest critical and commercial success, finding more recognition via numerous TV airings under the new title of Rafferty and the Highway Hustlers, a name bestowed for its NBC TV premiere in 1977 presumably to avoid the drug implications of the original title. Critical praise came from such names as Liz Smith, who called it "an improbably but funny film which goes places" in Cosmopolitan, but its biggest fan was Pauline Kael, whose review in The New Yorker opined, "It sneaks up on you - you discover it, like a 'sleeper.' I found it a funny, velvety film, with the kind of tenderness that you can almost feel on your fingertips. The picture isn't directed for straightforward excitement; it's a sidewise vision."
The script for the feature was penned by underground rock writer John Kaye (not to be confused with the front man of Steppenwolf), who got his start on the cult NBC affiliate variety program The Lohman and Barkley Show and went on to pen such films as American Hot Wax (1978), Where the Buffalo Roam (1980), and Forever Lulu (2000), which he also directed. In an amusing satirical gesture, directorial duties were handed to seasoned TV commercial helmer Dick Richards, which explains the numerous cheeky corporate references throughout the film including the fact that both female leads are named after familiar product brands, Frisbee and Mac. However, even more fun than spotting the pop culture nods is spotting character actors in the cast, with familiar faces like Harry Dean Stanton, Alex Rocco, and Phillips' American Graffiti costar Charles Martin Smith popping up for thespian support and even musicians Louis Prima and Sam Butera popping up for cameos. Adding to the fun is the catchy score by Artie Butler, which rides the wave of nostalgia-themed soundtracks inaugurated by The Sting (1973) by incorporating renditions of "Get Happy," "It's Magic," and "You Are My Sunshine," which is adapted as the main theme and the musical thesis of a good-natured film that still provides a good-natured snapshot of an indelible moment of California cinematic history.
By Nathaniel Thompson
