Bullet Points: White Line Fever (1975)
Over the years we have covered a number of trucksploitation movies that capitalized on the CB radio craze of the 1970’s. But in this edition of Bullet Points, I thought I would revisit my personal favorite of the bunch, 1975’s White Line Fever…
- Homecoming: As the opening credits of White Line Fever begin, we see Carroll Jo Hummer (Jan-Michael Vincent, Defiance) returning home to Tucson, after a tour of Vietnam. Carroll Jo is greeted by his bride-to-be, Jerri (Kay Lenz, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown). Before the credits are over, we see the lovebirds tie the knot, then buy themselves a truck and just like that, the Blue Mule and Carroll Jo’s career as an independent trucker is born!
- Second Generation: Carroll Jo is following in the footsteps of his truck driving father, and turns to his dad’s old running buddy, Duane Haller (Slim Pickens, The White Buffalo) at Red River Trucking, when he’s looking for work. Duane wastes no time hooking up Carroll Jo with a load of manure that needs to go to Akron. But when Carroll Jo spots his trailer being loaded with cigarettes and slot machines in addition to the cow shit, he wants no part of it… Duane tries to smooth things over with him, telling him things aren’t like they were in the old days and that they are only bending the law, not breaking it… Carroll Jo knows if he’s stopped and that contraband is found, he’ll lose his license, so he demands that the manure is unloaded from his trailer and that’s about the time he has his first confrontation with Clem (Martin Kove, To Be the Best). Clem and his fellow goons were responsible for loading and unloading the manure… and when Carroll Jo finds that his trailer now has manure spread all over it, he knocks Clem right into the shit, before he drives off.
- From Bad to Worse: Things aren’t going to get any better for Carroll Jo, as he is pulled over by the obviously on the take Deputy Sheriff, who stops Carroll Jo for improperly inflated tires, even though there was nothing wrong with the tires. When a more urgent call comes over the police radio, the Deputy handcuffs Carroll Jo to his own truck, then drives off. Moments later, a shit covered Clem and company show up and beat the crap out of a defenseless Carroll Jo. They end up busting Carroll Jo’s ribs and sending him a message.
- Keep on Truckin’: Against doctor’s orders, Carroll Jo goes back to work and when he realizes he’s being blackballed, he makes a return visit to Red River to see Duane… and this time he brings his shotgun! And that’s when Carroll Jo meets the man who is representing the corporate interests of the long-haul trucking industry, Buck Wessle (L.Q. Jones, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann). Buck seemingly kowtows to Carroll Jo’s demands… but it’s all mind games and the start of the back and forth between Buck and his goons and Carroll Jo and some of his fellow truckers (most notably Pops) who are fed up with the corruption that is being forced upon them.
- People Who Work in Glass Houses: With talk of the truckers unionizing, getting rid of Carroll Jo becomes a top priority for Red River’s corporate owners, Glass House… There’s an attempt to frame Carroll Jo for the murder of Duane Haller, but that doesn’t make it past the grand jury stage, thanks to Jerri taking the stand… Then Carroll Jo and a now pregnant Jerri are attacked and nearly burned alive in their home! After the attack, Jerri ends up in the hospital. And it’s there that Carroll Jo learns that Jerri lost the baby she was carrying and worse, that she’ll never be able to have children… Carroll Jo snaps and visits the Glass House corporate headquarters which sets up the most spectacular scene in the movie!
White Line Fever may be one of the most efficient action movies I have ever experienced. There is little to no downtime as the unwavering Carroll Jo Hummer is forced to become a truck driving vigilante fighting the avarice fueled “corporation” that has contaminated the trucking industry. There’s fist fights, shoot outs on the road, multiple murders and plenty of destruction to go around! White Line Fever is pure 70’s gold… in fact it is so 70’s it’s harvest gold!
Allow me to harvest some Bonus Bullet Points before I hit the road…
- Familiar Faces: Dick Miller (Chopping Mall and Gremlins) plays Birdie Corman, one of Carroll Jo’s fellow truckers… R.G. Armstrong (Lone Wolf McQuade and Predator) plays The Prosecutor, who is in cahoots with Glass House and hatches the scheme to frame Carroll Jo for murder.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Kay Lenz work at a Dr. Pepper bottling plant, then White Line Fever is the movie for you.
- Name That Tune: I couldn’t help but notice what sounded like the Muzak version of “Midnight at the Oasis”, while Jerri was waiting to see a doctor and learn that she was pregnant.