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second auto, believing that he will be crashing head-on into the hated Dusty. Over the loudspeaker, Gene explains to the crowd of the dangers of staging a head-on crash, saying that the stunt requires teamwork as both drivers must obtain the same speed when they crash, because if one is going slower than the other, it increases the chances of a serious injury. Thinking Dusty and the other driver are in the cars, Gene comments that the car driven by Crash is going too fast and there might be trouble. Crash smashes into Dusty's car, and Buddy Love is killed.
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new record of 100 feet. A jealous Crash verbally attacks both Dusty and Gene, claiming that the trophy should be his, denouncing Dusty is a greenhorn whose success is a matter of luck. Gene calls Crash a coward, saying that even if Dusty's success is a matter of luck, he did the dive bomber stunt whereas Crash chickened out and refused to do it. His hatred on full boil, Crash challenges Dusty to a stunt driving feat mano a mano, in which they will try to drive the other off of the road. Dusty prevails when Crash's auto rolls over due to a blown tire.
355:'s 1939 Dodge, which he rolls during his escape, destroying the 50 gallons of moonshine in the trunk. Coming back to the bar to collect him money, the bartender/moonshiner refuses to pay him and has his bouncers attack Dusty. A stranger joins the fight on Dusty's side and they escape the bar, along with Jo-Ann, a waitress Dusty has taken a fancy to. The stranger turns out to be Buddy Love and he intends to enter a
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driver Crash
Chambers, who has taken an instant dislike to Dusty, becomes jealous as he is relegated to the secondary attraction of smashing through a flaming wooden wall with his head, as he lies on the hood of an automobile. Buddy Love performs "The Slide of Death", a stunt where he is dragged in a sitting position through a burning circle of gasoline, but dreams of moving up to stunt driving.
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the stunt despite being injured and requiring clutches to make it to the event, and successfully extends his world record to 100 feet. However, upon landing in his auto on top of five parked cars, Dustry is injured and knocked unconscious. In the final scene, Jo-Ann catches a
Greyhound bus alone, and is in tears because of the tragedy as the credits roll.
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As Dusty prepares to set a world record dive bomber jump of 70 feet, Crash sabotages him by cutting his safety belt. Dusty sets the world record but is injured in the stunt. Gene arranges for him to set a new auto dive bomber record of 100 feet after a short stay in hospital. Russell goes ahead with
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Crash continues to irritate Circus of Death owner Gene, who threatens to fire him. During an event where Dusty is supposed to stage a head-in collision with another stunt driver, Buddy begs Dusty to let him drive the car, to prove himself to Drew. Crash knocks out the other driver and takes over the
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Gene hires Dusty as well as his partner Buddy, and Dusty turns out to be a first-rate stunt driver. Dusty becomes famous on the auto daredevil circuit for the dive bomber, running a speeding car off of a ramp at 55 mph, flying through the air 50 feet, and crashing down on parked cars. The stunt
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goes into the bar but doesn't have the cash to pay for the drink he orders. The bartender offers him a job for $ 100 driving a "tanker", a souped up car for running bootleg moonshine. As Dusty prepares for the run, the police arrive at the still but Dusty manages to escape, eluding the local sheriff
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The final stunt in the film, a 100-foot jump that
Russell made and which his character dies performing, actually broke the world record, which it does in the film. Lester recalled ""All the stunts were filmed at real events. They don't do those shows anymore. The vehicles they used were steel cars
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Dusty quickly develops into a record-breaking auto daredevil with his dive bomber stunt. Touring the state of Texas with the Circus of Death, Dusty ties the world record of 60 feet. At the celebration of his achievement in which Dusty is given a trophy, an inebriated Gene challenges Dusty to set a
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Lester recalled ""t was a slice of
Americana that I was trying to create out of that. Later I thought it was kind of a parable of America. The war in Vietnam was going on, and I thought this was like the gladiators of America - in cars."
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Stunt driver Ed “Chromedome” Ryan was an escaped convict wanted for armed robbery, which was revealed after the film was released. He was arrested and the movie was shown to the inmates in the prison he was incarcerated in.
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about the Circus of Death on tour, Lester signed them up to star in a fictional story about auto daredevils. The actual drivers appeared as fictionalized versions of themselves and performed all their own stunts.
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is driven at high speed off a ramp and over a measured space to come crashing down on top of parked junk cars. Russell actually was a world champion auto daredevil who set the dive bomber record while filming
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The movie, which was budgeted at $ 150,000, was shot in 21 days. Dusty
Russell was credited as associate producer under his real name Robert Hanna. The movie was first released in the
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for copyright at the time it was released, despite an on-screen copyright notice. Lester registered the copyright in 2002 by Mark L. Lester, under the number RE-862-134.
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but lacks a car. Dusty offers to use the bootlegger's car he ran the moonshine in for the derby, and they become partners. Dusty and Jo-Ann become lovers.
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Mark L. Lester saw Dusty
Russell and the other stunt drivers who appear in the movie at an auto daredevils show in
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and the rolling-over of cars. One of the daredevils, an old German (Dutch
Schnitzler, playing himself), does the
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Driving in the demolition derby, Dusty is the last car running and wins the purse of $ 300. The derby promoter,
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The fictional Dusty ties and then breaks the world record for the auto "dive bomber," a stunt where a
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from the 60's. The cars today would collapse if they rolled over and crashed like in the movie."
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After being dropped off in front of a bar in a town in rural
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Mark L. Lester-Peter S. Traynor
Productions did not officially submit
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as "Atom Man", lying in a flimsy box that is blown up by dynamite.
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AFI Catalog of
Feature Films: The First Hundred Years (1893-1993)
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580:"Steel Arena Blu-ray (Dark Force Entertainment Exclusive)"
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The film was released on Blu-ray on December 31, 2018.
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204:school of mainstream redneck films such a
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935:Cultural depictions of American people
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940:Biographical films about sportspeople
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930:Sports films based on actual events
351:and state police in the bar owner/
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915:Films directed by Mark L. Lester
475:List of American films of 1973
198:feature film directorial debut
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925:Films about stunt performers
895:1970s English-language films
885:1973 directorial debut films
582:– via www.blu-ray.com.
562:"The Films of Mark L Lester"
281:Himself (a.k.a. "Atom Man")
905:American sports drama films
370:who perform stunts such as
16:1973 film by Mark L. Lester
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538:. American Film Institute
448:Atlanta metropolitan area
416:Atlanta metropolitan area
33:Theatrical release poster
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920:Films shot in California
900:1970s sports drama films
764:Night of the Running Man
748:Showdown in Little Tokyo
692:Gold of the Amazon Women
676:Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw
299:Himself ("Chrome Dome")
192:written and directed by
560:Cribbs, John (2011).
438:The working title of
418:in early April 1973.
207:Smokey and the Bandit
200:. A precursor of the
910:American drama films
880:1970s American films
532:"Steel Arena (1973)"
404:Berkeley, California
376:Texas dynamite trick
732:Armed and Dangerous
668:White House Madness
495:"Steel Arena (DVD)"
188:is a 1973 American
96:John Arthur Morrill
638:Films directed by
372:head-on collisions
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190:sports drama film
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313:Bruce Mackey
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157:Running time
134:Release date
85:Laura Brooks
844:Pterodactyl
796:Misbegotten
788:Double Take
716:Firestarter
652:Steel Arena
598:Steel Arena
455:Steel Arena
440:Steel Arena
227:Steel Arena
185:Steel Arena
57:Produced by
39:Directed by
22:Steel Arena
875:1973 films
869:Categories
836:White Rush
481:References
461:Home media
398:Production
353:moonshiner
304:Dan Carter
258:Buddy Love
161:98 minutes
120:Production
114:Don Tweedy
49:Written by
364:Gene Drew
331:Eric Nord
267:Gene Drew
222:stock car
196:, in his
101:Edited by
828:Betrayal
812:Blowback
724:Commando
542:5 August
505:6 August
469:See also
307:Himself
271:Himself
261:Himself
253:Himself
174:Language
111:Music by
74:Starring
325:Jo-Ann
296:Ed Ryan
177:English
166:Country
145:1973-04
143: (
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847:(2005)
839:(2003)
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807:(1999)
799:(1998)
791:(1998)
783:(1997)
780:The Ex
775:(1996)
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751:(1991)
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735:(1986)
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719:(1984)
711:(1982)
703:(1979)
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687:(1977)
684:Stunts
679:(1976)
671:(1975)
663:(1974)
655:(1973)
243:Role
240:Actor
603:IMDb
544:2023
507:2023
442:was
342:Plot
233:Cast
601:at
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