DVD Review: “Eat My Dust (Supercharged Edition)”

Mid-70s entry from the Roger Corman microbudget factory, designed to capitalize on the then-popularity of Happy Days star Howard. He made a deal with Corman to star in this if he could make his directing debut with Grand Theft Auto (which he did the next year). Opie’s Oscars were far in the future. Here he’s Hoover Niebold, sorry son of the sherriff (Kemmerling) in a small California town. In order to impress comely Darlene (Norris), he swipes a ’67 orange Camaro belonging to a hot-dog stock-car racer (Madden, post-Partridge Family). Most of the movie is taken up with Hoover putting the muscle car through its paces while pursued by Dad and a host of inept deputies. That’s pretty much it. This supercharged edition is digitally mastered, and includes a making-of featurette with Norris plus the editor and director of photography…strangely missing is Corman (who appeared in an interview on the previous DVD release of this movie), and Richie Cunningham of course. Mrs. C. wouldn’t have approved.