Review of The California Kid (1974) by Gary J — 28 Jul 2008

The California Kid is one of the few times I've seen Martin Sheen in his younger days. Sheen in this 1974 made for TV film is basically a thinner version of Emilio and maybe a little more mysterious in his looks..(great hair).

Sheen is great in this role where he's a rambling young man cruising the California coast in his souped up hot rod complete with flames and the moniker "California Kid" painted on the the side of the car!

Sheen happens upon the small dusty town of Clarksburg.

While there he runs head on into the town bully-killer-sheriff!!! The Sheriff played perfectly by a disgruntled and angry Vic Morrow (he's perfect for this role)..

Sheen realizes there's more to this bully bad lawman than just his fast cop car with wings like all the old cars used to sport. The sheriff is sporting quite a past and deals with it by killing young folk in some scary ways involving a certain dangerous curve and fast cars...

It's not long before Sheen and Morrow's characters lock horns and Sheen finally takes matters into his own hands for justice in what turns out to be a fairly predictable but fun to watch ending.

I found myself rooting for the poor town folk terrorized by Morrow's character.

This is a super fun film to watch and there's a cool mechanic played by a fresh Nick Nolte who befriends Sheen.

I highly recommend this summer hot rod movie that spins you right into a good versus bad scenario from the first scene.