He's powered his Harley over cars, trucks, lions, infernos and plummeted headlong into a canyon. But if the mob has its way, his next incredible leap will land him six feet under.He's powered his Harley over cars, trucks, lions, infernos and plummeted headlong into a canyon. But if the mob has its way, his next incredible leap will land him six feet under.He's powered his Harley over cars, trucks, lions, infernos and plummeted headlong into a canyon. But if the mob has its way, his next incredible leap will land him six feet under.
- Norman Clark
- (as Ernie Orsatti)
- Fan at the Bleachers
- (uncredited)
- Reporter
- (uncredited)
- Kids Crowd Member
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film premiered in June 1977, three months before Evel Knievel and his associates attacked promoter Shelly Saltman with an aluminum baseball bat on September 21, 1977. With Knievel losing most of his sponsorship and marketing deals as a result of the bad publicity, the film became much less commercially attractive, only opening in four further international markets after Knievel's conviction. In addition, the wholesome image of Knievel the movie promoted and the plot point concerning Knievel's promoter being corrupt seemed ill-judged in the light of the events that saw Knievel imprisoned. As a result, the film fell into comparative obscurity until the DVD release.
- GoofsDuring this film various characters put on helmets 20+ times and never does anyone use a chin strap, thus rendering the helmets basically useless.
- Quotes
Jessie: End of the line Evel.
Evel Knieval: What did you say?
Jessie: End of the line, man.
Evel Knieval: What are you talking about, your suppose to be at the other end.
Jessie: No. I always have been before, but not anymore. Today is my turn, my shot at the glory, I'm making this jump.
Evel Knieval: What are you talking about. Those people paid their pesos to see me jump.
Jessie: No way, man. I'm jumping. I've always known I was better than you. Today I'm gonna prove it. Now you just get out of my way.
Evel Knieval: Hey! You been smoking something? You're high!
Jessie: Man, maybe you oughtta get high! Hey man, Millard wants to kill you and your buddy Will to. You know, he even thinks he's gonna kill me.
Evel Knieval: Why? Why would he do that?
Jessie: Millard only brought you down here for one purpose and that's to take your body back to the United States as cover for about fifty million bucks worth of cocaine.
Evel Knieval: Look, I've got a jump to make.
[Jessie hits Evel in the head with his helmet and is knocks him out]
Evel Knieval: .
- ConnectionsEdited into E! True Hollywood Story: Evel Knievel (1998)
Almost the entire production crew is from the Irwin Allen camp including legendary special effects man L.B. Abbott (what for you ask -- I didn't see any 'special effects?). Even Allen's costume designer, Paul Zastupnevich, is along for the ride. Allen's wife played the Mother Superior in the famed scene where the orphan throws his crutches away at the sight of seeing Evel as he sneaks into the orphanage in the middle of the night(!).
The story behind this film is that producer Sherrill Corwin (who was the head of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences during the '70s), was a major financial contributor to Irwin Allen's "Poseidon Adventure" and "Towering inferno." Allen needed backing because the studios baulked at the high production costs. But, by the mid-70s Irwin was 'The Man' and now it was 'pay back time' for Corwin when he wanted to hype Knievel, who by that time was a superstar among the teen-set. True, Evel Knievel WAS bankable when it came to packing arenas, selling lunch boxes, action figures and toy motorcycles. Problem was that in the acting department Evel was as wooden as a tree trunk and this movie shows it.
Not helping matters was the horrendous screenplay by Norman Katkov and Antonio Santillian (whoever he is), and the ingredients for a GRADE A Turkey were assured. It is surprising that Katkov co-penned such a bad script since he was also responsible for the famous "Blood and Orchids" mini-series of the early '80s. But then again, he was also one of the primary contributors to the screenplay for another Irwin Allen travesty: "The Return of Captain Nemo" (aka "Amazing Captain Nemo"), a mini-series produced or should I say released the following year.
"Viva Knievel" is best enjoyed by those suffering from insomnia or otherwise get their kicks from bad-movie marathons.
- ddc300
- Oct 28, 2006
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Seconds to Live
- Filming locations
- Veterans Memorial Stadium - 508 E. Lew Davis Street, Long Beach, California, USA(stadium at beginning of film)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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