Corky

Rural Texas racecar mechanic and sometime driver Corky Curtiss is an ambitious, reckless, angry man - never more so than when he sits in the driver's seat and weaves through the pack at a competition. Eager to make his name on the stock-car circuit, he abandons his wife and family. But small racing successes here and there can't mask his failures or his growing frustration. As setbacks mount, Corky draws closer to violent rage. One of a 197os-era string of character-driven films about loners and misfits, Corky draws unsettling power from Robert Blake's intense, all-in lead performance (three years before his popular TV series Baretta). Charlotte Rampling (The Night Porter, The Verdict) plays the deserted wife who ably rebuilds her life. Roaring racing action infuses this tale that includes appearances by Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker, Cale Yarborough and more NASCAR stars.

• drama