When you talk about late 70s regional drive-in cinema, Stingray is an absolute slice of Midwest exploitation action that demands respect. Directed by Southern Illinois University film professor Richard Taylor, this isn’t just another post-Smokey and the Bandit gearhead flick—it’s a gritty, weird, relentlessly paced indie bullet-and-asphalt thriller that somehow bridges the gap between pure cartoon slapstick and hardcore crime.
The setup is classic drive-in simplicity: Drug dealers Murray Lonigan (William C. Watson) and Tony Agrosio (Bert Hinchman) execute a million-dollar buy, double-cross their buyers, and stash both the cash and a heavy load of heroin inside a pristine red 1963 Corvette Stingray sitting on a used car lot while the heat blows over. Enter two carefree, turn-off-your-brain buddies: Al (Christopher Mitchum) and Elmo (Les Lannom). They buy the ‘Vette, completely oblivious to the illicit payload tucked behind the seats. When their ruthless mob boss—the foul-mouthed, submachine-gun-toting Abigail Bratowski (Sherry Jackson)—discovers the car was sold, a non-stop, multi-county pursuit kicks into gear across the backroads, bars and construction sites of Illinois and St. Louis. Along the way, we get high-speed chases, barroom brawls, accidental paint-job disasters in car washes and enough wild shootouts to make Carey Loftin’s stunt crew sweat.
Introduced disguised as a swearing, chain-smoking nun, Sherry Jackson’s Abigail steps out of her habit to unleash hell with automatic weapons, stolen motorcycles and a bulldozer. She owns every single moment of this movie, and it’s no wonder this was released in some markets as Abigail: Wanted.
In a massive piece of genre history, legendary special makeup effects artist and director John Carl Buechler (Troll, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Cellar Dweller) got his very first feature film job on Stingray doing makeup! He also made his hilarious acting debut as “The Flamer,” an obnoxious bar patron at Ronnie B’s who gets his crotch set on fire by Sherry Jackson.
More trivia? MGM was shooting their Corvette movie at the exact same time under the working title Stingray. MGM tried to force Taylor’s indie production to surrender the title, but because the MPAA title registration applied only to major studios’ gentlemen’s agreements, Taylor’s team held their ground. MGM was forced to rename their picture Corvette Summer. Beyond shooting at the same time in 1977 and hitting theaters in June 1978, both Stingray and Corvette Summer feature red Corvettes, include scenes where the cars are painted a new color to hide from pursuers, and feature chases through gravel pits and a trip through an automatic car wash.
Not to be outdone, Mad Foxes was released in several overseas territories as Stingray 2, solely to cash in on this film’s international drive-in circuit reputation, complete with the chrome Stingray font on its poster art!
For decades, the unedited, bloodier Director’s Cut was thought to be lost. In 2019, the original 35mm elements were literally rescued from director Richard Taylor’s garage! The film was restored for a sold-out 40th Anniversary screening at the historic Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, Illinois—the very venue seen on-screen 29 minutes into the movie (where the marquee ironically advertises Smokey and the Bandit).
You can watch this on Tubi.
