Wheels of Fire (film)

Last updated

Wheels of Fire
Wheels of Fire 1985 Movie Poster.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by Cirio H. Santiago
Written byFrederick Bailey
Story byEllen Collett
Produced byCirio H. Santiago
Armida Reynolds
StarringGary Watkins
Laura Banks
Lynda Wiesmeier
Linda Grovenor
CinematographyRicardo Remias
Edited by Gervacio Santos (as George Saint)
Music by Christopher Young
Production
company
Rodeo
Distributed by Concorde Pictures
Release date
  • September 1985 (1985-09)
Running time
81 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Philippines
LanguageEnglish

Wheels of Fire (Also known as Vindicator and Desert Warrior [1] ) is a 1985 American-Philippines film directed by Cirio H. Santiago. It was partly financed by Roger Corman and was one of the first movies distributed by Corman's new company, Concorde Pictures. [2]

Contents

Plot

In a post-apocalyptic future, the only semblance of order is an organized militia called "The Ownership" which seeks to peacefully convert scattered settlements to stable governments loyal to them, Trace is a wanderer who once worked for The Ownership, who is joined by his sister Arlie and her boyfriend, Bo; having saved them from a confrontation with a local gang.

Trace, Arlie and Bo soon encounter a band led by a man called "Scourge" and split up, Trace defeats the bandits following him, but Bo and Arlie are captured by Scourge's men. Bo is allowed to join the bandits, Arlie is taken by Scourge to be his sex slave. Back on the road, Trace saves a Mercenary called 'Stinger' from Scourge's men and the two join forces and continue on. Stinger and Trace find a group of 'Sand People' and rescue a psychic captive called 'Spike' who also joins them.

Stinger, Spike, and Trace leave together and find an Ownership fuel convoy that was attacked. They return the sole survivor to his community of 'True believers', Trace leave Stinger and Spike with the True Believers and continues on to find his sister. Scourge's men attack and destroy the True Believer camp, and when Trace returns he finds Stinger and the Ownership forces plotting a retaliatory strike. Trace notices his sisters locket around the neck of one of Scourge's dead men, In a rage, Trace ignores Stinger's requests for him to wait for the Ownership forces and a joint strike and goes alone.

Trace goes to Scourge's fortress and finds Arlie, while escaping Trace realizes that the Ownership is advancing into a trap set by Scourge. Arlie dies while disarming the trap before it destroys the Ownership forces. Outnumbered, Scourge runs away but Trace catches up with him and kills him with Arlie's car. Stinger leads the Ownership troops in claiming the fortress and is killed by Scourge's second in command.

Cast

Production

Wheels of Fire was filmed in part in the island of Corregidor in the Philippines. [3]

Roger Corman invested money in the film. He had previously invested in a similar movie from Santiago, Styker (1983) which was distributed by Corman's former company, New World Pictures. However that company refused to distribute Wheels of Fire, contributing to Corman suing New World and setting up his own distribution arm again, Concorde Pictures. That company distributed Wheels of Fire. [2]

Footage from the movie was reused in another post apocalpytic story shot in the Philippines directed by Santiago, Raiders of the Sun .

Critical reception

Variety called Wheels of Fire a 'Bargain-Basement rip-off of The Road Warrior series' [4]

The Los Angeles Times said "the script is not just bad it's unspeakably bad, soaked through with grungy, low life sadism." [5]

One critic called it "this limp entry into the mid-’80s post-apocalyptic adventure genre" which "may have the undesirable triple honor of being the suckiest, sleaziest and dullest of the many Road Warrior rip-offs." [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Corman</span> American film director, producer, and actor (1926–2024)

Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.

Gervacio Santos is a Filipino film editor. During his career, he was considered one of the most demanded in his field. Gervacio has worked under numerous pseudonyms including: George Santos, Gerry Santos, Herb Bas, Bas Santos, and Bass Santos. He has earned numerous awards, including three Famas Awards for Kalibre 45 (1957), Cavalry Command (1963) and Scout Rangers (1964). He won Best Film Editing Awards in both the Metro Manila Film Festival for "Remembrance" and in the Quezon City Film Festival for "Alyas Bagsik".

Cirio Hermoso Santiago was a Filipino film producer, director and writer. He used the screen names Cirio Santiago, Cirio H. Santiago, Leonardo Hermoso, and Leonard Hermes.

<i>School Spirit</i> 1985 film by Alan Holleb

School Spirit is a 1985 American comedy film about a college student who is killed in a car accident and returns as a ghost to haunt his school. The film was directed by Alan Holleb, and stars Tom Nolan, Roberta Collins, and Larry Linville.

<i>Bloodfist</i> 1989 film

Bloodfist is a 1989 American martial arts film directed by Terence H. Winkless, starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Rob Kaman, Billy Blanks and Cris Aguilar. The plot sees an American former kickboxer travel to Manila, where he re-enters competition to avenge the murder of his brother and fellow fighter.

<i>Barbarian Queen</i> 1985 American-Argentine fantasy film

Barbarian Queen is a 1985 American-Argentine fantasy film starring Lana Clarkson, directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Howard R. Cohen. The film premiered in April 1985 in the United States. It was executive produced by Roger Corman, and it was the third in a series of ten movies that Corman produced in Argentina during the 1980s.

<i>Cocaine Wars</i> 1985 film directed by Héctor Olivera

Cocaine Wars is a 1985 Argentine-American action film directed by Héctor Olivera and starring John Schneider, Federico Luppi, Rodolfo Ranni and Royal Dano. It was written by Olivera, Steven M. Krauzer and David Viñas. The associate producer of the film was Fernando Ayala. It premiered in Argentina on June 25, 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B movies since the 1980s</span>

Cinematic exhibition of the B movie, defined as a relatively low-cost genre film, has declined substantially from the early 1980s to the present. Spurred by the historic success of several big-budget movies with B-style themes beginning in the mid-1970s, the major Hollywood studios moved progressively into the production of A-grade films in genres that had long been low-budget territory. With the majors also adopting exploitation-derived methods of booking and marketing, B movies began to be squeezed out of the commercial arena. The advent of digital cinema in the new millennium appeared to open up new opportunities for the distribution of inexpensive genre movies.

<i>Wizards of the Lost Kingdom</i> 1985 American film

Wizards of the Lost Kingdom is a 1985 sword and sorcery film written by Ed Naha and directed by Héctor Olivera. It stars Bo Svenson as Kor the Conqueror, Vidal Peterson as Simon, and Thom Christopher as Shurka. The film is one of ten that Roger Corman produced in Argentina during the 1980s, beginning with Deathstalker in 1983.

<i>The Hunt for Eagle One</i> 2006 film

The Hunt for Eagle One is a 2006 direct-to-video war film directed by Brian Clyde and produced by Roger Corman, starring Mark Dacascos, Theresa Randle, Ricardo Cepeda, Rutger Hauer, Joe Suba, and Zach McGowan. Set during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Philippines, the film follows a team of U.S. Marines who attempt to rescue a captured U.S. Marine Corps captain and an Armed Forces of the Philippines major, while tracking down a group of al-Qaeda terrorists intent on launching biological weapons.

<i>Deathstalker</i> (1983 film) 1983 sword and sorcery film

Deathstalker, also known as El cazador de la muerte, is a 1983 Argentine-American sword and sorcery film directed by James Sbardellati, and starring Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Bernard Erhard and Lana Clarkson.

<i>Savage!</i> (1973 theatrical film) 1973 film by Cirio H. Santiago

Savage! is a 1973 American-Philippines action film with elements of blaxploitation. The funding and distribution came from Roger Corman's New World Pictures which also provided the leading players from among a number of American actors who regularly appeared in such features. It was produced and directed by Cirio H. Santiago who, between 1973 and his death in 2008, partnered with Corman on over 40 Philippines-based action-adventure exploitation films which took advantage of much lower local production costs.

New Concorde (NC) is an American Los Angeles, California based film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons (CNH) as one of the first production companies to develop and take advantage of video as a distribution tool.

<i>Fly Me</i> 1973 exploitation film

Fly Me is a 1973 exploitation film directed by Cirio H. Santiago and produced by Roger Corman. The story concerns flight attendants, international drug smuggling, kung fu, and nudity. It was poorly received by critics.

<i>Angel of Destruction</i> 1994 American film

Angel of Destruction is a 1994 film directed by Charles Philip Moore and starring Maria Ford, and Charlie Spradling. The film, produced and distributed by Concorde-New Horizons, was a Roger Corman production.

<i>Stryker</i> (1983 film) 1983 action film directed by Cirio H. Santiago

Stryker is a Philippine action film directed by Cirio H. Santiago. The film is set in the future where after a nuclear holocaust, survivors battle each other over the remaining water in the world.

Streetwalkin' is a 1985 American thriller film starring Melissa Leo. It was an early film from Concorde Pictures.

The Sisterhood is a 1988 American action/adventure/science fiction film directed by Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago.

Jose Mari Hontiveros Avellana was a Filipino actor, screenwriter, director, and production designer.

The Devastator is a 1986 American-Philippine film starring Rick Hill and Katt Shea directed by Cirio H. Santiago. The film was also known as The Destroyers.

References

  1. DoctorSF. "Wheels of Fire – Cirio H. Santiago (1985)". Scifi-Movies. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. 1 2 London, Michael (March 6, 1985). "Film Clips: Corman, New World Sue in a Battle for Control". Los Angeles Times. p. i1.
  3. "The Ruins of Corregidor". Fire in the Jungle. January 22, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  4. "Wheels of Fire". Variety . 320: 26. September 18, 1985.
  5. "'Desert Warrior' takes a detour from 'Road'". The Los Angeles Times Part 6. September 17, 1985. p. 3.
  6. "Wheels of Fire". Destroy all movies. 2010. p. 434.