sources:
Steven Cohan and Ina Rae Hark, eds. The Road Movie Book (Routledge, 1997)
David Laderman, Driving Visions: Exploring the Raod Movie (Univ. of Texas, 2002)
Jack Sargeant & Stephanie Watson, Lost Highways: An Illustrated History of Road Movies (Creation Books, 1999)
Mark Williams, Road Movies: The Complete Guide to Cinema on Wheels (Proteus, 1982)
1932
The Crowd Roars – Howard Hawks (James Cagney, Joan Blondell)
1939
Indianapolis Freeway (a/k/a Roaring Road) – Lloyd Bacon
(Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, John Payne)
*The Wizard of Oz – Victor Fleming
1940
*The Grapes of Wrath – John Ford (Henry Fonda, John Carradine)
Road to Singapore – Victor Schertzinger
They Drive by NIght – Raoul Walsh
(George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan)
Thunder Road – Arthur Ripley (Robt. MItchum, Keely Smith)
1941
Sullivan’s Travels – Preston Sturges
1942
Road to Morocco – David Butler
1943
Truck Busters – B. Reaves Eason
1944
The Last Ride – D. Ross Lederman
1945
Detour – Edgar G. Ulmar
1947
Desperate – Anthony Mann (Raymond Burr, Jason Robards)
Road to Rio – Norman Z. McLeod
1948
They Live By Night – Nicholas Ray
1949
Gun Crazy – Joseph H. Lewis
They Live by Night – Nicholas Ray
Thieves’ Highway – Jules Dassin (Richard Contee, Lee J. Cobb)
1953
Wages of Fear – Fr/Italy – Henri G. Clouzot (Yves Montand)
The Wild One – Laslo Benedek (Marlon Brando, Lee Marvin)
1954
Drive a Crooked Road – Richard Quine
Johnny Dark – Geroge Sherman (Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie)
1956
Hot Rod Girl – Leslie Martinson
Hot Cars – Donald McDowell
1957
The Devil’s Hairpin – Cornel Wilde (Cornel Wilde, Mary Astor)
Dragstrip Girl – Edward L. Cahn
Hell Drivers – GrBr – dir. C. Raker Endfield
1958
Dragstrip Riot – David Bradley
Ten Days to Tulara – George Sherman (Sterling Hayden)
1962
Lolita – Stanley Kubrick (James Mason, Shelly Winters)
Red Ball Express – Budd Boetticher (Jeff Chandler)
1963
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World – Stanley Kramer
The Leather Boys – GrBr – Sidney J. Furie (Rita Tushingham)
The Young Racers – Roger Corman
1964
The Lively Set – Jack Arnold (James Darren)
1965
Backfire – Fr. – Jean Becker
Red Line 7000 – Howard Hawks (James Caan)
1966
Don’t Look Back – D. A. Pennebaker – Dylan’s tour movie
Faster Pussycat, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – Russ Meyer
Grand Prix – John Frankenheimer (James Garner, Eva Marie Saint)
The Wild Angels – Roger Corman (Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd)
1967
*Bonnie and Clyde – Arthur Penn (Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway)
Born Losers – T.C. Frank
The Detour – Bulgaria – Grisha Ostrovski
Devil’s Angels – Dan Haller (John Cassavetes)
Hell’s Angels on Wheels – Richard Rush (Jack Nicholson)
Hot Rod Rumble – Leslie Martinson
The Long Hall – GrBr – Ken Hughes (Victor Mature, Diana Dors)
Thunder Alley – Richard Rush (Fabian, Annette Funicello)
Two for the Road – Stanley Donen
Weekend – Jean-Luc Goddard
1968
Angels from Hell -Bruce Kessler
Fever Heat (a/k/a Stockcar) – Russell S. Doughten, Jr.
Girl on a Motorcycle – BrBr & Fr – Jack Cardiff (Marianne Faithful, Alain Delon)
Speedway – Norman Taurog (Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra)
Targets – Peter Bogdanovich (Boris Karloff, Tim O’Kelly)
Weekend – Fr/Italy – Jean-Luc Godard
The Wild Racers – Daniel Haller (Fabian)
1969
Easy Rider – Dennis Hopper (Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson)
Hell’s Angels ’69 – Lee Madden
Hell’s Bells – Maury Dexter
Midnight Cowboy – Martin Brest (Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt)
The Love Bug – Robert Stevenson (first of 4 Herbie movies)
The Rain People – Francis Ford Coppola (James Caan, Robert Duvall)
The Rebel Rousers – Martin B. Cohen (Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Dianna Ladd)
Run Angel, Run – Jack Starrett
Winning – James Goldstone (Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Robt Wagner)
1970
Angels Die Hard – Richard Compton (Tom Baker )
C.C. & Company – Seymour (Joe Namath, Ann-Margret)
Cylce Savages – Bill Brame (Bruce Dern)
Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson)
The Hard Ride – Burt Topper
Little Fauss and Big Halsy – Sidney J. Furie Robt Redford, Lauren Hutton)
The Losers – Jack Starrett
Then Came Bronson – William A. Graham (Bonnie Bedeila, Martin Sheen)
Zabriskie Point – Michelangelo Antonioni
1971
Angels as Hard as They Come – Joe Viola (Scott Glenn)
Breaker! Breaker! – Don Hulette (Chuck Norris)
The Cars that Ate Paris – Aust. – Peter Weir
Duel – Steven Spielberg directorial debut (Dennis Weaver)
The Last Run – Richard Fleischner (George C. Scott, Colleen Dewhurst)
Le Mans – Lee Katzin (Steve McQueen)
Two Lane Blacktop – Monte Hellman (James Taylor)
Vanishing Point – GrBr – Richard Sarafian
1972
Duel – Steven Spielberg (Dennis Weaver)
The Getaway – Sam Peckinpah (Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw)
Pay Day – Daryl Duke (Rip Torn)
1973
Badlands – Terence Malick (Sissy Spacek, Kit Carruthers, Martin Sheen)
Drive Hard, Drive Fast – Douglas Heyes (Brian Kelly, Joan Collins)
Electra Glide in Blue – James William. Guercio
Last American Hero – Lamont Johnson (Jeff Bridges)
Paper Moon – Peter Bogdanovich (Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal) – good US in 30s
Road Movie – Joseph Strick
Slither – Howard Zieff (James Caan, Sally Kellerman)
Steel Arena – Mark L. Lester
Thieves Like Us – Robert Altman (Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall)
White Lightning – Joseph Sargent (Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Diana Ladd)
Your Three Minutes Are Up – Douglas Schwartz (Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman)
1974
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry – John Hough (Peter Fonda, Susan George)
Road Movie – Joseph Strick
Sugarland Express – Steven Speilberg (Goldie Hawn)
Thundrbolt and Lightfoot – Michael Cimino (Clint Eastwood; Jeff Bridges)
Truck Stop Women -. Mark L. Lester
1975
Deathrace 2000 – Paul Bartel (David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone) -sci fi
Nashville – Roberrt Altman
Race with the Devil – Jack Starrett
Return to Macon Country – Richard Compton (Nick Nolte)
The Passenger – Michelangelo Antonioni
White Line Fever – Jonathan Kaplan
1976
Carquake – Paul Bartel (David Carradine)
Eat My Dust -Charles B. Griffith (Ron Howard)
The Gumball Rally – Chuck Bail (Raul Julia)
Jackson County Jail – Michael Miller (Yvette Mimiwux, Tommy Lee Jones)
Kings of the Road – Ger – Wim Wenders
1977
Backroads – Australian – Philip Noyce
The Car – Eliot Silverstein (James Brolin)
Bobby Deerfield – Sydney Pollack (Al Pacino, Marthe Keller)
Citizens Band (a/d/a/ Handle With Care) – Jonathan Demme
The Gauntlet – Clint Eastwood (Clint Eastwood)
Grand Theft Auto – Ron Howard (Ron Howard)
Joyride – Joseph Ruben (Desi Arnez Jr, Melanie Griffith, Robert Carradine)
Outlaw Blues – Richard T. Heffron (Peter Fonda)
Smokey and the Bandit – Hal Needham (Burt Reynolds)
Thunder and Lightning -Corey Allen (David Carradine)
The Van – Sam Grossman
1978
Convoy -Sam Peckinpah (Kris Kristofferson, Ali McGraw, Ernest Borgnine)
Corvette Summer – Matthew Robbins (Mark Hammill, Annie Potts)
The Driver – Walter Hill (Ryan O’Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabel Adjani)
The Sorcerer -William Friedkin (Roy Scheider)
Stingray – Richard Taylor
1979
Heart Beat – John Byrum – based on Kerouac’s life
Mad Max – George Miller
Radio On – GrBr – Christopher Petit
1980
Cannonball Run -Hal Needham
(Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Peter Fonda)
Silver Dream Racer – GrBr – David Wickes (Beau Bridges)
1981
Back Roads – Martin Ritt (Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones)
Mad Max & Mad Max II – George Miller (Mel Gibson)
Road Games – Australia – Richard Franklin (Stacey Keach, Jamie Lee Curtis)
1983
Heart Like a Wheel – Jonathan Kaplan
– based on story of female drag racer Shirley Muldowney
National Lampoon’s Vacation – Harold Ramis
1984
Paris, Texas – Wim Wenders (Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell)
Repo Man – Alex Cox (Emilio Estevez)
Stranger than Paradise – Jim Jarmusch
1985
Blue Velvet – David Lynch
Lost in America – Albert Brooks
1987
Candy Mountain – Rudy Wurlitzr and Robert Frank
Highwayman – 1987
Planes, Trains and Automobiles – John Hughes
1988
Highway 91 – Jerry Jameson
Rain Man – Barry Levinson (Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman)
1989
Drugstore Cowboy – Gus Van Sant
Leningrad Cowboys Go America – Finland/Sweden – Aki Kaurismaki
Mystery Train – Jim Jarmusch
Road Kill – Canada/Britain – Bruce McDonald
Powwow Highway – Jonathan Wacks
1990
The Road to God Knows Where – Uli M. Schuppel
Wild at Heart – David Lynch
1991
The Chase – Adam Rifkin (Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson)
Delusion – Carl Colpaert
Highway 61 – Canada/Britain – Bruce McDonald
Highway to Hell – Ate DeJong
Thelma and Louise – Ridley Scott (Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon)
1992
Gas, Food, Lodging – Allison Anders
Leaving Normal – Edward Zwick
The Living End – Gregg Araki
*My Own Private Idaho – Gus Van Sant
Roadside Prophets – Abbe Wool (may be first road movie written & directed by a woman)
1993
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues – Gus Van Sant
Kalifornia – Domenic Sena
True Romance – Tony Scott
1994
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – Stephan Elliott
Dumb and Dumber
Love and a .45 – C.M. Talkington
Natural Born Killers – Oliver Stone
1995
Dead Man – Jim Jarmusch
Freeway
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar – Beeban Kidron
1996
Breakdown
Crash – David Cronenberg – based on Ballard’s novel
Get on the Bus – Spike Lee
Lewis and Clark and George
My Fellow Americans
1997
The Apostle – Robert Duvall
Dream with the Fishes – Finn Taylor
Lost Highway – David Lynch
1998
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Terry Gilliam
Men with Guns – John Sayles
Niagara, Niagara
Ozona
*Smoke Signals – Chris Eyre – from script by Sherman Alexie
1999
Another Day in Paradise
The Straight Story – David Lynch – vehicle is a lawn mover
2000
Road Trip
2003
Finding Nemo – Pixar
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