KING OF THE MOUNTAIN

US, 1981, 90 minutes, Colour.
Harry Hamlin, Joseph Bottoms, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Dennis Hopper.
Directed by Noel Nossek.

King of the mountain is a routine racing-car melodrama. It has ambitions but fails to live up to them. There is a lot of fast driving, especially on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. The emphasis is on stunt work. The plot is slight - although, at times, the screenplay attempts to indicate what is happening in the lives of the three young men who have to make the transition from young drivers to adulthood. Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans, Movie Movie, Making Love) is the King of the Mountain. A garage mechanic who has to make decisions about a responsible life. Deborah van Valkenburgh portrays a singer as his girlfriend. Joseph Bottoms portrays a talented songwriter, musician, who spends some time racing but is wanting to succeed in the music business. Richard Cox portrays a junior record producer who is able to sell out Bottoms for his own financial advancement. There is a minor appearance by Dennis Hopper as a co-worker in the garage who used to be King of the Mountain - a familiar variation on Hopper's performances as in Mad Dog Morgan, The American Friend, Apocalypse Now. Despite its technical qualities, the film was not a commercial success.