CORKY

US, 1972, 88 minutes, Colour.
Robert Blake, Charlotte Rampling, Patrick O’ Neal, Christopher Connolly, Ben Johnson, Laurence Luckinbill.
Directed by Leonard Horn.

Corky is a star vehicle for Robert Blake who had emerged as an adult actor in In Cold Blood after a childhood career. He plays an unsympathetic man who wants to be a stockcar racing driver champion. In unusual casting, Charlotte Rampling appears as his wife.

The film is typical of the early 70s action racing films. It was directed by Leonard Horn, a prolific director of television in the 1960s and early 1970s. This was one of his few feature films for the big screen. He died in 1975.

1. Was this an enjoyable film? Why? How enjoyable was it meant to be? A picture of stock cars on the wide screen? Typical characters? Excitement and danger?

2. Or was it moralising film? If so, how? The focus on Corky, his character, his failures, his death?

3. What was the audience meant to identify with? How much with Corky? As a person, personality, family man, the drag race at the beginning, his joking nature, his vitality and excitement, his weaknesses?

4. In what way was the audience repulsed by him? His meanness, his irresponsibility, his hurting of others? Steve in the car, leaving wife and family, humiliating his friend, humiliating himself?

5. How typical was Corky of people and life? His good and his bad? His chips on his shoulder? His ambitions to be something, frustrations and failure? How much insight did the film give into this kind of real living? How real were the personalities in the film?

6. How pessimistic a film was this? Could Corky have redeemed himself? Could others? The role of his wife? His memories of her and his return? His judging of her betrayal of him? The fact that it all ended in death and failure? Did the film offer pessimism as its view of life?

7. How well did the film capture the atmosphere of California? The people, their language and accents? Buildings and towns, racing courses and bars? Did this enhance the reality of the themes?

8. How sympathetic was Corky’s wife? How loving? How dependent on him? her sharing in his wins and his work? response to his leaving her? His irresponsibility? What else could she do? Was it right for her to seek a divorce? Was she dependent on Randy? What effect did this have on Corky? Was he so unreasonable?

9. The character of’ Randy? His relationship with Corky and his employing Corky? Was he right to forbid Corky to drive for him because of Corky's failure and not driving properly? What effect did this have on Corky? How much in the right was Randy? The result of Corky injuring Steve because of this?

10. How sympathetic was Corky’s friend? Their happiness together? The scenes of fooling around? The incidents in the bar? Corky’s memory of his wife? Why did he pick a fight with his friend? How humiliating of his friend when he punched him? On whose side were you during these sequences? Why?

11. What was Corky reduced to by the end? His going for a swim with the children? His further humiliation? Being stripped of almost everything? Was this a chance for him to be redeemed? Is this why he returned?

12. Reaction to his jealously? How unreasonable was he? impact of his violence and his duty? (A typical American method of acting, feeling?)? How horrifying is this kind of violence?

13. The impact of the ending? Dying in the stock car? His life and ambitions? His memories as he died? Was he meant to be modern man as he died? a failure, achievement?

14. Comment on the technical success of the film, wide screen, the use of colour, locations, close-ups, flashbacks, the stock car sequences and car excitement and glorification?