GHOST OF DRAGSTRIP HOLLOW (1959)
Article #1685 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-25-2005
Posting Date: 3-24-2006
Directed by William J. Hole Jr.
Featuring Jody Fair, Russ Bender, Henry McCann

Plot Description: You’re kidding, right?

This movie lives up to its title in at least two ways. Given the turgid pacing it certainly drags, and given its almost aggressive superficiality, it is certainly hollow. The movie largely starts out as a compendium of lame drag racing gags, but graduates to lame clueless parents gags, lame old lady gags and lame haunted house gags. Throw in some lame rock ‘n’ roll, make sure there’s no plot, toss in undeveloped scenarios involving a rival gang, and there’s you movie. Still, the girls are cute and there’s a real sense of innocence to it all; bearing this in mind, the movie would be no worse than harmless. Unfortunately, the movie ups the ante; first of all, it tosses in one of the most painfully unfunny talking birds I’ve ever seen and then makes it even worse by adding a talking car in the mix. Then, to top it all off, we get a scene of Paul Blaisdell whining about how he was tossed out by his studio after having been responsible for some of their most memorable monsters; this scene wouldn’t be funny even if it weren’t largely true (it was Blaisdell’s last movie), but as it is, I find it just really sad. Given all this, it’s no surprise that when the title character finally shows up, he does the only thing a self-respecting ghost would do – he walks away.

It wouldn’t be worth watching if I didn’t have the hots for the tall girl with the glasses, which just goes to show that this movie isn’t the only thing that’s pathetic.