George Lucas's 'American Graffiti'

Shot in just 29 days on a shoestring budget, American Graffiti vaulted 28-year-old George Lucas to directing stardom. His bittersweet coming-of-age story influenced dozens of teen angst films to come, and many of his young, mostly unknown cast members went on to stardom.

With a great '60s sound track and a poignant turn by Wolfman Jack as himself, American Graffiti is a funny, sweet, nostalgic slice of American pie.

The young and restless residents of a small California town are tracked through a single night in the summer of '62. It’s not so much a plot as a series of deftly drawn character sketches woven together. True to the car culture of California, most of the action takes place in and around automobiles and at a drive-in restaurant, with great tunes and the Wolfman’s ragged voice coming out of every radio.

Ron Howard is the straight-laced, conservative prom king type, trying to shake loose from his high school girlfriend before he heads “back east” to college. Richard Dreyfuss is the brainy rebel, recipient of the local Moose Club scholarship, who’s not sure he wants to go to college and spends the night chasing after a mysterious blonde in a hot white T-Bird.

They're surrounded by the town archetypes. The drag race king who’s getting a little old for the scene, and about to lose his crown to a brash challenger. The hopeless nerd who lucks into a date with a gorgeous dimwit. The pathetic English teacher romancing his students. The gawky adolescent girl who just might turn out all right. The local street toughs who will never amount to much, and the hapless cops who chase them.

Lucas and his cast bring them all to life fondly, with a vivid sense of place and a certain wistfulness. Before the assassination of President Kennedy, before Vietnam and Kent State, before the Summer of Love, this was Lucas’s little corner of America.

Howard and Dreyfuss are simply wonderful as the two friends headed for college, although Howard’s straight-arrow role (as usual) doesn’t leave him much scope. Dreyfuss in particular holds the film together with his wry take on the town, his friends and his school days.

“Charlie” Martin Smith (as his name reads in the credits) is funny, sympathetic and sweet as the nerd who lives through the worst, and simultaneously best, date of his young loser life with the lovably ditsy Candy Clark.

Yet it’s Paul LeMat in the role of the drag race king who stands at the real emotional heart of the film. He's a reluctant hero, a tough guy with a heart of gold, a friend loyal and true. He gets stuck with a very young MacKenzie Phillips as an unwanted passenger in his roadster, cruising the town strip. Annoyed and embarrassed though he may be, he’s kind to her, and their scenes are fun, even touching.

The film’s other emotional touchstone is the Wolfman, who’s heard howling on the radio throughout. His on-screen scene when Dreyfuss comes to the radio station to ask for a dedication is nicely underplayed and remains indelible.

The spectacular cast is rounded out by Harrison Ford as the drag racer challenging LeMat; Cindy Williams as Howard’s cheerleader girlfriend; and Suzanne Somers as the fetching blonde in the T-Bird.

Lucas was an intern at Warner Brothers at the time, and every major studio turned down the American Graffiti script. Eventually, Universal picked it up as one of a series of “semi-independent” films the studio allowed young filmmakers to try.

To create the film’s look, Lucas rounded up more than 300 classic cars made before 1963, and used the soon-to-be-demolished Mel’s Diner as a prime set. The film became a sleeper hit, and paved the way for Lucas to make the Star Wars movies.

Every generation goes through a loss of innocence and comes of age. Lucas remembers his time with affectionate clarity, and draws us in. We know what's to come, all the rage and riot that will descend on America in the '60s; the kids at the sock hop don’t. American Graffiti is perfectly of its time, and timeless. Not to be missed.

Recommended for you:

If you liked American Graffiti, you may like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Summer of ‘42, Diner, The Last Picture Show or Melvin and Howard.

'American Graffiti' at a Glance:

Year: 1973, Color
Director: George Lucas
Running Time: 112 minutes
Studio: Universal