High Rolling (1977) – ripper car movies

The Ozploitation era meets buddy flick in this Aussie offering from 1977. A visiting American carnival worker, Tex (Joseph Bottoms), and his Aussie carny mate, Alby (Grigor Taylor), hit the road in search of adventure after Tex is sacked by his boss (Simon Chilvers) for rolling in the hay with a hot young patron (Christine Amor). Tex decides it’s as good a time as any for the pair to head to Surfers Paradise, where he is sure a bevy of women await his charms.

First published in the June 2026 issue of Street Machine

Tex and Alby hitch a lift with odd-bod ‘businessman’ Arnold (John Clayton) in his bright green Corvette, but after Arnold inappropriately propositions Alby, the travellers give him a touch-up and take off in the ’Vette. The pair soon discover the car is loaded with cash and marijuana, so they start living the high life as they hightail it to Surfers.

Along the way, they pick up teenage hippy Lynn (Judy Davis), who is trekking to the Gold Coast to join a commune, and it isn’t long before the boys are making their presence felt amongst the Glitter Strip locals.

A wild night at a local hotspot sees Tex trying to woo a pair of singers, Barbie (Wendy Hughes) and Susie (Sandra McGregor), but his overbearing advances see him cop a beating from bouncer Ernie (Gus Mercurio). Tex is left out in the cold while Alby gets to enjoy having his hands full, but the next morning, the pair realise that they’re plum out of cash and the weed stockpile is missing.

Arnold and his cronies have tracked the pair to Surfers, and lean on Barbie and Susie for their whereabouts. Meanwhile, Tex and Alby have hooked back up with Lynn and hatch an ambitious plan to rob a tour bus.

After the police are given the slip, all parties converge, and it seems that Arnold, Tex and Alby have all been hoodwinked. Arnold shifts focus to a new pair of targets, and the boys are back to where they started – broke, thumbing for a lift, and full of hope for a new adventure.

VERDICT: 3.5/5

For its era, High Rolling just about holds its own, but it’s the nostalgic 70s sights and sounds that are the real treat for modern viewers. You have a Surfers skyline only sparsely dotted with high-rises; old-school Gold Coast fixtures like meter maids; roads full of chrome-bumpered goodness; and snippets of Toranas, RX-3s and Escorts duking it out at the Rothmans 300 at the old Surfers Paradise International Raceway. What’s not to like?