High-Ballin’ (1978) - ripper car movies

There’s nothing like a 1970s trucker flick to temporarily cleanse your brain of modern-day pressures and reacquaint your ears with the rhythmic joys of CB radio lingo. That’s exactly the vibe I was seeking when I pressed play on 1978’s High-Ballin’, a lesser-known example of the sub-genre that gave us classics like Convoy and Smokey and the Bandit.

First published in the March 2025 issue of Street Machine

Independent trucker ‘Iron Duke’ Boykin (country singer Jerry Reed, who also wrote and performed the theme tune, just as he’d done for Smokey the previous year) is a family man trying to earn an honest dollar to make his farm payments and keep food on the table. However, an undercurrent of fear has gripped the independent trucking community due to a series of violent hijackings that have seen drivers bashed and left for dead.

Anxious independents begin signing up as company drivers for local cargo magnate, King Carroll (Chris Wiggins), who offers them a lower rate in exchange for safety. Turns out, he’s the one who hired the hijackers – led by his psychopath associate, Harvey (David Ferry) – in the first place, hoping to intimidate his independent competition out of business.

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The brewing trouble coincides with the arrival of Duke’s best mate, trucker-turned-stuntman Rane (Peter Fonda), and the pair team up to defy the thugs and secure Duke safe passage for his future loads.

A close call with the hijackers while hauling a bunch of stock cars brings an unexpected ally into the duo’s orbit, a feisty dame with the CB handle ‘Pickup’ (Helen Shaver). Piloting her truckified Chevy pick-up, she has plenty of ’tude to dish out to any guy vying for her attention, but she tentatively takes a shine to Rane.

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With pressure from the hijackers mounting, the trio plan one final load with a big payday so that Duke can cash out. However, infighting among the hijackers turns deadly when Harvey goes rogue and becomes intent on settling a personal vendetta with Rane.

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VERDICT: 3.5/5

Compared to other trucker flicks of the era, High-Ballin’ is a far darker prospect, with little of the easy-going good humour you’d expect from the genre. Still, the storyline manages to just keep itself afloat, and at the end of the day, I’m here for copious throttle-blippin’ downshifts, honking air horns, dumping air brakes and CB linguistics, all of which the film has in spades.