Hijack! (1973)

This made-for-TV movie is very nicely paced. There's a steady rhythm to the story and I was pulled along for the duration of the movie. There's a lot of driving since they're going from California to Texas, but it's not boring. There's some of everything. The action and crisis points are well done. The dialogue is pared down and snappy. No long-winded discussions. Each scene is succinct and easy to follow.I really, really enjoyed this movie. David Janssen leads the cast and his acting is always so good, so natural, and he is so relatable. He just makes you root for him. The character he plays (Jake) is a nice person, a good friend, dependable, always calm and steady. Soft spoken and kind, yet tough. Kind of the perfect man.Right from the start, the bond between Jake and his friend Donny is apparent. Jake asks about his health, his wife. I like that there's no complaining about women, which can be common in buddy/buddy movies. Throughout the movie, you hear and see Jake's concern for Donny's health. It's a tight friendship.Jake meets a young woman named Eileen at a road-side stop in a small town. She's also warm, calm, independent. Their interaction is pleasant and a welcomed reprieve - a nice detour on this road trip loaded with trouble. David Janssen, Keenan Wynn and Lee Purcell are all very good. It's a fun movie. Watch it for the action, fights, explosions, and especially the very fine performances of the cast. I recommend it.

It would be interesting to learn who originated this story of bamboozled couriers. Though this movie was made in 1974, a 1963 story by Gene Roddenberry appeared as The Virginian episode 1:29, 'Run Away Home' featuring this same basic plot with the same slug-fisted ending. I remember seeing it reworked again in 1988 as Miami Vice 5:6, 'Line of Fire' where Sonny Crockett is transporting a 'top secret' witness. Another variant is Airwolf 3:18, 'Hawke's Run'. Does anybody remember any other variations? I am sure there must be more. This plot-line seems to be another one of those television tropes that pops up every few years wearing another hat or in this case, being transported by another vehicle, i.e. horse, truck, or boat.

If they'd have set up a completely do-able police escort, then this movie would not have been necessary. It's about two truckers (Janssen and Wynn) who, absent any official assistance, contract (for much more than usual pay) to drive an 18-wheeler to Houston, some distance away. We are led to believe that their trailer contains top-secret private-sector-to-government cargo, which is of interest to a gang of interceptors willing to kill to get it. In addition to the attempted foils of the bandits (including tampering with the rig; setting up a bogus road-block and detour; even a helicopter attack), the duo is also delayed by the overweightness of the equipment and police interest in Janssen's unregistered hand-gun. A problem-solving letter carried by the pair, however, gets them out of those binds, but, for some reason, that escort/relay wasn't arranged. And, amongst all this, Janssen even has time for a little romance. That pretty much tells everything except the conclusion. My guess, though, is that only about 5 of 10 will consider this trip worthwhile. Oh, and by the way... notice how - in the opening scene - Janssen comes boppin' in in his bob-tail; yet we learn a short time later that his driver's license has been suspended.

David Janssen, as Jake, and Keenan Wynn, as his partner and pal Donny, are independent truckers who are hired along with their big rig by a man named Kleiner (William Schallert) to haul an unknown cargo from Los Angeles to Houston for a handsome stipend of $6000, but with a deadline to be met for their labours. Kleiner is apparently a front man for a corporation dealing in government contracts, and the only description he will offer the driving duo of their sealed cargo is that it is "non-explosive and non-chemical", sweetening the payoff with a guarantee that Jake's driving license, temporarily reactivated for this assignment, will be permanently reinstated upon its timely completion, having been suspended after he punched an officer at a weighing station outlet. Success of the journey quickly becomes in doubt, as the 18 wheeler is harried by a persistent group of men with homicidal tendencies who obviously are covetous of the van contents and who must be continually fought off by Jake and Donny as their pursuers, little heeding the rules of the road, employ automatic weapons and a helicopter in their highjacking attempts. When not warding off sallies from the stalkers, Jake finds time for the obligatory romantic interlude, his paramour being a young woman (Lee Purcell) living with her grandfather in a highway bypassed hamlet, and their entr'acte, although handled with taste, makes little sense unless one accepts that some sort of intermission is called for by the cargo hunters. Even less rational is the climactic conflict between the two buddies and their violence-prone adversaries, but the film's ending includes a nicely ironic twist and the relationship between the two friends, although skimpily developed, is the best part of the scenario, since Donny has a heart "condition" and Jake's concern for him is made convincing by Janssen.