The Last American Hero

Not to be confused with Last American Hero (album).
The Last American Hero
DVD cover
Directed byLamont Johnson
Written byWilliam Roberts
William Kerby
Based on"The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!"
by Tom Wolfe
Produced byWilliam Roberts
John Cutts
StarringJeff Bridges
Valerie Perrine
Geraldine Fitzgerald
CinematographyGeorge Silano
Edited byTom Rolf
Robbe Roberts
Music byCharles Fox
Distributed by20th Century-Fox
Release date
  • July 27, 1973 (1973-07-27)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million[1]
Box office$1 million (US/Canada)[2]

The Last American Hero (also known as Hard Driver) is a 1973 American sports drama film based on the true story of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. Directed by Lamont Johnson (no relation), the film stars Jeff Bridges as Junior Jackson, a character based on Johnson. It is based on Tom Wolfe's essay "The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!",[3] which was first published in Esquire magazine in March 1965[4] and included in his debut collection of essays, The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, later that year.[5]

  1. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p. 257.
  2. ^ Solomon p 232. See also "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p. 60. Please note figures are rentals not total gross.
  3. ^ Tom Wolfe, The Last American Hero
  4. ^ The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!|Esquire|March 1965
  5. ^ Tom Wolfe (1965). The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (3rd ed.). Picador. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-312-42912-6.