The Last American Hero
| The Last American Hero | |
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| Directed by | Lamont Johnson |
| Produced by |
William Roberts John Cutts |
| Written by |
William Roberts William Kerby |
| Based on | 1965 Esquire article by Tom Wolfe |
| Starring |
Jeff Bridges Valerie Perrine |
| Music by | Charles Fox |
| Cinematography | George Silano |
| Edited by |
Tom Rolf, A. C. E. Robbe Roberts |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 mins. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,130,000 |
| Box office | $1,250,000 (US/ Canada) |
The Last American Hero (also known as Hard Driver) is a 1973 sports drama film based on the true story of American NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. Directed by Lamont Johnson, it stars Jeff Bridges as Junior Jackson, the character based on Johnson.
The film is based on Tom Wolfe's essay "The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!", which was first published in Esquire magazine in March 1965 and included in his debut collection of essays, The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, later that year. The film was favorably reviewed by Pauline Kael in The New Yorker, even though The New Yorker had a long-standing feud with Wolfe.
The film's theme song, "I Got a Name", sung by Jim Croce, became a best-selling single.
Junior Jackson (Junior Johnson) (by Jeff Bridges), a stock-car driver stays one step ahead of reform school until his father (Art Lund) is thrown in prison for moonshining. Seeing the error of his ways, Jackson begins to concentrate his driving skills, hoping to become a professional stock car racer to raise money to get his father released from jail.
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Wikipedia