The Last Chase

"The oil finally ran out... and somewhere in the future, the chase has begun."

1981 1h 41m EN

💀

3.9

SKIP

⭐

4.4

IMDB

★3.9TMDB · 34★4.4IMDB · 1,242

ActionAdventureScience Fiction

Synopsis

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Twenty years after the American people have been told the oil has run out and disease has scared them into complacency, the United States has become a fascist state. One man, former race car driver Franklyn Hart, now a puppet spokesman for public transportation, rebuilds his race car and sets off to California from Boston where people have returned to living life like they were twenty years prior.

“The oil finally ran out... and somewhere in the future, the chase has begun.”

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Cast

Lee Majors
Franklyn Hart
Burgess Meredith
Captain J.G. Williams
Chris Makepeace
Ring
Alexandra Stewart
Eudora
Trudy Young
Mrs. Hart
Diane D'Aquila
Santana
George Touliatos
Hawkins
Harvey Atkin
Jud

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martyn Burke
Writers: Christopher Crowe, Martyn Burke, Roy Moore
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, United States of America

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Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Lee Majors and Burgess Meredith and Chris Makepeace carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The oil finally ran out... and somewhere in the future, the chase has begun.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0082642 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 34 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martyn Burke directs. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

145 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Lee Majors and Burgess Meredith and Chris Makepeace carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "The oil finally ran out... and somewhere in the future, the chase has begun.".
6IMDB entry: tt0082642 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 34 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Makeup / hair: Ann Brodie
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Last Chase (1981)
IMDB rating: 4.4/10 · 1,242 votes
MPAA: PG

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Martyn Burke

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-08-31
★ 5/10
From six million dollars to six million pennies, well that’s just the first journey Lee Majors makes as this frankly pretty silly dystopian drama sees him try to escape to “Free California” in his Porsche (complete with plenty of product placement). You see, their United States has run out of oil and cars are banned. Given his has probably got a V12 engine, he isn’t flavour of the month with the authorities as he and his newfound protégé “Ring” (Chris Makepeace) race along the long abandoned (but perfectly maintained) highways to their destination. Meantime, the ace-pilot “J.G.” (Burgess Meredith) is brought out of retirement by the government so he can chase them down in his jet fighter and thwart their plans. Once airborne, though, the airman starts to appreciate the freedoms of the sky - so will he actually carry out his task against his wily antagonist? Maybe if it had a catchy country song (J.W. McCall springs to mind) in the score, or that jingling sound every time “Hart” went really quickly, but no - all we have here is a mediocre Majors, a Meredith who clearly just fancied his fee and not the slightest sense of menace at any stage as they engage in some “Smokey” does “Logan’s Run”. Nothing much to see here, sorry.

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