Traffic Jam (20th Century Fox, May 1972)
Directed By
Andrew L. Stone
Screenplay By
Edward O'Malley & Andrew L. Stone
Cast
Jeffrey Hunter as Jack Richardson- An already erratic man who becomes unhinged after arriving home from a business trip, commits murder and goes on the run, abandoning his car in a traffic jam.
Sam Westwood as Rick Burns- A travelling vacuum cleaner salesman and aspiring novelist.
Teresa Graves as Diana Williams- A New York City fashion model on her way to California to pursue an acting career.
Sheree North as Charlotte Richardson- Jack's wife. She is having an affair which causes him to completely go off the deep end.
Kevin Tighe as Brad- A much younger tennis instructor Charlotte plans to leave Jack for.
Ann Jillian as Waitress- Jack freaks out at her inside a roadside diner.
Betty Barry as Housewife- Rick unsuccessfully tries to sell her a vacuum cleaner. Barry's only on-screen credit.
Plot
Advertising copywriter Jack Richardson (Hunter) is on a business trip. He calls his wife Charlotte, and the two argue back and forth. It is clear their marriage is on the rocks and that his career is suffering due to alcoholism and increasingly erratic behaviour.
When Charlotte hangs up, it is revealed that she has a houseguest, her much younger lover Brad, a tennis instructor. Charlotte tells Brad that she plans to leave Jack when he comes back from his trip.
Jack arrives home early and arrives to find Charlotte in bed with Brad. There is a fight, which leads to Jack shooting and killing both Charlotte and Brad. Jack drives off and winds up in a traffic jam. The air conditioning in his car has failed and it is hot outside. A frustrated Jack abandons his car and begins walking.
Rick Burns (Westwood), is an aspiring novelist turned vacuum cleaner salesman. Rick demonstrates one of his models to a housewife who decides against the purchase and sees him off. A defeated Rick lights a cigarette behind the wheel turns on the radio and hears a report about a man and a woman found shot to death in a house in the Los Angeles area. The woman's husband is named as a person of interest, his car having been found abandoned in heavy traffic. Rick puts his cigarette out, pulls up to a roadside diner and gets out.
Diana Williams (Graves) is a floundering New York City fashion model who has just broken up with her photographer boyfriend. Diana decides to drive cross-country to California in an attempt to try her luck at an acting career. As she gets closer to Los Angeles county, her car breaks down.
Jack has changed his appearance and has hitched his way out of Los Angeles. He enters a roadside diner where he is nervous and agitated. He causes a scene and complains about the food to the waitress. He throws money at her and a few insults around before proceeding to take off in an unlocked car.
Rick sees Diana and pulls over. He drives her to a payphone and she is able to call for a tow truck. She's told that it will take a day for her car to get fixed. Rick drives Diana to the nearest town, where he has planned to stay the night, and they get separate rooms in the same run-down motel. Unbeknownst to them, Jack has just checked in as well, having once again changed his appearance.
Rick and Diana get bored and decide to check out the town that night. As Rick is getting ready, he sees a television report about the murderer. This time, his face is shown but Rick is too busy getting ready to notice it.
Rick and Diana chat over dinner. Rick tells her that he's trying to write a novel and Diana tells him that she had been a fashion model in New York City, but thought she'd try her luck in Los Angeles after a recent break-up.
The pair then go to a local bar where they watch various patrons from a booth. One of the people Rick notices happens to be Jack, who is sitting alone at the bar, rather inebriated, giving the bartender a rough time. The two leave and pass Jack, who notices them. Outside the bar, Diana tells Rick that the man giving the bartender a hard time looked familiar. Rick tells her that he's probably just some angry businessman on the road.
The two return to the motel. It is dark and somewhat secluded until Jack erratically drives into the parking lot startling Rick and Diana, who are still near Rick's car. The two slowly get back inside the car and lay low, locking the doors. Jack staggers around the parking lot waving a gun around. He approaches Rick's car and pounds on the window, remembering them as the people gawking at him in the bar. He yells slurs at both Rick and Diana, believing them to be a couple. Rick tries to drive off, but Jack shoots at Rick's car, causing a flat tire.
Rick and Diana think Jack is gone. Rick goes to fix the flat, telling Diana to stay in the car in case. As Rick is finishing up fixing the flat, Jack approaches from behind and knocks him out. Jack stuffs Rick's body in the trunk and gets inside the driver's seat. Diana is horrified to see Jack and screams, but he pulls a gun on her telling her to shut up as he drives off.
Diana finds herself trapped in a car with a drunk psychopath on an abandoned stretch of road. Jack taunts Diana, trying to grope her and calling her various names when she fights back. Jack pulls over to a truck stop to use a bathroom and tells Diana not to move. He leaves his gun behind by accident, and Diana grabs it, intending to kill him when he comes back. Diana hears struggling in the trunk and realizes that Rick is alive. Using a wire hanger found in the back seat, Diana is able to open up the trunk and gets Rick out. He is pretty scratched up and she has to hold him up. Diana and Rick try to escape by hiding behind parked semi-trucks. Jack has taken longer than expected due to picking a fight inside the truck stop. Jack arrives at the car to find both Diana and his gun, as well as Rick, is gone. He gets inside the car and turns on the headlights, searching for Rick and Diana. Diana pulls the gun out and tries to keep herself and Rick safe. As they go to hide behind another truck, Jack sees them. She makes Rick run. Jack is about to run Diana over when she shoots at the vehicle, causing Jack to crash in the truck stop parking lot. Diana and Rick look on as the camera zooms to Jack's corpse.
Come daylight, Rick and Diana are talking to police. Diana tells Rick she owes him a car. Rick asks what she's going to do. Diana tells him she's still planning to go to Los Angeles and Rick asks if she would like some company. Diana smiles as the credits roll.
End
Notes from IMDB
Because the ending alluded to a possible romance between Graves and Westwood's characters, executives at 20th Century Fox initially wanted to end the film with Jack's death. Eventually, the studio gave in and the film was released as shot.
Ann Jillian, a former child performer mostly known for her role in 1962's
Gypsy had auditioned for the role of Diana before changes were made to the script. A smaller part as a waitress was later written especially for Jillian by Andrew L. Stone.
Before Teresa Graves signed on, Marki Bey (
The Landlord) was considered for the role of Diana following changes to the script.
Kevin Tighe (Brad) signed a contract with Universal shortly after filming wrapped in June 1971. After a couple of television guest roles, Tighe signed on to star in the long-running TV series
Emergency! which began airing a few months after the release of
Traffic Jam.
Release of the film was deliberately held up until after
Klute came out as there was buzz around Teresa Graves performance. By the time
Traffic Jam was finally released, both Westwood and Graves had been nominated for Academy Awards.
According to Sam Westwood, the police officers at the end, who appear uncredited, were actual LAPD officers hired by Stone to appear in the film.
Once again, thank you to @Guajolote for the poster!