CAR WASH (1976)

Director Michael Schultz drew on his theatrical background to give this ensemble comedy a natural flow. He had the cast do read throughs and staged rehearsals on a soundstage before doing a run-through at the shooting location: a Los Angeles car wash not far from MacArthur Park. He also had the score recorded during pre-production so the cast was actually listening to the pop tunes on the Grammy-winning soundtrack album. The result was a vibrant depiction of the many people coming together during a ten-hour workday at the Dee Luxe Car Wash. They include a bogus preacher (Richard Pryor) and his entourage (The Pointer Sisters), a cab driver (George Carlin), a revolutionary (Bill Duke), a lovelorn prostitute (Schultz’s wife Lauren Jones), and a proudly flamboyant gay man (Antonio Fargas). Schultz melded their stories so well, he won the Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, in addition to the Best Music Award.

d. Michael Schultz, 96m, DCP

Courtesy of Universal Pictures.