Two fast cars, four people, 2,500 miles. Monte Hellman’s 1971 road movie Two-Lane Blacktop is a slow motion capture of a quixotic race across the United States between a stripped-down 1955 Chevy street rod occupied by two disaffected youth and a stock 1970 Pontiac GTO driven by a middle aged day-tripper. A teenage stowaway, the Girl, joins them, complicating the race. Four decades later, the movie’s locations are much changed. Follow this retracement of the shooting corridor. Read the essay, visit the sites, take a roadtrip—report back.
Route 66 near where “Gearhead Talk” sequence was filmed, Needles, CA. Photo by John Murphey.
Mike Callens points to location of Ute Service Station (demolished) where bet is made, US Highway 54, northeast of Tucumcari, NM. Photo by John Murphey.
Foundation of the Bright Spot bar, location of the “Roadhouse” scene, Pearcy, AR. Photo courtesy Debra Garner.
Looking for Two-Lane Blacktop 