Damnation Alley 1977 ***

The film that 20^th Century Fox hoped to be the sci-fi blockbuster of 1977, rather that their less fancied Star Wars, Damnation Alley is a post0nuclear apocalypse romp that sees workmanlike director Jack Smight (Airport 75, Midway) somewhat out of his depth. George Peppard brings his best A-Team gung-ho mannerisms to the role of Major Gene Denton, the driver of an impressive amphibious vehicle, which Jan Michael Vincent as a study motorcycle rider and Jackie Earle Hailey as a waif-like stray they pick up along the way to Atlanta. Optically enlarged scorpions and cockroaches are amongst the obstacles they face, and although the effects are variable to say the least, Damnation Alley is a upbeat film about the end of the world that passes the time for genre addicts nicely enough.