The legendary daredevil early life's story is told in flash-back. Stars; George Hamilton, Sue Lyon. An interesting film about the very early starting lawless young days of Knievel and girlfriend. This film does not cover much about the famous Evel the news media has shown to the public. A slow film to watch because of the plot and childish action scenes. Hamilton does a good job and casting was spot on. I have to think up more film review sentences. This stupid IMDb database has this ridiculous rule that concise reviewers have to come up with silly wordy and over think their reviews in order of this database keep their reviews to post. This phony posting requirement needs to be reviewed and changed by IMDb staff.

Evel Knievel purports to be a biography of the life of the real Evel Knievel. The movie presents stories and episodes from different periods throughout his life. We see Evel as a young boy in Butte, Montana. We see him grow to become a local hoodlum. We see him meet, date, kidnap, and marry his wife. We see him on his first paying job as a motorcycle daredevil. We see him in the hospital after his horrific crash at Ceasar's Palace. All of this is presented in a series of flashbacks as Evel prepares himself to make a jump over 19 cars.I have no idea how much of what is presented is true. I feel confident, however, that there are quite a few dramatic licenses taken with Evel's life. For example, I sincerely doubt someone could be responsible for two dynamite explosions in the City Hall on the same night and no one notice who was responsible. Don't you think the police might have asked the local dynamite dealer if anyone had recently made a purchase? I sincerely believe Evel would have spent a considerable amount of time in prison if this episode of his life, as presented, were true.The "Tan Man", George Hamilton (who also produced the movie), plays Evel. And while he may bear no resemblance to the real man, he does a decent job copying Evel's walk and speech pattern.While the movie is not great, there are a couple of moments in the film that make it worth watching at least once.

Anyone who remembers watching the exploits of Evel Knievel back in the late 1960s and 1970s will love this film! George Hamilton plays Evel Knievel as a confident, independent, and slightly foolhardy Knievel who tells his life story through flashbacks before a big jump at Ontario Speedway in California. The best parts are the flashbacks of his growing up in Butte, Montana, where much of the film was shot. It's hard to tell how many of the details of his years in Butte are accurate, but nonetheless they are entertaining to watch. Lots of good action scenes and chases through the streets keep the story moving well (SPOILER: watch for the scene where Evel rides his motorcycle through a sorority house to find his girlfriend - hilarious!). People who don't remember or were not fans of Evel Knievel may or may not like this film, but on its own merits it's an entertaining movie to watch. Rent it if you can find it, and happy landings!!!

Marvelous AND surreal biography of the craziest man ever to jump a phalanx of buses on "Wide World of Sports." When I was a kid I even had the Evel Knievel doll and revved-up bike--which could actually soar across the linoleum floor. Returning to the movie, you would be hard pressed to find a more carefree fellow than Evel. He prides himself on his plethora of broken bones and slipped disks. Actual footage of his real jumps is seamlessly cut into the film. It's truly amazing this man is still alive to this day. Remember, once he really did try to fly over a canyon named "Snake River." George Hamilton torpedoed his own career by making poor choices along the way--but this was his zenith. Sue Lyon lends a sympathetic ear and is easy on the eye. This movie promises even more when Mr. Knievel pops a wheelie across the Grand Canyon. Well, not really. But one can dream. Later on, Knievel would star in his own bio-pic called "Viva Knievel."