Was that a murder-suicide? He was gunning it like a crazy person, knocking his standing wife over so it seemed like he did it on purpose. A normal sane person wouldn't gun it like that with somebody standing unless it didn't matter anymore.
shareInteresting theory. It is possible that he just couldn't stand Mrs. Daley nagging him anymore and was pushed over the edge (literally).
I'm happiest...in the saddle.
Oh my gosh that just made me laugh out loud for real! Lol.
share"Ross, what are you doing?"
"I'm killing us both, you nagging bitch!!"
I'm happiest...in the saddle.
The scene has to make the top ten for most hillarious driving off a cliff scene in movies.
"I'm a vehemently anti-nuclear, paranoid mess, harbouring a strange obsession with radioactive sheep."
I have to agree. Whatever the reason it happened I couldn't help but laugh. It was a great WTH moment LOL.
shareI always thought he drove close to the edge just to prank her, and then realized he'd driven too close ...
shareThe family were Americans on vacation in Australia. I'm pretty sure the camper was a rental, if not a new purchase. The father was probably very unfamiliar with the way the transmission worked, and where the clutch would grab. He probably didn't even know which gear was reverse and had it in the wrong gear to begin with. That's probably why the dad flew the camper over the edge.
Of course, it could be that the camper had a faulty transmission to begin with. When Ricky Schroder got back to civilization, maybe he tracked down the guy who sold or rented his family the camper, or the camper company itself, sued them, and got a lot of money!
Shawn wouldn't have had a leg to stand on if he tried to sue the camper company, there would be no way to prove that it had a faulty transmission. I think what you initially said is correct, that Ross simply didn't know how to drive it very well and killed himself and his wife as a result.
I'm happiest...in the saddle.
....maybe he tracked down the guy who sold or rented his family the camper, or the camper company itself, sued them, and got a lot of money....
With his new found survivalist skills, he went "Rambo" on them.
Apparently you nimrods didn't pay attention to the movie. He parked the RV too close to the edge and the wife told him to move it back. However, when he engaged to clutch in reverse he spun the rear wheels so hard he tore up the ground they were sitting on and set off a little landslide that took the RV with it.
share"the wife told him to move it back."
Never happened, nimrod.
I'm happiest...in the saddle.
This scene freaked me out when I was a kid. Kind of traumatizing for a 6 year old to watch I guess. :(
Just thought I'd watch it again, and it's true she didn't say to back it up, but the wheels were going in reverse when they went off the edge. Not sure how that happened. Not sure why Ross even started the camper up again since the wife was making dinner, but now that I've watched the movie from the beginning to that point again, I think they deserved it for their mediocre acting.
I seem to vaguely recall another movie from when I was a kid where a girl gets lost in a jungle after a plane crash where everyone died. What was up with these movies back then!?
"I think they deserved it for their mediocre acting."
They were terrible, I agree. But their voices were dubbed so it's hard to blame Jack Thompson and Olivia what's-her-name. Thompson is actually an excellent actor.
I'm happiest...in the saddle.
The only nimrod here, is the one in the movie who DROVE HIMSELF AND HIS WIFE OFF A CLIFF IN FRONT OF THEIR CHILD!
Oh wait, its only a movie.
"I'm a vehemently anti-nuclear, paranoid mess, harbouring a strange obsession with radioactive sheep."
maestrojon: was it "Miracles Still Happen"?
sharehmmm, now that you mention it i recall this was quite a common theme decades ago. lets start a list
brook shields lost on an island, is one to start. blue lagoon, i think?
i remember one where a blonde boy was lost in the rainforest his dad was an engineer. powers booth i think
i am sure there are others to occur to me later :)
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"Who knows about these?"
"Just me, the police, the killer, and now you."
"i remember one where a blonde boy was lost in the rainforest his dad was an engineer. powers booth i think"
The Emerald Forest.
Just because the wife didn't say it doesn't mean the intent wasn't the same. Try paying attention. The dad told the kid to get fire wood and that he'll pull the camper away from the edge. It couldn't be more clear.
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This was one of those movies I remembered seeing over and over on HBO as a kid, but I could never quite remember it. Oddly enough, it was on TCM today and it all came back. I knew the kid was Ricky Schroeder, but I had no idea the man was William Holden.
In any case, to answer your question, realistically, the kid got lost, starved to death, fell in a hole, or was eaten by an animal. That said, I believe the filmmakers wanted us to believe he learned how to survive from the old man and made it out alive using all the information he acquired. I agree it's far fetched, but I believe the intent was a happy ending for the kid.
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The scene was over the top. We can agree on that much.
share