Before Star Wars: A New Hope dominated cinemas upon release in 1977, rival sci-fi adventure Damnation Alley was supposed to be 20th Century Fox’s big blockbuster. Based loosely on a novel by Roger Zelazny, Damnation Alley starred George Peppard and Jan-Michael Vincent as survivors of World War III. They travel across a devastated America in a cool, all-terrain “Landmaster” vehicle, dodging radiation and giant mutant bugs and scorpions. Fox felt Damnation Alley had the potential to be a major success, but it suffered several production woes. Producer Paul Maslansky recounted to The Projection Booth that these included the decision to add complex optical effects to make the skies look irritated.
Meanwhile, Lucas’ Star Wars: A New Hope went through many production woes of its own relating to visual effects and going over budget. Originally set for release before Star Wars, Damnation Alley was pushed back due to the complexity of the optical effects. Of course, Star Wars would become a major hit upon release in May 1977 and spawned one of the biggest franchises in film history. It absolutely dominated that year, while Fox suddenly looked at Damnation Alley with concern. They cut out almost an hour of footage and put more emphasis on the action and effects – which looked suddenly chintzy compared to Star Wars and it quietly flopped.
Star Wars Took Part Of Damnation Alley’s Budget
The effects sequences in A New Hope – where Stormtroopers can’t aim – broke new ground, but they didn’t come cheap. Originally budgeted at $8 million, the final movie is estimated to have cost at least $10 million. Sadly for Damnation Alley, Fox ended up pulling part of its budget to help complete Star Wars. According to director Jack Smight (via Web Archive), he later discovered the studio had taken around a quarter of Damnation Alley’s budget and handed it to Star Wars instead. Of course, this resulted in Damnation Alley’s effects looking cheap, with the film even employing stock footage to complete certain shots.
Damnation Alley Became A Cult Favorite
Damnation Alley had little in common with its source novel, which instead depicted an outlaw biker named “Hell” Tanner riding through a destroyed America to deliver a plague vaccine. Death Wish franchise star Charles Brosnan was once in line for the role, but despite a faithful adaptation being written, it wasn’t until author Zelazny saw the movie that he realized how much had changed. While Star Wars knocked away all competition like Damnation Alley or William Friedkin’s Sorcerer, it still attracted a cult thanks to TV airings and VHS. Despite the terrible effects, it offered a dusty post-apocalyptic adventure years before Mad Max arrived.
While the cast is fine, Damnation Alley’s big star was really the Landmaster. This beast of a machine was one of the few holdovers from the book and featured prominently in all the advertising and posters for the adaptation. The Landmaster is easily the most recognizable element of the relatively forgotten Damnation Alley, though certain moments – like a supporting character being eaten alive by mutant cockroaches – have stuck with viewers. Outside of being rounding thrashed by Star Wars: A New Hope, the film does have a legacy, including inspiring 2000 AD’s “Cursed Earth” comic arc and the video game series Fallout.
