The Big Bus

The Big Bus (1976) is James Frawley's spoof comedy, and you can watch online on iFILM. The whole thing rides on Cyclops, the world's first nuclear-powered bus, setting off on a non-stop run from New York to Denver.

Behind the wheel sits Dan Torrance, a driver dogged by an ugly rumor — that he once ate a few passengers when a mountain trip went wrong. His co-pilot keeps passing out at the worst moments, and the cabin is packed with oddballs. Meanwhile the oil lobby schemes to turn the maiden voyage into a fireball. Joseph Bologna and Stockard Channing anchor the leads, José Ferrer plays the villain plotting from a wheelchair, and Ned Beatty and Larry Hagman pile on the chaos.

The movie sends up the disaster blockbusters that ruled the seventies — Airport, The Poseidon Adventure — and beats Airplane! to the punch by four years. The jokes are gleefully dumb and the absurdity only grows toward the end. A treat for anyone who loves old-school movie parody. Stream The Big Bus (1976) online on iFILM.