The Cars That Ate Paris (1974): Cast, Box Office & Plot
The Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 comedy horror film directed by Peter Weir, starring Terry Camilleri as Arthur Waldo, Rick Scully and John Meillon. It runs 1 hour 27 minutes and earned $786 worldwide.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 27m (87 min)
- Director
- Peter Weir
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- Royce Smeal Film Productions
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is The Cars That Ate Paris About?
The premise of The Cars That Ate Paris without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
In the remote Australian settlement of Paris, 148 residents are all murderers. After his brother dies in a crash, drifter Arthur Waldo is taken in by the mayor, who hopes he’ll stay. Arthur soon discovers the town engineers fatal accidents, robs victims, and sends survivors to a hospital where a doctor lobotomises them for his experiments.
The Cars That Ate Paris Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- crash
- setting a car on fire
- driving
- driving at night
- human experimentation
- lying on a bed
- door
- piano
- bodily possession
- redhead
- scream
- supernatural power
+38 more Show fewer
- ozploitation
- killer car
- redneck
- visit
- male protagonist
- saying thank you
- apology
- opening a door
- criminal
- driving a car
- night
- town
- rural setting
- salvage
- urban setting
- country town
- photograph
- blonde
- f word
- killed in a car crash
- doctor
- begins with death
- dead man
- spike
- rural town
- brother brother relationship
- crashing into a building
- christian church
- radio
- blood
- clergyman
- impalement
- town with a dark secret
- city in title
- written by director
- new wave
- horror comedy
- miniature schnauzer
The Cars That Ate Paris Cast & Characters
Terry Camilleri leads the cast as Arthur Waldo, with Rick Scully as George Waldo and John Meillon as The Mayor. Directed by Peter Weir; 15 actors are credited in all.
-
Director Peter Weir
- Terry Camilleri as Arthur Waldo
- Rick Scully as George Waldo
-
John Meillon as The Mayor -
Chris Haywood as Darryl
Also Starring in The Cars That Ate Paris
· 11 more- Bruce Spence Charlie
- Melissa Jaffer Beth
- Max Phipps Mulray
- Kevin Miles Dr. Midland
- Max Gillies Metcalfe
- Peter Armstrong Gorman
- Danny Adcock Policeman
- Deryck Barnes Al Smedley
- Kevin Golsby Insurance Man
- Edward Howell Tringham
- Joe Burrow Ganger
More from Peter Weir
More films directed by Peter Weir, best-rated first: The Truman Show, Black Rain, Dead Poets Society and Picnic at Hanging Rock.
The Cars That Ate Paris Plot Summary
What happens in The Cars That Ate Paris from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 11 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
The film opens with an urban couple driving through the countryside, a moment that feels like a polished cinema advertisement before reality intrudes. A sudden fatal accident halts their journey, and the rural Australian town of Paris reveals a disturbing pattern: accidents are staged for visitors passing through. In the aftermath, townspeople sift through the wreckage, gathering items from the luggage of the dead while survivors are taken to the local hospital, where they are subjected to lobotomies with power tools and kept as “veggies” for medical experiments by the town surgeon. Meanwhile, the town’s younger generation salvages the wrecked vehicles and repurposes them into a bizarre menagerie of cars that look like they belong to a different era, all destined for destruction.
Full summary
The whole story of The Cars That Ate Paris, scene by scene
The Cars That Ate Paris Box Office
The Cars That Ate Paris grossed $786 worldwide.
Worldwide gross
$786
The Cars That Ate Paris Trailers & Videos
The trailer of The Cars That Ate Paris.
How Well Do You Know The Cars That Ate Paris?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
What is the name of the film's main protagonist?
The Cars That Ate Paris Also Known As
14 alternative titles, including “The Cars That Eat People” and “Los Coches que Devoraron Paris”.
- Also known as
-
- The Cars That Eat People
- Los Coches que Devoraron Paris
- Les voitures qui ont mangé Paris
- Párizs, a roncskocsik Mekkája
- Die Killer-Autos von Paris
- Le macchine che distrussero Parigi
- Violência Por Acidente
- Die Autos die Paris auffraßen
- Los coches que devoraron París
- Машины, которые съели Париж
- Колите, които погълнаха Париж
- 巴黎食人车
+2 more Show fewer
- 파리의 자동차
- 巴黎食人車
Seen The Cars That Ate Paris?
Movies Like The Cars That Ate Paris
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including The Car, Crash! and Eating Cars.
The Cars That Ate Paris FAQ: Cast, Box Office & Runtime
Runtime, release date, director, cast, box office and post-credit scenes of The Cars That Ate Paris, each answered in a sentence.
How long is The Cars That Ate Paris?
The Cars That Ate Paris runs 1 hour 27 minutes (87 minutes).
When was The Cars That Ate Paris released?
The Cars That Ate Paris was released on October 10, 1974.
Who directed The Cars That Ate Paris?
The Cars That Ate Paris was directed by Peter Weir.
More films by Peter Weir Who is in the cast of The Cars That Ate Paris?
The Cars That Ate Paris stars Terry Camilleri as Arthur Waldo, Rick Scully as George Waldo and John Meillon as The Mayor, among 15 credited actors.
How much did The Cars That Ate Paris make at the box office?
The Cars That Ate Paris grossed $786 worldwide.
Does The Cars That Ate Paris have a post-credit scene?
No. The Cars That Ate Paris has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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