Ron Howard's Directorial Debut Was An Underrated Crime Comedy Fans Need To Watch

Ron Howard began his career in Hollywood back in 1956 when he was only two years old. He appeared in a Western called "Frontier Woman" (alongside his father, Rance Howard) playing ... well, playing a two-year-old. This led to a prolific on-screen career as a child performer, credited as Ronny Howard, appearing in films like "The Music Man" and "Village of the Giants," and achieving great fame on TV, acting in shows like "The Twilight Zone," "Dennis the Menace," and "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." His big break came when he played the young Opie Taylor in the 1960 sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show." Howard never stopped working, appearing in just about every hit TV series of the 1960s. By the 1970s, as a twentysomething, he was starring in hit films like "American Graffiti" and leading hit shows like "Happy Days."

Because he was raised in the business, Howard knew how to cut a deal. In 1974, he appeared in a low-budget car-chase comedy called "Eat My Dust!," a film written and directed by Charles B. Griffith and produced by the legendary Roger Corman. Howard, 22 at the time, proposed a deal with Corman: he would appear in "Eat My Dust!," but only if he would be permitted to direct a feature for Corman in the near future. Corman agreed, and in 1976, Howard directed "Grand Theft Auto," another car chase comedy. Howard also starred in the film and co-wrote the script with his father, Rance, who played a supporting role.

"Grand Theft Auto" was, by Corman's own mandate, made on the cheap, sporting a budget of only $600,000. It would go on to gross a respectable $15 million at the box office, continuing Corman's reputation for never losing a dime on a picture.

"Grand Theft Auto" has a fun premise: Nancy Morgan plays Paula, the daughter of a prominent politician who is happily dating Sam, a college student with poor prospects. Paula's parents (Bigby Cahill and Elizabeth Powers) insist that she marry a wealthy d-bag named Collins (Paul Linke), something she very much does not want to do. To escape her parents' machinations, Paula steals a car, picks up Sam, and begins a quick road trip to Las Vegas, hoping to marry Sam in a quickie wedding. She's starting in Los Angeles, so it will take her about four or five hours. 

Once she's on the road, of course, Paula accumulates several pursuers. Collins is on her tail, as is a goon named Ned Slinker (Rance Howard). Collins also calls in to a popular radio program, offering a handsome cash reward to anyone who can catch up with Paula, attracting multiple new pursuers. It's a wacky road comedy in the spirit of "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," but with a slightly harder edge and a much lower budget. 

Howard savvily cast multiple known film directors in cameos, including Paul Bartel, Alan Arkush, and Garry Marshall. Ron Howard's little brother Clint also appeared.

The film wasn't terribly well-received by critics — it has a 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes — but it made money, and that's mostly what Corman cared about. Only five years later, in 1982, Howard would direct again, this time a high-profile studio comedy called "Night Shift" starring Harry Winkler, Shelley Long, and Michael Keaton. That film made $21 million on an $8 million budget. In 1984, Howard directed "Splash," a mermaid comedy, an $11 million film that raked in almost $70 million. He was a legit hitmaker.

Ron Howard talked about making "Grand Theft Auto" with Car and Driver Magazine back in 2013, and he recalled the experience well. He mentioned that Todd Hollowell, the executive producer on "Grand Theft Auto" was also his assistant director on "Rush," one of his more recent movies, so their working relationship is lengthy. Howard also noted that he developed filming techniques that he was still doing years later, saying: 

"[I learned] the approach of shooting the stunts and breaking them down. Basically, trying to make the cars and the drivers a single character together. In 'Grand Theft Auto,' we were doing it for thrills and comedy, and in 'Rush' for drama. And staging the scenes so you actually understood what was going on dramatically, not just sitting back and watching action unfold."

In a separate interview with Business Insider, Howard said that he was only allowed to direct "Grand Theft Auto" via blackmail. That's an exaggeration, of course. He merely struck a deal with Corman. The legendary producer was the one who chose the title "Grand Theft Auto," as it was one of the working titles for "Eat My Dust!" Corman said that he had to write, in his words, "a car crash movie about young people on the run." Howard said that he "had an outline for him about 15 minutes later, and I got to make that movie." Corman didn't much like the finished script — it was too character-forward for his studio — but he agreed to it anyway. 

The rest is history.

Fun bit of trivia: "Grand Theft Auto" remains the only film that Howard both directed and acted in. Sadly, it's not available on streaming, but resourceful movie-watchers will know where to find it.