The 1970s were an interesting time for lots of different aspects of America culture but trucking was really an interesting thing to behold during that decade. The idea of getting on the road and making a living without someone staring over your shoulder or breathing down your neck was appealing and there was a definite outlaw appeal to it for many people. The trucks of the era are cool as well. Cab over rigs were dominant sellers during the 1970s and this film is full of some really nice ones. Yes, there are a few long nose trucks as well but the cab over rigs dominate On The Boulevard by volume.

You’ll see how the drivers lived, how they thought of themselves, what it was like to keep up on log books and all, and you will get to see CB communication at its coolest. These people are literally speaking a language known only unto themselves. The jargon, codewords, numbers, phrasing, and speech are almost impossible to follow even with subtitles.

As the caption talks about below, there is a compelling scene about 15 minutes into the film where a driver is running at night to avoid scales and hassles. That’s the nice way to put it. The real way to put it is that he’d be in deep crap if he stopped at the scales and had to be weighed, searched, and examined. His solution? Literally go hammer down and blow past the scales at full throttle. It worked! The way he talks about it the next morning with the film crew is amazing.

If you have ever wondered what the trucking culture was like in the 1970s, here it is in all of the glory you’d expect.