King of the Mountain is a 1981 American action drama film starring Harry Hamlin, Joseph Bottoms, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Richard Cox, Seymour Cassel and Dennis Hopper about a group that race their cars up and down Mulholland Drive for both money and prestige.

Steve's blossoming relationship with singer Tina (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) causes him to re-think his mantra, as he realizes that a truly fulfilling life involves more than just work and play.

Steve (Harry Hamlin) works at a Porsche repair garage by day and by night reigns as the "King of The Mountain", the most successful and talented of a group that organize, wager on and participate in races up and down the narrow, winding roads of Mulholland Drive in the hills on the edge of the San Fernando Valley.

Aside from wanting the thrill, Steve is egged on by Cal (Dennis Hopper), a co-worker and the former King who reigned until a near-fatal accident destroyed his now aging, dilapidated Corvette and drove him over the edge mentally.

Light Police patrols were eventually increased into a full-force crackdown on racing in the area after complaints were fielded from the residents and accidents, sometimes resulting in death and/or serious injury occurred.

During the late 1970s an article titled "Thunder Road" [1] appeared in an issue of New West Magazine, the article detailed some of what was going on in the canyon and made specific reference to two particular drivers; Chris Banning, who owned and raced a heavily modified Porsche 911 and Charles "Crazy Charlie" Woit, who owned and raced a vintage, 427 cubic-inch Big-Block powered Chevrolet Corvette.