Hot Rod

Car culture was a big deal for post-war teens. As I recall, cool cars conferred about as much status on ambitious boys as competitive sports. The war had put a big crimp in the supply of new cars, so boys fashioned their own automotive skills by assembling 'hot rods' from spare parts wherever they could get them. As the movie shows, true hot rods were faster than normal, and when a kid won a competition, either on the street or on a track, he was not only showing off driving skills, but mechanical ability as well. In short, he built an enviable reputation among teens if not among adults.

The movie dramatizes much of this. Of course, the story's done Hollywood style. Thus, many of the rough dramatic edges are smoothed out in the end, even if it's not too plausible. For example, kids would continue to do risky street racing, despite drag strips alternatives. Nonetheless, for viewers curious about teens and the time period, Jimmy Lydon is a good example of the teen image prior to James Dean's celebrated rebelliousness. Lydon's a little overage here for the school boy part, but his basic likability and respectfulness are never in doubt.

Anyway, whatever else, the movie remains a showcase for hot-rodding, circa 1950.

The writing and acting are deeply cheesy (but in an endearing way- It's actually pretty funny, at times) but the historic cars in the opening 4 minutes alone are worth the price of admission- The McGee Roadster, the Bill Burke Belly-tank, rare footage of the early, Lake Muroc SCTA trials.

The cars in the main storyline aren't show-rods; Really, the modifications are pretty basic- '32 flathead-powered roadsters with fenders removed, dropped front axle, a hot camshaft, a 2x2bbl, or maybe 3x2bbl manifold, and finned aluminium heads- chromed on the fancier cars. But they're realistic for what a teenager with limited skills and limited budget could do in 1950 California- Back when you could pay for a hot rod build, with the earning from a before-school paper-route... before you needed to OWN the newspaper, to afford an A-V8, or Deuce Roadster.

(This movie is so early in the hot rod era, that there isn't even a Deuce Coupe in the whole film- Why would a kid bother with a big, heavy, undesirable 3-window coupe, when you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a 32 roadster, selling for under $100?)

This was required watching in the early 50's when we were building rods & customs. Poor acting, second rate plot, but Oh Those Cars!!! Anyone building a retro-rod today should be able to see this. Too bad we can't get it on tape or DVD

This is a really poor film. It features two alleged teenagers, reference is made to going to school, and they're way way past their sell-by date to be teens. Jimmy Lydon, who was really good in the Henry Aldrich movies, was playing a teenager NINE YEARS earlier than this movie was made, and even then he was almost past his teens. Gil Stratton as his sidekick 'Swifty' is even older. Neither of them really could pass for a teenager or high school student. In fact it's kinda laughable. Lydon plays it low key; he's pretty skinny and still does have a bit of baby-face to him but Stratton is absolutely not believable in his role.

There are so many old hot rod movies out there and this is one which disappointed me. How about getting character roles played by people who are believable in them?

A narrator describes the world of the hot rod as a new and developing sport. He then describes the problematic world of illegal hot rod racing. A motorcycle cop confronts a group of racers. He catches a couple of racers after their car breaks down. Judge Langham sentences the first time offenders and revokes their licenses for a year. His son David Langham gets a car and gets caught up in an incident.

This starts basically as one of those government films that get shown in high schools. It turns into something else. It does have characters and a story. I don't care about the characters. The story is not that compelling and it ends in the least compelling way. This is a movie trying to placate the hot rod crowd, but they would never fall for a lame movie like this. The government film warning against hot rods would be more fun.