Hot Rod Girl

This film will take you back to the days of rock and roll, jukeboxes and of course, hot rods. Well acted (especially by John Smith) and Lori Nelson is real easy to look at (although you might prefer her cool '55 T-bird). It's also fun to watch a pre-Riddler Frank Gorshin in one of his early roles. Get ready to to roll up your sleeves and grease your hair back while you watch "Hot Rod Girl".

The reason I gave it a higher rating is because of the classic cars and dialogue. I love old film. It's a good simple story line with some familiar faces prior to becoming big stars.

It's worth a watch for the classic cars and dialogue. The banter is worth it too. It would be interesting to see these streets now and how they have changed. My father would have ID'd every make & model of each vehicle. They were unique! Chuck Connors plays his role well in a clean , calm , authoritative performance.

The beginning scenes would fair well at a high school or drivers ed course. Road rage before it was called road rage.

This Attempted Cash-In on the Headlines Like "Juvenile Delinquency" and "Hot Rods",

Commits 2 of the No-No Sins...

Deliver On What You are Selling...Never be Boring.

This Lackluster, Lame, Message-Movie is Wrought with Wrong-Head Writing, Presentation and Remains an Embarrassing Entry in Mid-50's "Teen" Exploitation.

The "Rebels Without a Cause" had Good Causes Indeed.

Explore Life, Have Fun, and Express Yourself.

Following on Their Jitterbugging Foot-Steps were the "Establishment"...It saw and Opportunity...To Make Money Selling Books, Records, Movies, and More.

Juveniles, as a Generation, also had for the First-Time Ever... Disposable Money to Burn.

Their were Plenty of Cons in the Products that were Designed to Attract Audiences in the Newly Exploitable Generation.

This was One of Them.

Making a Movie that, through Advertising, would put Denim in the Seats in Droves. Then Gave Them a Sermon on the Evils of "Hot-Rods", "Drag Racing" and"Leather Jackets".

Yea, that's why They went to the Drive-Ins and Theatres...Not.

The Film Shows a Couple of Street Races in the most Luke-Warm Fashion.

The Drag Races at the Showcased Track are Mysteriously Absent.

That's Enough Examples. But there are Many More.

Hopefully more Fans of this Type will Speak-Out about its Ineptitude.

Skip this one to Avoid Suffering and Find Some other JD Movies that are...

Worth a Watch.... This One is NOT.

Believing that a drag strip will keep kids from racing their hot rods on the street "Detective Ben Merrill" (Chuck Connors) takes an active interest and encourages them to drive responsibly. Unfortunately, when a certain group's leader by the name of "Jeff Northrup" (John Smith) has his younger brother killed in a racing accident he decides to avoid the drag strip altogether. This results in the rest of the group also losing interest in the drag strip and instead doing the exact thing that Detective Bill Merrill feared the most. Soon the residents of the city become extremely upset with the way the kids are driving recklessly through town and the police are forced to begin taking action against those who own hot rods. Matters become even worse when a troublemaker by the name of "Bronc Talbott" (Mark Andrews) arrives in town and decides to make a play for Jeff's girlfriend, "Lisa Vernon" (Lori Nelson). Now, rather than reveal any more of the film I will just say that this was an okay grade-B picture which managed to pass the time more or less. Although it's not a great film by any means I didn't think it was that bad either and so I have given it a rating of about average. If nothing else it manages to capture the 1950's time-period pretty well and that might be of interest to some viewers.

I have to admit it. Why? Well it features a young Chuck Connors for one thing but even more importantly for me it stars Lori Nelson of REVENGE OF THE CREATURE fame. I have to admit there's just something about Nelson I adore, not sure what it is exactly but she has a certain quality that defies description. The film itself is an interesting piece of 1950s nostalgia, especially for anyone who remembers or actually lived through the hot rodding craze from that era. Now I'll admit this was before my time, yet it holds a certain fascination and appeal for me. The film, while being basically pro-teens (they are just mixed up kids in need of a place to go and have fun but who need the help and guidance of a responsible adult-Connors' Detective Ben Merrill), does send a mixed message with regards to hot-rodding...both positive and negative to the point that in the end we are left scratching our heads.