Hot Rod Gang

Hot Rod Gang (1958)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Fun teen stuff from AIP has John Ashley playing John Abernathy III, a cool teen who drives a fast car and even manages to get the pretty new girl (Jody Fair) in town. However, trouble happens when his gang of friends are about to be thrown out of the place they hang out so they decide to use their band to make some money and they also get some help from Gene Vincent. If you're looking for a film that will change your life or change your views on certain topics then HOT ROD GANG certainly isn't for you. If you're just wanting some cheap fun from the 1950s drive-in craze then this film offers up a pretty good time. I thought the story was actually one good enough to where you could get wrapped up in what was going on. Yes, it's pretty far-fetched and you could argue that it was silly but in a teenage guys life is there anything more important than a girl, a car and a place to hang out? I thought director Lew Landers (THE RAVEN) did a very good job at keeping the film running at a nice pace and he also added in some nice touches with the supporting characters. I really liked how eccentric, weird and rather silly all of the adults were. This is something that happened in most of these films but here it's done in a way that was pretty funny to watch and especially the two aunts. The performances really weren't all that bad with Ashley once again playing the type he's best remembered for and he even gets to sing a couple songs. Fair made for a good love interest even though she wasn't all that energetic. Future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gene Vincent gets to do a few tunes including his final hit Dance to the Bop. Again, HOT ROD GANG isn't going to change your life but it's fast and fun entertainment.

American International Pictures led by cigar chomping Hollywood stereotype Samuel Z. Arkoff produced lots of these teen exploitation B Movies in the 50's and 60's and Hot Rod Gang is one of them. The formula was simple, hot rods, fights, drag racing, girls and rock and roll music. This film has all of that plus Gene Vincent! The story is about John Abernathy III played by Elvis sound alike John Ashley who is part of society's upper crust who has to keep his "hot rod gang" a secret from his family. He meets Lois Cavendish played by Jody Fair who also played the heroin junkie in "High School Confidential" and helps keep his secret safe and enjoys his hot rod gang. The '32 Ford roadster Ashley drives is the Bob McGee/Dick Sritchfield roadster. The '32 Ford roadster that Ashley's nemesis Steve Drexel drives is actually the famous Pete Hendersen roadster which is the car that had the famous race with a quarter horse that set the blueprint for quarter mile drag racing. These two have a "curb race" in the beginning of the film that will make any car buff cringe! By the way, the opening sequence was filmed on Santa Monica blvd in Hollywood. The other '32 Ford in this movie is Tony LaMasa's chopped and channeled green roadster that was the same car that was featured in an episode of Ozzie and Harriet where Ozzie raced it in a Model T. Gene Vincent plays himself and sings 2 songs and tries to help Ashley's singing career but Ashley declines because he can't risk a public appearance because the police(Russ Bender)are looking for Ashley for splashing the stodgy old man in the beginning of the film with his hot rod while racing through a puddle...for reals!!! If anything, it's worth seeing this just to see Maureen Arthur sing one of the corniest songs ever "Choo Choo Cha Poochie" in the pointiest bra known to man. The Ala-Kart, a show winning hot rod built by George Barris is also in the film but only in 2 scenes and for some reason, hardly noticeable.

The main reason I decided to watch this movie was because since I've been recently reviewing movies featuring '50s Rock stars, I had to check this one out after finding out Gene Vincent was in it. Unlike previously in The Girl Can't Help It in which he only sang, here he also has some speaking lines as he's a friend of the leading lady, Jody Fair. John Ashley is the leading man and he sings quite a bit of songs as well. Maureen Arthur is the only other singer here though she only has one number. While there are plenty of hot rod races, there's also an eccentric group of supporting characters related to Ashley's character that provide many laughs. To tell the truth, I couldn't keep up with the plot since so much was going on! Still, I very much liked Hot Rod Gang. P.S. Another reason I decided to watch this was because this was the only other movie in which Kay Wheeler did a dance, her other one was Rock Baby - Rock It.

John Ashley is wanted by the law for driving recklessly through a puddle (no kidding). He is later framed for stealing hub-caps (no kidding). Incognito, he becomes a rock n' roll star with some help from 50's rockabilly legend Gene Vincent. In between, he meets a hip chick and gets into fistfights with some cool cats. Dig it, Daddy-o.

Followers of the late Gene Vincent, one of the pioneers of the Rock and Roll music genre will have lots of reason to watch Hot Rod Gang. For the rest I can say there's hot rods, but only a couple of bad apples among the teens, hardly enough to call it gang.

Actually the teens led by John Ashley just want to maintain their clubhouse where they dance, listen to rock and roll, and work on their hot rods. Ashley does all three but he has to keep it on the sly lest his maiden aunts who are straight out of Arsenic And Old Lace find out as they hold the key to his millions. They don't poison people, they're just plain dotty.

Can't touch those millions, but Ashley can cut a record or two as a new rock and roll sensation with the help of Gene Vincent to save the club from Dub Taylor the landlord. In the meantime the club is getting a bad reputation from those teens who are into stealing and stripping cars.

Some songs by Ashley and Vincent are the only reason to see this drive- in special from the Fifties.