No Limite da Velocidade

This film was made well before Jimmy Stewart was a real headliner. And, the studios didn't yet know exactly what sort of caliber actor they had on their hands. So, they experimented with him in a variety of films--some successful, some not. This one falls in the middle and while isn't playing the sort of character you'd expect from Stewart, he isn't nearly so out of his element as he would be just a short time later in BORN TO DANCE--where he sings!!! This film is very very reminiscent of a Jimmy Cagney film from just a few years before, THE CROWD ROARS. Both are in fact pretty indistinguishable. Yes the plots differ, but they all just seem like a lot of race cars spinning around track that are obviously the result of rear projection and stunt men. Not both but not particularly good either.

That honor goes to Next Time We Love with Margaret Sullavan. Indeed, she specifically chose Stewart to play opposite her. What stands out here is how even in his early raw period, his naturalness before the camera stands out.

Most everyone's style of acting is rather dated, but not Stewart's. This is so even in the musical he did with Eleanor Powell, Born to Dance. Not even in those early roles where he was honing his skills. He even stands out against Powell and Loy and Company in After the Thin Man, where he shows an early surprising edge. Speed demonstrates that Stewart did drunk well--see The Philadelphia Story for later confirmation of this.

He's also quite sexy in some of that early stuff.

Jimmy Stewart may be only an automobile tester right now, but he's got plans: "I'm not always gonna be a mug with cylinder oil in my hair," he vows.

While he spends his working days racing, flipping and crashing test cars, he is also working on a new carburetor design that he is sure will make his mark. Unfortunately, he's having trouble perfecting the carburetor…will the company bigwigs force him to take on help from the snooty engineering department?

Stewart's ambitions and frustrations make up one part of the plot; the other half of the story is a romantic drama involving publicity agent Wendy Barrie, newly promoted auto executive Una Merkel, and bland auto engineer Weldon Heyburn, whom Stewart considers a rival both professionally and romantically but who is really not a bad guy after all.

The first fifteen minutes of the picture offer a great tour of the automobile factory where these characters all work. It's basically a commercial for the auto industry, and a pretty neat look at the inside of a production plant, circa 1936.

With this cast, you would expect some good laughs or at least plenty of snappy dialog delivery; unfortunately, the tone is fairly grim and the screenplay pretty dry. We do get a bit of comic relief from Ted Healy as Stewart's friend and sidekick; but it sure seems a shame to have both Barrie and Merkel—two really excellent comic talents—go practically a whole movie with no wisecracks!

The production is slick and includes some impressive footage from testing grounds and racetracks. And Stewart definitely shows some charisma, even though his character is so stubborn and self-pitying that it's hard to root for him completely.

Overall, it's easy to watch but probably should have been better.

Nope, not that Speed. Here we have one of Jimmy Stewart's first starring roles. He plays a test driver (sort of a living crash test dummy) for Emery Motors with ambitions to become something more and win the heart of pretty Wendy Barrie. So he designs a new carburetor and works with a rival to make it work before testing it out at the Indianapolis 500.

Jimmy Stewart fans might be a little surprised by this one. This isn't the usual likable guy-next-door Jimmy we all know and love. In fact, he's kind of a jerk at times. But that's the way the character is written so we can't fault Jimmy much for that. It feels like it was written with someone like James Cagney in mind. Weldon Heyburn (who?) plays Jimmy's rival for Wendy Barrie. Ted Healey plays Jimmy's comic relief best friend. The always adorable Una Merkel has a supporting part as an executive at Emery. Pretty surprising to see that, given the time in which this was made. Of course, she's in love with Heyburn's character and wonders aloud if the promotion to executive was worthwhile since it's come between them. But she never gives up her career during the film. There's also some talk at the end about gender fairness as relates to Wendy Barrie's character ("A girl can have horse sense, too!"). So this is pretty forward-thinking for a B picture from 1936.

The movie makes good use of rear projection effects and stock footage. It's interesting stuff if you're an automotive history buff. I liked seeing the old cars, auto factories, and the racing and crash footage. The "Falcon" car that Jimmy drives in the exciting climax was created just for the picture and it's pretty cool. All in all it's a decent movie with a few extras that make it a little more interesting than you might expect.

After some minor, but impressive roles James Stewart was handed the lead in SPEED (1936). A typical 'B' programmer that the Major Studios used for actors to work the 'kinks' out before they were moved on to major projects. In this one Stewart plays TERRY MARTIN a talented test driver and inventor from the wrong side of the tracks. That means he is loaded down with all sorts of class warfare hang-ups that was supposed to endear him to the mid 1930s audiences. Actually in the 21st Century he just comes off as a ASS!

MARTIN is working on a new SUPER CARBERATOR with his side-kick 'Gadget' Haggerty (Ted Healy). He duels for creative control with Frank Lawson (Weldon Heyburn) educated engineer and top intellect of the company and also for the romantic interest of Jane Mitchell/Emery (Wendy Barrie). 'Jo' Henderson (Una Merkel) wants Lawson, but just does not know how to go about it. Fear not, true love will conquer in the end and automotive innovation, money and success will follow, with a happy ending.

The idea of a engineering miracle invention like the SUPER CARBERATOR was a typical one in the 1930s. Whether for Automobiles or Aero-Planes it promised a revolution in performance. Either by stretching a gallon of gas to a 100 miles or promising speeds (in the air) in excess of 500mph. The movies though were on the wrong track. In Germany and Sweden, fuel injection was shown as the way to go, not carburetors. Don't think so, just look under the hood of your Car!