By David G. Firestone

Hot Rod magazine first hit the shelves in January of 1948. Robert E. Petersen of Petersen Publishing Company published it, and NHRA founder Wally Parks was their first editor. It features tech tips, stories and many well designed and built hot rods. The NHRA or National Hot Rod Association and Hot Rod Magazine have been great for the sport of drag racing.

The two had an official partnership in a series of races. The Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races took place at Riverside, California between 1961 and 1969. All the professional categories, and many sportsman categories took part in the event. The 1965 Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races featured the A/FX (Factory Experimental) category, which would evolve into what we call Funny Cars.

In 1965, a film, The Hot Rod Story-Drag Racing, was produced covering the 1965 event. It was produced by Robert E. Petersen, and narrated by Dick Enberg. Surprisingly, there isn’t much information about this movie. Enberg hosts the movie as a sports show.

The opening features a drag race, with what can be called typical California drag racing music over the credits. Dick introduces the show, and then cuts to a historical package about the history of drag racing. The background music in this scene is very ill-fitting, better suited for a last dance at prom scene. The package covers circle track, as well as salt flat racing. The cars all look amazing in this package.

The history of the NHRA is detailed, and the various classes are discussed. Again, for some reason, very ill-fitting music is used in the background. Elapsed time is explained, and more beautiful racing footage is shown.

The scene shifts back to the current events. Enberg interviews Wally Park about the current state of the sport. The original slingshot dragster, here referred to as a “rail job” is discussed in detail. The safety aspects are discussed. The engine is also discussed, in detail.

The scene shifts to the racing action. The scene starts with fans packing the stands, as the drivers prepare their cars for the race. The technical inspection is also shown. The rare duel engine dragster is shown, as well as teams preparing the parachute. The drivers meeting takes place, where the rules are explained.

After the meeting, Enberg discusses the Christmas Tree. Ray Brock explains the way the tree works. After that, the pre-race ceremonies take place, where all the cars are paraded for the fans. Several names of drivers are discussed, including Connie Kalitta, Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen, and Don “the Snake” Prudhomme. The registration and paperwork aspects of racing are discussed. The weight is measured, and the safety team inspects the cars. A beautiful scene of driver Les Allen painting the number on his car is shown. An even more amazing scene of Les Allen putting his fire protection on follows.

Les drives to the starting line, and completes a run. Enberg questions Allen, who is disappointed in the run. He ran 169 MPH but he wants a run of 185. He plans on running every weekend. Qualifying continues, with more and more drivers making runs. The stock category is discussed next . There are many shots of races, all of which have beautiful cars and awesome racing. Shirley Shahan, one of the few women in the event, is interviewed. A/FX Factory Experimental is also discussed.

Top gas, a category similar to Top Fuel is discussed. It should be noted that by 1971, Top Gas had been dropped as a category. Some of the waiting drivers including Don Prudhome, and Tom McEwen, and Ed “The Ace” McCullochare interviewed by Enberg.

The “rail job” races are up next. The racing action is great, but the music is ominous for some reason. After some more racing, Connie Kalitta is discussed. The Bounty Hunter is shown racing his Ford dragster. It’s mentioned that the engine has a shelf life of 12 races. At the time of production, the speed record in top fuel was 206 MPH. Kalitta discusses how a broken engine part messed up his run. He also discusses how the turn around worked in 1965.

Back to racing again, now the focus is on the parachutes. A scene where a driver gets loose is shown. The scene shifts to the pits as eliminations starts. The teams furiously work over their engines. One dragster is getting a new rear end from another dragster in order to race. For some reason, a scene featuring top gas is reused.

The official in the tower is shown. A race is shown from the perspective of the car, first from behind the front wheel, and second, facing the parachute. Another race is from the perspective of the driver. The point that anyone can win is proven when an underdog wins, trophies are presented, and the movie comes to an end.

I am giving this movie an A-. My one complaint is that at times, the music isn’t really suited to what’s being shown on screen. Aside from that, everything else about the movie is great. The narration, footage, and pacing all work well. The movie does a great job explaining the basics. Some parts haven’t aged well, but all in all, this is a great movie for drag racing fans.

Next week, a Jack Hill drama.

By David G. Firestone

Kids who street race has been a movie trope for years now. From American Graffiti to The Fast and The Furious, there are no shortage of movies featuring street racing. But when did this tread start? Well, it’s not as straight forward as it might seem. Some movies aren’t so much about telling a story, so much as they are about teaching morals. The subject of dangerous driving has spawned a number of movies. Sometimes, these movies were shown at schools as part of a class. Other times they were theatrically released.

That brings us to this week’s movie, The Devil on Wheels. The Devil on Wheels is a safety movie disguised as a drama. Produced by Benjamin Stoloff and directed by Crane Wilbur, the movie is less than subtle about the fact that hot rods and speeding are bad. Supposedly, it’s also the first movie to show women in bikini tops, but since two piece suits are hundreds of years old, I’m taking that fact with a grain of salt. What is the movie like?

Like any other ham-fisted old moral movie, it starts with vintage ominous music. Shots of cars filmed from an overpass play under the opening credits. The movie opens with Michael and Todd working on their hot rod, and discussing various adjustments, when they are joined by Rusty and Peggy.

Mickey’s father John gets a new Ford, and is driving it home, when he witnesses a horrific car accident that kills a little girl. The father was driving fast, missed a curve, which resulted in the death of the daughter. John wants to act as a witness, but is rebuffed. John makes it home, and the entire neighborhood comes over to see the new car. The hot rodders are impressed that the speedometer goes up to 120, and John lectures them on the dangers of speeding.

John takes the family on a drive, and promptly proves himself a hypocrite, dangerously passing multiple lines of cars, until he causes a fender bender. John freaks out on the other driver, until a cop shows up, and starts writing tickets to John. The scene shifts to court, where it’s revealed that the car John hit is the town judge, who tells him that his driving habits are awful. The judge, Judge Roger Tanner, lets John off with a lecture. On the way home, John nearly gets hit by a passing car. He again proves he’s a hypocrite, by complaining. The kids know the judge’s daughter from the country club.

The scene shifts to the country club pool, where Mickey starts hitting on Sue, the judge’s daughter. Using the accident as an excuse, they start a conversation which ends with Sue telling Jeff off. Rusty and Peggy are smitten with Jeff. Eventually, Jeff and Sue go out for a date. They seem to hit it off.

John takes his wife to the train station, and goes back to his old driving habits. They discuss Mickey’s new hot rod, which is seen driving, but has some issues under the hood. Rusty and Peggy mock Mickey for his slow driving habits, and not drag racing. The teasing works, and Mickey drives to the drag race. This includes a scene where a bunch of kids discuss their cars in hilarious scripted manners.

The first race is a free for all, to check out the new drivers. It eventually attracts the attention of the police, and all involve scatter. One driver gets caught, and the group has been arrested. Judge Tanner summons the kids, and makes it clear that hot rods are banned, and that anyone who violates this ruling, will have their parents summoned to courts. John makes Mickey gives up his hot rod.

Mickey and Todd speed and drive wrecklessly to catch his mom’s train. They run a railroad crossing, and they pull in to a mortuary, to lose the cops. The scene shifts to a beach at night, here the group is hanging out. Peggy is scared that she failed her finals, Rusty is smitten with Todd. As they listen to the radio, they hear a story about a hot rod that ran into the ocean. They speculate as to who the driver is, and decide to stop in the morgue.

Since the morgue is closed, they decide to break it, through a back door. Peggy is justifiably resistant to the whole situation. As they walk through the morgue, they feel the need to ring the doorbell, before entering a door, which leads to an office. They discuss the various items in the room, before focusing on a table with a cloth. The cloth starts to move, which is actually a cat. There is an eerie noise, which turns out to be dripping water.

Mickey eventually finds his way into a room with bodies in it. After some searching, he finds a body with a toe tag, revealing that the driver was Bob Cooper, who the group knows. As this is going on, a police officer arrives, and the group scatters, leaving Rusty behind. As the group discusses what to do, the cops arrive, a chase ensues, and the end result is a fatal accident.

Rusty is trapped in the morgue, and Mickey sneaks back into his house. Jeff and Sue arrive, and John meets with the two of them. Sue and John clear the air, and it’s revealed that the two are going to get engaged. The happy moment is interrupted by a phone call, which troubles John. The three of them leave. Mickey wanders around aimlessly, until a news report reveals that Todd has died in a crash that also killed Mickey’s mother.

Sue tries to console Mickey, but Mickey is convinced that his mother is still alive. Mickey calls his uncle, hoping that his mother is still there. As he talks, it becomes clear that his mother is, in fact, dead. Mickey is devastated. Mickey insists on going to the hospital, and meets with Jeff and John. Jeff tells a distraught Mickey to “be a man” and the three of them go into a room, where it’s revealed that his mother is alive, but just barely. Mickey reveals that he was the hit and run driver, and that Todd was the driver killed in the wreck. John disowns Mickey, but Jeff comes to his defense.

Mickey is arrested, and charged with suspicion of manslaughter. Jeff accompanies Mickey to the police station. The scene shifts to the police station, where Rusty is discussing the situation with her father and the prosecutor. He claims that she encouraged the behavior, and has responsibility.

At the trial, it’s revealed that Mickey’s mother will recover. In front of the judge, John claims that he is just as responsible for what happened. He proceeds to give a long-winded and melodramatic speech about the whole series of events. Mickey pleads guilty. The judge tells him not to tell his mother about the proceedings. At the hospital, Mickey tearfully tells his mother about the accident. At the end of the movie, John and his wife go to pick up Mickey. John almost goes back to his old ways, in the passenger seat, until he hears a police siren, and he realizes the truth. The movie fades to black.

I’m going to give the movie a B-. There really isn’t that much racing to speak of, and the racing shown uses sped up footage. The movie is more about driving safely. In this respect it does get the message across. The acting is good, and the set design is decent. Some of the writing could use work, though. The only race shown has a sequence where a series of rodders discussing their cars. It’s not very well scripted, and it comes across as awkward.

My one real complaint here, is that the movie is told from the perspective of the teenagers, and as a result, the laws and cops are considered the enemy. In this sense, the movie hurts itself. Other than that, there are no real antagonists in the movie, which does hurt it a little more. It’s not a terrible movie, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Next week, another hot rod movie, The Hot Rod Story Drag Racing.

By David G. Firestone

First off, Happy New Year! 2020 is upon us, which means that for the month of January, I will spotlight some little-known racing movies. Before we get to this week’s review, I do have some housekeeping things I need to discuss.

I had to make some difficult decisions in December. I spent a decent amount of time burnt out from The Driver Suit Blog, YouTube, and issues from other aspects of my life. As such, I’ve decided not to do Throwback Thursdays for 2020. These were filler anyway, so it isn’t the end of the world.

The second decision is that 2020 will probably be the last year for The Driver Suit Blog in its current form. I’ve been operating at an unsustainable level for some time, and it’s finally caught up. I will not give up, but I will probably not run as many new Friday Features as I once did, or I might rerun stuff more. I haven’t made the final decisions yet. The Driver Suit Blog isn’t going away, but I have to change for the better. With that out of the way, on to the review!

Jimmy Stewart had an acting career that spanned from 1935 to 1991. He worked with many esteemed directors, like Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, Otto Preminger, and Cecil B. DeMille. Some of his most well-known movies include Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Naked Spur, Rear Window, Anatomy of a Murder, Vertigo, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. His likeable personality made him box office gold, and a box office god.

While most might not consider Jimmy Stewart the top choice to play a racing driver, in 1936, he starred in Speed, an MGM drama about an engineer working to make his invention a reality. Produced by Lucien Hubbard and directed by Edwin L. Marin, the movie is Stewart’s first starring role, and costars Ted Heally of Three Stooges fame. The movie was seen as “passable” by many critics, claiming that the storyline was weak.

Jimmy Stewart plays Terry Martin, an engineer at the Emery Motors in Detroit. The scene opens at a car factory which also houses a dirt track. The scene opens with Jane Mitchell watching a car get destroyed, as a part of testing. Terry is the driver, and although he crashes, he is unhurt. Clarence “Gadget” Haggerty played by Ted Healy is ensuring that Terry isn’t hurt. Jane and Terry talk for a while, and then Terry takes a tour of the factory. Jane and Terry hit it off.

Frank Lawson is an automotive engineer who is competing for Jane’s hand. As they are touring the factory, and takes her in to a restricted area, which houses testing equipment. It’s clear that Terry is her choice. Terry and Frank don’t really like each other.

The scene shifts from the factory to a random dirt road. As Frank and Jane are driving, Terry and Gadget drive by, the two testing out a new carburetor. While Jane, Frank and Jane talk, Gadget makes some adjustments to Frank’s car, which causes it to shut off, after he claims “…it’s nearly perfect as we can make it. Nothing can go wrong with it.” Gadget and Terry tease Frank, and Terry takes Jane back to the plant. En route to the plant, Terry asks Jane if she can go with him to a company party, though she declines. Frank asks her at the factory, but she initially declines his advances as well.

The scene shifts to the party, which is decorated with racing flags. Terry dances with Gadget’s date, and Frank shows up with Jane. The party progresses very slowly, as does most of the film. Terry gets drunk at the party, and then has an argument with Jane, and sends her away, not listening to her explanation. Executive Jo Sanderson confronts Terry, and they try to figure out why Jane knows as many high up as she does.

The company decides to fund the carburetor, with Frank added on the project. There is obvious tension between the two. Jane arrives and tells them that the carburetor will be placed in a car in Indianapolis, in a race car. Frank and Terry perfect the carburetor, and the team races at Indianapolis.

The scene shifts to Indianapolis, where the the team prepares for the race, and witness a crash. Jane is understandably nervous when the driver is pronounced dead. Terry gets into the car, and starts his run with Gadget, which proves a successful run, equaling the track record. Frank and Terry have a brief argument about Jane, which is broken up by Jo. The team drives back to the hotel.

At lunch, Jane and Terry meet up, and Jane explains that she is interested in him. Terry’s inferiority complex is becoming more of an issue. Frank and Jo show up, and Terry has to leave to get back to the track to continue his race work, with Frank following him. The team prepares for the race, with Terry insisting that there is something wrong with the carburetor, and Frank stating that everything is ok.

The scene shifts to the day of the race, which starts on time. The car proves itself fast, with the team watching excitedly. Terry avoids a spin, and the race continues. At lap 150, Terry makes his attempt for the lead, which he eventually gets. Terry gets into a crash, flipping over the wall. The team rushes over to the car, where Terry is hurt, but Gadget suffers serious injuries.

At the hospital, Gadget’s injuries are severe, Terry is healing. Jane walks into Terry’s room, and they discuss the events of the day. Terry blames Frank for the accident, claiming that Frank was muscling in on Terry’s carburetor design. Jane reveals that she was the one who demanded that Frank be added to the project. Terry is enraged, thinking that Jane has feelings for Frank, and sends her away.

As Terry is dealing with his injuries, Gadget is brought to see him. Though his injuries, Gadget thinks that the two are going to work on the carburetor, but Terry rebuffs him. Gadget hits on the idea for placing the carburetor in a car to attempt a land speed record(301.129 mph at the time of filming). Mr. Dean, the head of the factory, says that the carburetor isn’t being funded due to the board of directors. As Mr. Dean speaks with the owner, Jane walks in and talks with the owner, and somehow gets the decision reversed

Mr. Dean and Terry talk, and it’s revealed that the decision has been reversed. Terry isn’t willing to work with Frank. The car is readied for the test at Muroc Dry Lake in California. Jean comes in and talks with Terry about publicizing the test, and it seems as the tension between the two is gone. The new team prepared for the race, and they end up going to a barn dance. At the dance, all involved are having a great time. Frank eventually shows up. Terry is worried about the attempt the next day. Terry and Jane get into a fight, and she leaves in a huff.

The scene shifts to the test the next day. The Falcon, the custom designed car, is prepared for the test. Frank, Gadget, Jane and the rest wish him the best on his attempt. The attempt is broadcast on the radio. The Falcon outruns an airplane taking a picture of the attempt from above. As the test is going, a fuel pipe breaks, and causes a crash. Terry, having loosened his helmet, is injured in the wreck. Emergency teams arrive, and tend to him. Frank puts Terry into the car, and drives to seek help. They end up at Muroc hospital.

As Terry lies in the hospital, he wonders how he got there. It’s revealed that driving Terry in the Falcon set the record. Jane Mitchell is revealed to be Jane Emery, niece of the owner, and heir to the company. Gadget and Fanny Lane make up, and Terry and Jane finally fall in love.

In summary, I agree with the critics who say that the movie is passable. It’s nothing ground breaking, and there are a lot of cliches. I didn’t like this movie for the same reason I loved Greased Lightning. In Greased Lightning, there is a great ratio of racing plot and character plot. With Speed, it’s mostly character plot, with a little racing plot.

The characters aren’t great either. Jimmy Stewart is good in his role, but the rest of the characters aren’t good. The antagonist, Frank Lawson, isn’t really that unlikeable, and doesn’t fill the antagonist role well. Most of the other characters are bland. Only Terry has any real depth to him. Even characters who are supposed to be protagonists aren’t really likeable. The twist with Jane at the end is predictable. The whole movie is a bland racing movie. I’m giving this a C. It’s bland and mediocre.

Next week, a movie from 1947.