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The
history of Hollywood movies about auto racing goes back just about
as far as the automobile itself. Whenever they’d show that
tired scene where the speeding automobile reaches the railroad
crossing a split second ahead of the train, producers noticed
that audiences would be jumping up and down in their seats. So,
why not treat them to the thrill of racing cars themselves?
Although
some earlier minor silent films, such as “Racing for Life”
(1924), “Sporting Youth” (1924), and “Speed Demon”
(1925), have been omitted, the following list comprises open wheel
oval track racing from Hollywood’s earliest days up to the
early 1950’s. After that time, American audiences seemed
to be getting infected a bit by the sophistication bug, and Hollywood’s
racing interests turned towards the more exotic European style
of road racing, best evidenced by films like “Race for Life”
(1954) and “The Racers” (1955). But the movies to follow
still give us a chance to catch a glimpse of the great men of
the American oval track, and what it must have been like way back
then on a dusty Sunday afternoon or a warm Saturday night.
Racing
Hearts (1923)
Probably
the earliest of known auto racing movies, “Racing Hearts”
stars cowboy favorite Richard Dix. Several racing drivers
of the day were used in the filming, the most notable being Jimmy
Murphy and Jerry Wonderlich. Murphy was fresh from
a ‘22 win at the Speedway in a Duesenberg-Miller, and only
two years away from his fatal crash at Syracuse. He and Wonderlich
were mostly California board track specialists, dominating tracks
like Beverly Hills, Cotati and Fresno, so it wasn’t difficult
at all for studio scouts to find such specialized daredevils as
these.
Speedway
(1929)
Yes,
it’s one of those silent creakers and a fairly forgettable
film, but “Speedway” is thought to be the first feature
film that’s is centered around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
itself, young as it was back then. The film introduced many of
the racing clichés still used by Hollywood today: the cocky
young wrong-side-of-the-tracks mechanic that could win it if just
given the chance; the rich-and-famous-but-also-shady competing
driver (who just happens to be chasing the same pretty girl);
and the good-natured-but-over-the-hill driver with a bad ticker
who miraculously turns his car over to our hero at the last minute.
It stars William Haines, at the time considered the number
one male box office star, and Anita Page, second only at
the time to Greta Garbo.
The
Crowd Roars (1932)
James
Cagney as the all-time spunkiest of Hollywood spunky race
drivers! Joan
Blondell as the wisecrackin’ babe! Written and directed
by Howard Hawks, the same guy that gave us “The Big
Sleep,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” and “The
Thing” (and – not surprisingly – the great stock
car film “Red Line 7000” thirty-three years later)!
Small wonder “The Crowd Roars” has lived on as the grandaddy
of all racing movies. Cagney plays famous racing champion Joe
Greer. He returns to his hometown to compete in a local race,
only to discover that his younger brother, Eddie, has the same
racing aspirations, instead of heading for college like Joe wants
him to. But when Joe causes another driver to get killed in a
race, Joe loses his nerve, and his career goes into a tailspin
while Eddie heads for fame and fortune. It all winds up at the
Speedway, where it’s brother against brother right down to
the checkered flag.
Click
here to go to Part Two!
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