Re: What movies have you seen recently?
Hot Cars (1956)
A cheaply made short mid '50s noirish film and it's not all bad!
Plot summary:
As I said this is one of those short B flicks done on the cheap with a little known cast (at least to people today and even perhaps back then too) but the acting was fairly good. The two main leads John Bromfield who played Nick and Joi Lansing who played Karen Winter (a woman who worked for the crooked used car dealer and help spot Nick in the first place) were quite good and showed some chemistry. Lansing was quite captivating in her role what with her breathy dialogue and vamping it up for Nick (and the viewer) while Bromfield was nearly the perfect casting for the "aw shucks" honest guy that he portrayed. If he was a bit thinner and less good looking it'd be perfect.
So anyways the general gist of the film is that Lansing goes to the car dealership that Bromfield works at and takes him for a ride basically as he tries to sell her a real nice car but she just leaves, later that night a Mr. Markel comes by and looks at a really spiffy sports car but Bromfield tells him how dangerous the car is and offers to sell something else and Markel agrees to come back the next day. Well, Bromfield's boss is pissed because he isn't selling anything because he's too honest and is fired which is pretty bad news because he's got a worried wife and sick kid who needs an operation at home. Needless to say Markel calls Bromfield up the next day and hires him to work for his chain of used car dealerships. Soon Bromfield realizes that they're selling stolen cars and the cops in the form of longtime veteran character actor Dabbs Greer comes snooping around only to meet an untimely demise and Bromfield is tagged for the murder.
Greer was especially good in his role as detective Davenport and he really lit up the screen every time he was on especially in the scene where he tries to buy a car from Bromfield not quite knowing for certain if it's hot or not but then realizing that something is up when an old crook he once apprehended comes in and claims he bought the car already. Naturally Greer puts two and two together and is closing in on Markel but said crook (Smiley Ward, you gotta love a character name like that) puts an end to that.
The movie showcases a lot of very nice vintage cars and the scenery is pretty good. It's a well made film for the budget though one VERY glaring booboo is on screen at Bromfield's house when he's confronted by his wife over the sudden money he's making as a sliver of set lights made it onto the film. The climax with the fight on a roller coaster (and there was no rear projection this was done all on an actual coaster!) was pretty well done. Thank goodness roller coasters back in the '50s weren't nearly as extreme as they are today. Nonetheless it took some guts to film that knowing what might happen.
Anywho, this is a passable late era noir type of film that's got a tight story tho there is some padding which is crazy considering this is only 60 minutes! The acting is pretty good and it's not a bad time waster.
2 stars.
Hot Cars (1956)
A cheaply made short mid '50s noirish film and it's not all bad!
Plot summary:
Nick Dunn doesn't want to be mixed up in a stolen car ring operating out of a chain of car dealerships in Culver City, CA, but Nick Dunn's son needs an operation, and an operation costs money. When detective Davenport comes snooping around about some hot cars, and later turns up dead, Nick's fortunes take a turn for the worse
As I said this is one of those short B flicks done on the cheap with a little known cast (at least to people today and even perhaps back then too) but the acting was fairly good. The two main leads John Bromfield who played Nick and Joi Lansing who played Karen Winter (a woman who worked for the crooked used car dealer and help spot Nick in the first place) were quite good and showed some chemistry. Lansing was quite captivating in her role what with her breathy dialogue and vamping it up for Nick (and the viewer) while Bromfield was nearly the perfect casting for the "aw shucks" honest guy that he portrayed. If he was a bit thinner and less good looking it'd be perfect.
So anyways the general gist of the film is that Lansing goes to the car dealership that Bromfield works at and takes him for a ride basically as he tries to sell her a real nice car but she just leaves, later that night a Mr. Markel comes by and looks at a really spiffy sports car but Bromfield tells him how dangerous the car is and offers to sell something else and Markel agrees to come back the next day. Well, Bromfield's boss is pissed because he isn't selling anything because he's too honest and is fired which is pretty bad news because he's got a worried wife and sick kid who needs an operation at home. Needless to say Markel calls Bromfield up the next day and hires him to work for his chain of used car dealerships. Soon Bromfield realizes that they're selling stolen cars and the cops in the form of longtime veteran character actor Dabbs Greer comes snooping around only to meet an untimely demise and Bromfield is tagged for the murder.
Greer was especially good in his role as detective Davenport and he really lit up the screen every time he was on especially in the scene where he tries to buy a car from Bromfield not quite knowing for certain if it's hot or not but then realizing that something is up when an old crook he once apprehended comes in and claims he bought the car already. Naturally Greer puts two and two together and is closing in on Markel but said crook (Smiley Ward, you gotta love a character name like that) puts an end to that.
The movie showcases a lot of very nice vintage cars and the scenery is pretty good. It's a well made film for the budget though one VERY glaring booboo is on screen at Bromfield's house when he's confronted by his wife over the sudden money he's making as a sliver of set lights made it onto the film. The climax with the fight on a roller coaster (and there was no rear projection this was done all on an actual coaster!) was pretty well done. Thank goodness roller coasters back in the '50s weren't nearly as extreme as they are today. Nonetheless it took some guts to film that knowing what might happen.
Anywho, this is a passable late era noir type of film that's got a tight story tho there is some padding which is crazy considering this is only 60 minutes! The acting is pretty good and it's not a bad time waster.
2 stars.
Comment