''Hot Rods to Hell'' is a 1967 American suspense film, the last by director
John Brahm
John Brahm (August 17, 1893 – October 12, 1982) was a German film and television director. His films include '' The Undying Monster'' (1942), '' The Lodger'' (1944), ''Hangover Square'' (1945), ''The Locket'' (1946), ''The Brasher Doubloon'' (1 ...
. The film was based on a 1956 '' Saturday Evening Post'' story by Alex Gaby, "52 Miles to Terror",p. 170 Goble, Alan ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film'' Walter de Gruyter, 8 Sep 2011 which was the
working title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
of the film.ABC bought the broadcast rights and aired the film as part of its
ABC Sunday Night Movie
''The ABC Sunday Night Movie'' is a television program that aired on Sunday nights, first for a brief time in 1962 under the title ''Hollywood Special'' (although ''Time'' magazine lists this version as ''The Sunday Night Movie'') to supposedly r ...
series in 1968, using a 100-minute print. When
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...
bought the rights to MGM's extensive film library, they acquired the 100-minute print.
Dana Andrews
Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...
) is driving home to Boston, Massachusetts for Christmas when he encounters a drunken driver on a rain-streaked road. He cannot avoid a collision, and is hospitalized with spinal damage. Since he can no longer be a traveling salesman, his brother arranges for Tom to buy a remote motel in the desert town of Mayville,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. Tom is reluctant because he has never been an innkeeper before, but he decides that he must travel in order to get as far away from the site of his accident as possible, as soon as possible.
Tom sets out for California with his wife, teenage daughter and son. But when they reach the desert, they are accosted by a pair of drag racers and a "party girl" in a modified, high-performance 1958 ChevroletCorvette who jokingly force them to swerve and avoid a collision.
A series of escalating encounters with the local youth ensues. Teenage children of relatively well-to-do local farmers, they are bored and constantly seeking thrills. The adults, including the owner of a local filling station, are fed up with them. However, one of these adults owns the motel that Tom Phillips has bought, and he is selling out after having let the wayward youth use the motel as an illicit trysting place for years.
When Tom tells the filling-station owner that he has "just bought himself a motel," one of the kids named Ernie (Gene Kirkwood) overhears. Soon after, he tells his friend Duke (Paul Bertoya), who is the driver of the Corvette. Duke organizes a campaign of harassment against Tom and chases the hapless family all the way to the motel.
Matters come to a dangerous head when Tom's daughter (Laurie Mock), fascinated by Duke, goes to see him in the motel bar and grill, called the Arena. Duke's current girlfriend Gloria (
Mimsy Farmer
Merle "Mimsy" Farmer (born February 28, 1945) is an American actress, artist and sculptor. She began her career appearing in several Hollywood studio films, such as '' Spencer's Mountain'' (1963) and ''Bus Riley's Back in Town'' (1965), followed ...
), in a jealous rage, informs Tom, who tries to strangle Duke, but his back goes out and he must desist. He then informs the former motel owner ( George Ives) that he will not go through with the sale. This causes a confrontation between the former owner and the youths, which ends when the owner tells Duke and Ernie that Tom is going to the next town to "bring the police down on this place."
Duke and Ernie resolve never to let Tom Phillips reach that town, and so, as the family tries to escape, they engage them in a deadly game of "
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...
." This game ends only when Tom outwits the teenagers by parking his car on a narrow bridge, with the headlights on, evacuating him and his family to a safe spot 20 yards off the road. Faced with an unmoving object, Duke turns "chicken" himself, running his car off the edge of the bridge, after which he and Ernie, bruised, battered and with scraped knees, swear that they will never give Tom any trouble. Tom agrees not to turn them in to the police, but tells them that he will go back to his motel and run it properly from now on.
Cast
*
Dana Andrews
Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...
as Tom Phillips
*
Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in '' Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films '' In the Meantime, Darling'' (194 ...
as Peg Phillips, his wife
* Paul Bertoya as Duke, leader of the wayward youth
* Gene Kirkwood as Ernie, Duke's sidekick
*
Mimsy Farmer
Merle "Mimsy" Farmer (born February 28, 1945) is an American actress, artist and sculptor. She began her career appearing in several Hollywood studio films, such as '' Spencer's Mountain'' (1963) and ''Bus Riley's Back in Town'' (1965), followed ...
as Gloria, Duke's girlfriend
* Laurie Mock as Tina, Tom Phillips' daughter
* Jeffrey Bryon (credited as Tim Stafford) as Jamie, Tom Phillips' son
* George Ives as Lank Dailey, owner of Dailey's Motel and the Arena roadhouse
*
William Mims
William Mims (January 15, 1927 – April 9, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films such as '' The Day Mars Invaded Earth'', ''The Ballad of Cable Hogue'', and '' Hot Rods to Hell''. He also appeared in classic television ser ...
as Man at Picnic
* Hortense Petra and Peter Oliphant as his wife and son
* Paul Genge as an unnamed California Highway Patrol officer
* Charles P. Thompson as Charley, the elderly filling-station owner
* Harry Hickox as Bill, Tom Phillips' brother
Background and production
Because the film was originally intended for television release, it was shot in 4:3 aspect ratio rather than in the standard widescreen format of most feature films. However, when the project was finished, its producers deemed it too intense for television and released it to theaters instead, with a running time of 92 minutes.
Filming locations
The film was shot largely near the
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
desert town Lake Los Angeles and Wilsona Gardens, east of Palmdale, California. Specific locations include Charlie's Last Chance gas station (), 150th Street E, where a majority of chase scenes were filmed () and the narrow bridge, constructed by the film crew, where the crash occurs at the end of the film (). The Arena exteriors were filmed in
Calabasas, California
Calabasas (from Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica and Santa Susanna mountains.Highway 101 and Las Virgenes Road. The buildings as seen in the film were demolished in 1975, but the location is .
Reception
''Hot Rods to Hell'' received nearly universal scorn from critics but had a profitable run, given its very modest budget, grossing over a million dollars. It received no major award nominations. Over the years, ''Hot Rods to Hell'' developed a cult following and has a website devoted to it.
The film is the fourth and final collaboration between ''State Fair'' (1945) couple
Dana Andrews
Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...
and
Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in '' Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films '' In the Meantime, Darling'' (194 ...
, who play the parents/protagonists. Their other films are
Duel In The Jungle
''Duel in the Jungle'' is a 1954 British adventure film combining the detective film with the jungle adventure genres directed by George Marshall and starring Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain and David Farrar. It was shot at the Elstree Studios near ...
(1954) and Madison Avenue (1961).
Warner Brothers released a series of unconnected
hot-rod
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...
-based films, including ''Hot Rod'', '' Hot Rod Gang'' and ''
Hot Rod Girl
''Hot Rod Girl'' is an independent, black-and-white 1956 teen-oriented action film produced by Norman T. Herman, directed by Leslie H. Martinson and released by American International Pictures as a double feature with '' Girls in Prison''. ''Hot ...
''. All share the same theme of teenagers risking their lives in fast cars, and convey a message about the dangers of fast driving. Of these films, only ''Hot Rod'' and ''Hot Rods To Hell'' have seen an official Warner Archives DVD release. ''Hot Rods To Hell'' is the only feature of these films in which the teenagers are the villains.
Home media
''Hot Rods to Hell'' was released on Region 1 DVD on June 26, 2007 by
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...
. The DVD has been modified from the original 4:3 (1.33:1) aspect ratio to a
widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
format of 16:9 (approximately 1.85:1). This was accomplished by cropping the top and bottom of the frame.