''Money for Speed'' is a 1933 British

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Bernard Vorhaus Bernard Vorhaus (December 25, 1904 – November 23, 2000) was an American film director of Austrian descent, born in New York City. His father was born in Krakow, then part of Austria-Hungary. Vorhaus spent many decades living in the UK. Eearly ...

and starring John Loder,

Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...

Cyril McLaglen Cyril McLaglen (1899–1987) was a British actor who appeared in a variety of films between 1920 and 1951. He was born in London in 1899 and made his film debut in the 1920 film ''The Call of the Road''. He was the younger brother of the acto ...

and

Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he w ...

. It is centered on the sport of

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

racing, which was at its peak of popularity at the time. It featured speedway riders

Ginger Lees Harry Riley "Ginger" Lees (1905-1982)Jacobs, N & Lipscombe, P (2005). ''Wembley Speedway : The Pre-War Years''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing was a former international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the first ever Speedway World Championshi ...

Lionel van Praag Lionel Maurice Van Praag, GM (17 December 1908 – 15 May 1987) was an Australian motorcycle speedway champion, who won the inaugural Speedway World Championship in London on 10 September 1936. Van Praag's victory saw him established as Austra ...

and

Frank Varey Frank Varey (31 March 1908 in Eldwick, England – February 1988 in Sheffield, England) was a former international speedway rider who featured in the Speedway World Championship finals in 1937 and 1938.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A H ...

, and speedway promoter

Johnnie Hoskins Johnnie S. Hoskins MBE (1892 Waitara, New Zealand – 1987 Kent, England) was the most significant promoter of speedway and stock car racing in the United Kingdom, he is considered by some to have invented motorcycle speedway. Early life Born at ...

. The film's editor

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

had a brief appearance as a newspaper reporter.

Production and reception

The film was made by the

independent company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

Hall Mark Productions at

Wembley Studios Fountain Studios was an independently owned television studio in Wembley Park, northwest London. The company was last part of the Avesco Group plc. Several companies owned the site before it was bought by Fountain in 1993. Originally a film st ...

and was

distributed Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. It was also released under the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...

''Daredevils of Earth''. It was for many years considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

, before two prints resurfaced. Along with Vorhaus' other Thirties work, the film was subject to a revival of critical interest from the 1980s onwards and is regarded as one of the most significant low-budget films of the era. It was one of the first feature films made by Vorhaus, who went on to have a notable career in British

quota quickies Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

and American supporting films.

Partial cast

* John Loder as Mitch *

as Jane *

as Big Bill Summers *

as Shorty *

Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...

as Ma *

as Reporter

Bibliography

* Richards, Jeffrey (ed.). ''The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema, 1929- 1939''. I.B. Tauris & Co, 1998

External links

* 1933 films 1930s sports drama films British auto racing films British sports drama films Motorcycle racing films Films directed by Bernard Vorhaus Films shot at Wembley Studios Films with screenplays by Bernard Vorhaus British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Quota quickies {{sport-film-stub