''Speed'' is a 1936
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Edwin L. Marin
Edwin L. Marin (February 21, 1899 – May 2, 1951) was an American film director who directed 58 films between 1932 and 1951, working with Randolph Scott, Anna May Wong, John Wayne, Peter Lorre, George Raft, Bela Lugosi, Judy Garland, E ...
. It starred
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
, in his first starring role, and
Wendy Barrie
Wendy Barrie (born Marguerite Wendy Jenkins; 18 April 1912 – 2 February 1978) was a British-American film and television actress.
Early life
Barrie was born in London to English parents. Her father, Francis Charles John Graigoe Jenkin KC ...
. Although only a low-budget
"B" movie, the film was notable for its realistic cinematography by Lester White, incorporating scenes from the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
race and on-location shooting at the
Muroc dry lake bed, used for high-speed racing by
"hot rodders" in the 1930s. Advance publicity trumpeted that Stewart drove the specially-prepared "Falcon" to .
Plot
Auto mechanic
An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more ...
Terry Martin, the chief car tester for Emery Motors in Detroit, is working on his own time to perfect a revolutionary design for a new
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
. Automotive engineer Frank Lawson is a rival for the attention of Jane Mitchell, who has just been hired to work in the publicity department. Terry has little formal education and resents inferences that his knowledge of cars is inferior to that of the trained Lawson. He nearly loses his job when he makes a jealous spectacle of himself at a company dinner dance that Jane attends with Frank.
Working out the bugs of the new carburetor proves to be troublesome for Terry and his fellow in-car riding mechanic "Gadget" Haggerty. Jane, attracted to Terry despite his "
inferiority complex
In psychology, an inferiority complex is an intense personal feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others.
According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought ab ...
", arranges with company vice president Mr. Dean to have the work financed by Emery, on the condition that Frank be added to the team. Their car races in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
to test the carburetor despite Terry's hunch that something is still wrong with it. Fighting for the lead, it ends up crashing, injuring Terry and nearly killing Gadget. Terry blames Frank, who insisted the car was ready, until Jane reveals she pulled strings to have Frank included in the project. Thinking that she loves Frank and wanted him to get all the credit for success, Terry angrily sends her away.
While Terry is recovering from his injury, Jane goes to bat for him. Emery's board of trustees have suspended further financing for the carburetor, but Jane gets their decision reversed, since she is secretly Jane Emery, the niece and heiress of the company's owner. In a new car designed to make a world speed record at the
Muroc Dry Lake
Rogers Dry Lake is an endorheic desert salt pan in the Mojave Desert of Kern County, California. The lake derives its name from the Anglicization from the Spanish name, Rodriguez Dry Lake. It is the central part of Edwards Air Force Base as its ...
in California, Terry proves that his design works but nearly loses his life in the attempt. When a fuel pipe cracks, choking fumes are funneled into the cockpit causing the record run to end prematurely. Terry is severely injured. With only minutes to save his life, Frank places him in the car and drives it to the Muroc hospital at high speed, completing the world record run in the process. Terry is finally vindicated and wins the girl as well.
Cast
As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):
["Credits: Speed (1936)."](_blank)
''IMDb.'' Retrieved: November 19, 2011.
Production
Principal photography took place at the MGM studio, its
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
backlot, and on location from March 20 to April 7, 1936. MGM had wanted to develop a film with a speed-racing theme to capitalize on worldwide headlines about
Malcolm Campbell
Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...
breaking the world's speed record for an automobile in his "
Blue Bird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
...
", on September 3, 1935 at the
Bonneville Salt Flats
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...
.For the sake of convenience and with a limited budget, ''Speed'' instead used the nearby Muroc, California area to recreate the film's record-breaking runs.
Scenes of the actual
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
were used from an earlier era when riding mechanics had to be incorporated in the race cars. The Emery "Falcon" world speed record race car transposed to the similar testing area, the Muroc dry lake bed, resembles the
Tatra V570
The Tatra V570 was a prototype early 1930s car developed by a team led by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray. The aim of the construction team was to develop a cheap people's car with an aerodynamic body. However the company's management decided that th ...
streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating wikt:streamline, streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "High-speed rail, bullet trai ...
series, but was a car designed and built by
Harlan Fengler
Harlan Fengler (March 1, 1903 in Chicago, Illinois – March 26, 1981 in New Lebanon, Ohio) was an American racecar driver. Fengler acted as Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974 and lived in New Lebanon, Ohio
N ...
. He built the car to make an attempt at the land speed record but, after investing $100,000, ran out of money. The realistic sequences of an automobile factory that begin the film were shot in advance at
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
. The production company was able to film at the Chrysler factory in Detroit, and show the latest model
Chrysler Airflow
The Chrysler Airflow is a full-size car produced by Chrysler from 1934 to 1937. The Airflow was the first full-size American production car to use streamlining as a basis for building a sleeker automobile, one less susceptible to air resistance. ...
cars produced in the assembly line and the use of the
testing grounds.
[Stafford, Jeff]
"Speed (1936)."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved: November 19, 2011.
For Stewart, in his first starring role, he later recalled, "The only way to learn to act is to act ... For instance, I would have a tiny part in a big picture with stars like
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
and
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
and others, and then I would have a big part in a tiny picture
peedand so on."
During a hectic period, from 1935 to 1939, Stewart appeared in 29 motion pictures. The roles spanned a wide gamut of characters, from a mechanic/speed driver as he portrayed in ''Speed'' to that of a detective, doctor, executive, farmer, football star, lawyer, newspaperman, rustic "hayseed", soldier/sailor, skater, teacher, and even a murderer. Stewart considered ''Speed'' a good training ground, "I did a picture called 'Speed' which gave me my first leading role ... although it was a low-budget picture ... and Ted Healy, who played my best friend, told me, 'Think of the audience as partners ... as collaborators ... not just watchers. You have to ''involve'' them'."
Reception
Critics dismissed the film as passable at best, citing that the plot was weak and moved too slowly, the supporting cast was substandard, and the use of stock footage made it more of a documentary than a drama while at the same time appearing uncredible. ''Variety'' wrote that it was, "...too news reely to get more than passing interest" and that while the film offered a new romantic lead, film audiences were not interested in debuts. Howard Barnes of the ''New York Herald-Tribune'' called it "a very ordinary Hollywood stencil", while
Frank Nugent
Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...
of ''The New York Times'' stated that "Mr. Stewart
nd the rest of the castperform as pleasantly as possible."
Home media
Rarely broadcast on television, ''Speed'' has been released on DVD format with an accompanying "short", ''The Bottle and the Throttle'' (1968), a U.S. educational film, on the ramifications of drinking and driving.
"Speed (1938)."
''thevideobeat.com.'' Retrieved: November 20, 2011.
References
;Notes
;Citations
;Bibliography
* Dewey, Donald. ''James Stewart: A Biography''. Nashville, Tennessee: Turner Publishing, 1996. .
* Eyles, Allen. ''James Stewart.'' New York: Stein & Day, 1986. .
** Jacobs, Timothy. ''Lemons: The World's Worst Cars.'' London: The Bison Group, 1991. .
* Jones, Ken D., Arthur F. McClure and Alfred E. Twomey. ''The Films of James Stewart''. New York: Castle Books, 1970.
*
* Munn, Michael. ''Jimmy Stewart: The Truth Behind the Legend.'' London: Robson Books, 2005. .
* Okuda, Ted and Edward Watz. ''The Columbia Comedy Shorts: Two-Reel Hollywood Film Comedies, 1933-1958''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc. Publishers, 1986. .
* Radbruch. Dan. ''Dirt Track Auto Racing, 1919-1941: A Pictorial History.'' Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc., 2004. .
External links
*
*
{{Edwin L. Marin
1936 films
1930s English-language films
American auto racing films
Films directed by Edwin L. Marin
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
American black-and-white films
1930s American films