''Road Demon'' is a 1938 American

crime drama film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...

directed by

Otto Brower Otto Brower (December 2, 1890 – January 25, 1946) was an American film director. He directed more than 40 films between 1928 and 1946. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and died in Hollywood, California, from a myocardial infarction, ...

and starring Henry Arthur,

Joan Valerie Joan Valerie (born Helen Vlahakis; July 15, 1911 – January 30, 1983) was an American actress, who appeared mainly in B movies in the late 1930s and 1940s. Early years Born in Sparta, Wisconsin, Valerie was the daughter of Michael Vlahakis. ...

, and

Henry Armetta Henry Armetta (born Enrico Armetta; July 4, 1888 – October 21, 1945) was an American character actor who appeared in at least 150 American films, beginning in silent movies. His last film was released posthumously in 1946, the year after his d ...

. Footage from the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

was included along with driver accidents. It is the second release in the Sports Series of films.

Plot

After Tony Gambini and his family acquire a wrecked car, they fix it to use as a race car with Ted Rogers as the driver. Rogers competes against Skid, who was partially responsible for the death of Rogers' father at a race. During the last race, Rogers wins after Skid crashes into a wall after remembering Rogers' father.

Production

The film is the second release in the Sports Series produced by

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Com ...

. The Memorial Day Speedway Classic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was filmed for scenes. Footage of well-known accidents that occurred at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was used in the film. A model of the track and nearby buildings were built in 20th Century-Fox's lot with the supervision of millionaire racer Joe Thorne. Associate producer Jerry Hoffman obtained four of Thorne's cars that were previously used in a classic race and worth $70,000. Hoffman received the equipment to work on the motors, a racing shell, and a

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

. Garages used at the 1938 Memorial Day races were reproduced for the film. The film stars the fictional Gambini Family who first appeared in the first Sports Series film ''

Speed to Burn ''Speed to Burn'' is a 1938 American crime drama film, directed by Otto Brower and starring Michael Whalen, Lynn Bari, and Marvin Stephens. Plot Cast * Michael Whalen as Matt Kerry * Lynn Bari as Marion Clark * Marvin Stephens as Tim Turner ...

''. ''Speed Demon'' is the first starring role of Joan Valerie. The film was released with ''

Five of a Kind Five of a kind may refer to: * Five of a kind (poker), a type of poker hand Film and television * ''Five of a Kind'', a 1938 American comedy film Television episodes * "Five of a Kind", Power Rangers in Space#ep284, ''Power Rangers in Space' ...

'' as a double feature.

Reception

Boxoffice Pro ''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP. History It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with a ...

'' wrote that the film had "the best race sequences ever captured on film." Dorothy Masters of '' Daily News'' praised the newcomer actor Henry Arthur and said that "Henry Armetta, who plays the role of Papa Gambini for a second time, provides the film with most of its fun." Masters gave the film 2 stars. The ''Muncie Evening Press'' wrote, "''Speed Demon'' has some exciting race sequences filmed at the Indianapolis track, showing America's fastest drivers, in action."

References

External links

''Road Demon''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{Otto Brower 1938 films American auto racing films American crime drama films 1938 crime drama films Films directed by Otto Brower American black-and-white films 20th Century Fox films 1930s American films