''Hot Rod Rumble'' is a US, low budget, black-and-white 1957 teen-oriented drag racing crime drama produced by

Norman T. Herman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

and directed by

Leslie H. Martinson Leslie Herbert Martinson (January 16, 1915 – September 3, 2016) was an American television and film director. Career Martinson was born to Gertrude and Lewis Martinson in Boston, Massachusetts on January 16, 1915. He had a brother named Bert ...

. It stars

Leigh Snowden Leigh Snowden (June 23, 1929 – May 16, 1982) was an American actress in motion pictures and television. Early life Snowden was born Martha Lee Estes in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. When her father died when she was three, Estes and her mother moved ...

and Richard Hartunian. The film tells the story of a clash within the Road Devils hot rod club when some of its members jump to a wrong conclusion following the accidental death of one of them in a car crash. ''Hot Rot Rumble'' was Hartunian's only film. The film itself spun off a novel and had its soundtrack released on an LP.

Plot

The members of the Road Devils hot rod club are having a party at their usual hangout, "The Shack." Everyone is attired neatly - the men in button-down shirts and sports coats, the women in dresses and sweaters - except for Arny Crawford (Hartunian), the most disliked Road Devil, who is wearing a black leather biker jacket with the club's logo on the back. When Arny spots his erstwhile girfriend Terri Warren (Snowden) dancing with Hank Adams (

Larry Dolgin Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer * Larry Boo ...

), he flies into a rage and attempts to drag Terri out of The Shack and nearly gets into a brawl with Hank and the other Road Devils. Benny (

Joey Forman Joseph Forman (November 18, 1929 – December 9, 1982) was an American comedian and comic actor. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Forman appeared on the late 1940s local radio show the Magic Lady Supper Club along with his school f ...

), president of the club, stops the confrontation and Arny leaves. Terri gets a ride home with Hank. On the way to Terri's house, Hank spots a car following them. He believes it's Arny and speeds up to get away. But Hank's car is sideswiped by the other car as it overtakes him. Hank loses control and crashes. He's killed and Terri is injured. Someone unidentified stops and takes an unconscious Terri to the hospital. But the Road Devils, and virtually everyone else in town, are certain that Arny is responsible for Hank's death. Several Road Devils, who want Arny out of the club, go to the garage where he works and beat him senseless, despite his insistence that he had nothing to do with the crash. A $1500 winner-take-all race is announced. Arny qualifies for the race, but immediately after he does, his car blows its engine, the result of sabotage by the other Road Devils. Arny works feverishly rebuilding the engine and arrives at the start of the race at the last minute. Just before the race begins, Terri and Ray Johnson ( Wright King) arrive. As she gets out of Ray's car, Terri finds the earring that she lost during Hank's fatal crash under the seat and realizes that the person who stopped and took her to the hospital was Ray - and therefore it was Ray, not Arny, who caused the crash. Terri confronts Ray and he confesses to his role in the accident. The race itself is a "grueling 50-mile cross country" event that starts at the local drag strip, winds its way through the mountains on two-lane roads and ends at the same drag strip. Throughout the race, Arny and Jim Lawrence ( Brett Halsey) battle for the lead, with Jim repeatedly trying to force Arny off the road. However, Arny is a better driver than Jim and wins the race. When he's awarded the $1500 certified cheque and a trophy, he mumbles "thanks," stuffs the cheque into the back pocket of his jeans and casually tosses the trophy onto the seat of his car. Terri and the Road Devils approach Arny. They force Ray to tell him what really happened. As Arny heads back to his car to leave, Terri follows, repeatedly apologizing for not believing him the many times that he said he didn't cause the crash that killed Hank. Terri and Arny drive away together.

Cast

''Credited'' *

as Terri Warren * Richard Hartunian as Arny Crawford * Wright King as Ray Johnson *

as Benny * Brett Halsey as Jim Lawrence * Joseph Mell as Pops ''Uncredited'' *

as Hank Adams * John Brinkley as Bill * Charles Webster as Race Official * Dorothy Adams as Arny's Mother *

Than Wyenn Than Wyenn (May 2, 1919January 30, 2015) was an American character actor. His acting career spanned more than forty years with more than 150 credits in film and television. He may be best known for his role in the 1960 '' Twilight Zone'' episode ...

as Arny's Boss

Production

''Hot Rod Rumble'' was produced at Hollywood Studios between 10 January and 25 January 1957. The film premiered in Los Angeles on 8 May 1957 and went into general release four days later, on 12 May 1957. ''Hot Rod Rumble'' is the only film in which Hartunian appeared.

Distribution

Distribution of ''Hot Rod Rumble'' in the US was by Allied Artists. The film was shown on a double-bill with the musical ''

Calypso Joe ''Calypso Joe'' is a 1957 American musical film directed by Edward Dein and written by Edward Dein and Mildred Dein. The film stars Herb Jeffries, Angie Dickinson, Ed Kemmer, Stephen Bekassy, Laurie Mitchell and Claudia Drake. The film was release ...

'' (1957).

Associated British-Pathé Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appro ...

took care of distribution in the UK, where the film was granted a U-certification, after unspecified cuts were made, by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) on 3 June 1957. The U-cert allowed it to be exhibited to audiences of all ages. Text on the US poster for the film reads "DRAG STRIP SHOCKS! PISTON-HARD DRAMA! ROCK 'N ROLL LOVE!" and "Scorching story of the Slick Chicks who Fire Up the Big Wheels!"

Reception

Contemporary reviews of ''Hot Rod Rumble'' were generally favourable. '' BoxOffice'' rated the film as "good" on its five-point "very good" to "very poor" scale. The magazine also reported ratings of "good" from ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'', '' Variety'' and '' The Hollywood Reporter''. The ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' called it "fair" while '' Parents' Magazine'' rated it as "poor." The movie review in ''BoxOffice'' focuses on its stars. The anonymous reviewer writes that "Leigh Snowden is already established with teenagers and her name on the marquee should have box office value." The review praises Hartunian's performance, saying that he "provides the real acting punch" in the film and is an actor "who is certain to remind many a teenager of

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

in appearance, mannerisms and speech." In overall terms, ''BoxOffice'' calls ''Hot Rod Rumble'' a "film of real story power for the teenage and slightly older segment of motion picture patronage." Both The Grindhouse Data Base and Rate Your Music use the word "carsploitation" as the film's genre. But academic film historian Randall Clark classifies it as an exploitation film and notes that hot rods were "the favourite trend of exploitation filmmakers" in the late 1950s.

Novelization

Avon Press in 1957 published a 25¢ paperback novelization of the film under the title "Hot Rod Gang Rumble." It was written by

Meyer Dolinsky Meyer Dolinsky (October 13, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois – February 29, 1984 in Los Angeles, California), aka Mike Dolinsky (sometimes credited as "Michael Adams" or "Mike Adams"), was an American screenwriter. Before transitioning to the screen, ...

, who had also written the film. The novel's text is illustrated with photos from the movie. The blurb on the book's cover is "Teen-age Tigress - She Drove Boys to Juvenile Delinquency!"

Soundtrack

While "few if any of these ot rodfilms warrented a soundtrack release," ''Hot Rod Rumble'' is an exception as its soundtrack was issued by

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

in July 1957. The LP contains 14 songs, including the main title and end title music, composed by Sandy Courage and performed by "The Hot Rod Rumble Orchestra," a group of 34 jazz musicians, including

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

. The music plays as background for 37 minutes of the film's 79-minute running time.

References

External links

* {{Leslie H. Martinson 1957 films Films directed by Leslie H. Martinson American crime drama films Allied Artists films American auto racing films 1957 crime drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films