''The First Auto'' is a 1927 American synchronized sound

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Roy Del Ruth about the transition from horses to cars and the rift it causes in one family. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects, some spoken words, cheering, and laughter, using the

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...

sound-on-disc process. The film stars Charles Emmett Mack and Patsy Ruth Miller, with Barney Oldfield having a guest role in the movie.Miller, Fran
"The First Auto (1927)" (article)
TCM.com As of January 1, 2023, the film is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

Plot

In 1895, champion horse racer and livery stable owner Hank Armstrong is greatly disturbed by the advent of the "horseless carriage" in Maple City. He mocks Elmer Hays, a car manufacturer, when he states in a public lecture that the days of the horse are numbered and that a car will one day go 30 miles an hour. However, Armstrong's efforts are in vain. He quarrels with his friends when they start purchasing the machines and is only stopped from horsewhipping his own car-mad son Bob by the timely appearance of Bob's girlfriend Rose Robbins. Bob leaves to find a job in nearby

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. There, he is present when famed driver Barney Oldfield (playing himself) breaks the speed record, driving a mile in a minute. Meanwhile, Hank goes bankrupt and has to sell off all his possessions to satisfy his creditors. One day in 1905, Bob returns, without telling his father, to compete in the first car race in the county. A jealous rival for Rose's affections convinces Hank to tamper with a car on display so that it will explode. When Bob sends Rose to bring his father to the race, Hank is horrified to discover he has sabotaged his son's car. They hurry to the track, but are too late. Bob's car crashes and burns. Hank is convinced he has killed Bob and burns down his livery stable, but Rose brings word that Bob is expected to live. Relieved, Hank gives up his hopeless resistance and joins his son in his car manufacturing company.

Cast

* Barney Oldfield as himself - the Master Driver * Patsy Ruth Miller as Rose Robbins * Charles Emmett Mack as Bob Armstrong * Russell Simpson as Hank Armstrong * Frank Campeau as Mayor Jim Robbins * William Demarest as Dave Doolittle, the village cut-up *Paul Kruger as Steve Bentley * Gibson Gowland as the blacksmith * E. H. Calvert as Elmer Hays, the inventor * Douglas Gerrard as Banker Stebbins, the richest man in town * Anders Randolf as the auctioneer (uncredited)

Production

To ensure authenticity and provide a measure of safety in the racing scenes for ''The First Auto'', race car driver Barney Oldfield was hired as a technical coordinator. Oldfield, the first to reach a speed of , in 1903, also was given a small role in the film.Miller, Frank
""The First Auto (1927)".
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: April 1, 2014. Mack was killed in an accident while driving to work, prior to the end of filming. According to Robert Osborne of

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

, his car was struck broadside by a wagon on a country road. His co-star Patsy Ruth Miller had turned down a ride with him that day because she was not needed for filming until later. The last scene shows Hank at a car race, while Bob and Rose are away (off-screen) at a horse show.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewer, Mordaunt Hall characterized ''The First Auto'' as "... packed with sentiment, but it is nevertheless a good entertainment." He noted that Oldfield was driving a famous race car, Henry Ford's 999.Hall, Mourdant
"First Auto (1927)."
''

'', July 3, 1927.

References

External links