I recorded this from Turner Classic Movies on July 26, 2017 as part of a ‘50s car-themed marathon.
The opening scene is a great little time capsule to show you just how much times have changed. Our hero, a used car salesman played by John Bromfield (who was also in Curucu, Beast of the Amazon the same year) takes his curvaceous customer (Joi Lansing from Hillbillys in a Haunted House) out for a spin. Halfway through the drive, they stop off to a beachside bar for drinks!
Though it’s a crime thriller at heart, Hot Cars should really be labeled a science fiction tale because it’s about something that doesn’t exist in nature: An honest car salesman! So honest is Bromfield, that when he discourages a potential customer (Ralph Clanton) from buying a lemon, he’s fired on the spot. Stuck with a lot of bills and a sick kid, Bromfield is desperate for work. It seems like fortune is smiling on him when the customer he turned away offers him a job. Turns out, he’s just looking for an honest face to front his car lot, which is stocked with nothing but stolen vehicles.
With a running time of only an hour, Hot Cars moves right along. Donald McDougall directs with an economical, no-frills style that perfectly suits this entertaining B noir. While the third act isn’t as crackling as the first forty-five minutes or so, it does contain an impressive fight on a rollercoaster finale. Even though this sequence feels like it came out of an entirely different movie (you’d expect a film called Hot Cars would have at least one car chase in it), it’s nevertheless a fine capper.
McDougall also gets a lot of mileage out of his cast. Bromfield makes for a perfectly upstanding leading man and Clanton has the right touch of bland menace about him. Lansing is the real star though. Looking as drop dead gorgeous as ever, she gets a lot of sultry double talk that is sure to get your motor going. When Bromfield gives her a sales pitch, she breathlessly coos, “Yes… yes… yes… tell me more… I just love being talked into things!” Va-va-voom!
Speaking of which, the snappy dialogue has a real rhythm to it and is fun to listen to. (“What’s the matter with you? Are you unpatriotic or something? Don’t you like Washington… Lincoln… Jackson…?”) The swinging score by Les Baxter adds a little zing to the proceedings as well. All in all, Hot Cars winds up being a fun ride.
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