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California Straight Ahead! | |
---|---|
Directed by | Arthur Lubin |
Written by | Herman Boxer Scott Darling |
Produced by | Trem Carr |
Starring | John Wayne |
Cinematography | Harry Neumann |
Edited by | Charles Craft Erma Horsley |
Production company | Universal Pictures |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 67 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
California Straight Ahead! is a 1937 American action film about truck drivers starring John Wayne and directed by Arthur Lubin for Universal Pictures. The action movie features a memorable cross-country race between a caravan of trucks and a special train. [1]
A trucker named Biff Smith (Wayne) wins a contest between his caravan of trucks and a special train, the two competing against each other in a race to see who can deliver a load of aviation parts to an ocean liner before a labor strike takes place.
The film was known as Short Haul. John Wayne was meant to have made a film Maid of Orleans or Adventure's End but that was delayed due to the maritime strike. Universal then put him in Short Haul which was to have begun filming in November 1936. [2] However filming on that was delayed due to a teamsters strike. [3] It was to have been shot in San Francisco but that city had labor troubles so the script was rewritten so it could be shot in Los Angeles. Filming eventually took place in January 1937. [4]
The movie was the first in a series of films directed by Arthur Lubin starring John Wayne. [5]
Lubin recalled, "We had six days to shoot. There was no time schedule, as there is today, where if you go late at night or start early in the morning, you have to pay more. In those days, you could shoot twenty-four hours a day." [6]
The Los Angeles Times called it a "fair supporting feature". [7]
John Lee Mahin was an American screenwriter and producer of films who was active in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was known as the favorite writer of Clark Gable and Victor Fleming. In the words of one profile, he had "a flair for rousing adventure material, and at the same time he wrote some of the raciest and most sophisticated sexual comedies of that period."
Jon Hall was an American film actor known for playing a variety of adventurous roles, as in 1937's The Hurricane, and later when contracted to Universal Pictures, including Invisible Agent and The Invisible Man's Revenge and six films he made with Maria Montez. He was also known to 1950s fans as the creator and star of the Ramar of the Jungle television series which ran from 1952 to 1954. Hall directed and starred in two 1960s sci-fi films in his later years, The Beach Girls and the Monster (1965) and The Navy vs. the Night Monsters (1966).
Sam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Katzman's specialty was producing low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers.
William Taylor "Tay" Garnett was an American film director and writer.
Arthur Lubin was an American film director and producer who directed several Abbott & Costello films, Phantom of the Opera (1943), the Francis the Talking Mule series and created the talking-horse TV series Mister Ed. A prominent director for Universal Pictures in the 1940s and 1950s, he is perhaps best known today as the man who gave Clint Eastwood his first contract in film.
Francis is a 1950 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International that launched the Francis the Talking Mule film series. Francis is produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Arthur Lubin, and stars Donald O'Connor and Patricia Medina. The distinctive voice of Francis is a voice-over by actor Chill Wills.
I Cover the War is a 1937 American drama action film directed by Arthur Lubin for Universal Pictures, starring John Wayne. It was one of a series of non-Westerns Wayne made for Universal.
Idol of the Crowds is a 1937 American sports drama film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring John Wayne as an ice hockey player. It was one of a series of non-Westerns Wayne made for Universal. The film was originally called Hell on Ice but the Hays Office requested this be changed.
Adventure's End is a 1937 American adventure film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring John Wayne and Diana Gibson. It was distributed by Universal Pictures.
Yellowstone is a 1936 American crime film set in Yellowstone National Park, directed by Arthur Lubin and released by Universal Studios.
Seton Ingersoll Miller was an American screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with film directors such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz. Miller received two Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay for the 1941 fantasy romantic comedy film, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, along with Sidney Buchman.
New Orleans is a 1947 American musical romance film starring Arturo de Córdova and Dorothy Patrick, and directed by Arthur Lubin. Though it features a rather conventional plot, the film is noteworthy both for casting jazz legends Billie Holiday as a singing maid romantically involved with bandleader Louis Armstrong, and extensive playing of New Orleans-style Dixieland jazz: over twenty songs are featured in whole or part.
Lady Godiva of Coventry is a 1955 American Technicolor historical drama film, directed by Arthur Lubin. It starred Maureen O'Hara in the title role. Alec Harford, the English actor who portrayed Tom the Tailor, died eight months before the film's release.
Eagle Squadron is a 1942 American war film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Robert Stack, Diana Barrymore, John Loder and Nigel Bruce. It was based on a story by C.S. Forester that appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine, and inspired by media reports of the fighting in the Battle of Britain, in particular, the American pilots who volunteered before the United States entered World War II, to fly for the Royal Air Force in the actual Eagle Squadrons.
Frisco Waterfront is a 1935 American drama film directed by Arthur Lubin and Joseph Santley and starring Ben Lyon, Helen Twelvetrees and Rod La Rocque.
Mysterious Crossing is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring James Dunn, Jean Rogers and Andy Devine. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures.
Midnight Intruder is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin starring Louis Hayward, Eric Linden, J.C. Nugent and Barbara Read.
The Beloved Brat is a 1938 American comedy-drama film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Bonita Granville, Dolores Costello, and Donald Crisp. The screenplay was written by Lawrence Kimble from an original story by Jean Negulesco.
Secrets of a Nurse is a 1938 American sports drama film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Edmund Lowe, Helen Mack, and Dick Foran.
Tremlet C. Carr was an American film producer, closely associated with the low-budget filmmaking of Poverty Row. In 1931 he co-founded Monogram Pictures, which developed into one of the leading specialist producers of B pictures in Hollywood.