The Devil on Wheels | |
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Directed by | Crane Wilbur |
Written by | Crane Wilbur Tony Sargent |
Produced by | Benjamin Stoloff |
Starring | Noreen Nash Darryl Hickman Terry Moore Sue England |
Cinematography | L. William O'Connell |
Edited by | Alexander Troffey |
Music by | Emil Cadkin |
Distributed by | Producers Releasing Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 67 minutes |
Language | English |
The Devil On Wheels is a 1947 American drama film directed by Crane Wilbur and starring Darryl Hickman. [1]
In addition to being the first film about street racing youth, it is also notable for being one of the first films to feature actresses (Terry Moore and Noreen Nash) wearing bikini tops.
A few scenes from one of the street races depicted were later reused in the opening of the 1950 film Hot Rod, also about street racing in Southern California.
Michael "Micky" Clark (Hickman) turns his Ford roadster into a hot rod with his friend Todd (Robert Arthur), advised by Michael's older brother Jeff (James Cardwell), who learned about engines as a combat pilot. Todd (who has his own custom Ford hot rod) thinks Michael talks about his brother too much, but encourages him to soup up his car.
Michael's and Jeff's father John is on his way home in a brand-new convertible when he witnesses a fatal car accident, caused by reckless driving. Arriving home with the new car, Todd appreciates how the speedometer goes up to 120MPH, which causes John to give a lecture about the dangers of street racing. John has his own reckless driving habits (which he refuses to admit), on full display to the family when he gives them a ride in the new car.
Michael's girlfriend Peggy (Sue England), his friend Todd and Todd's girlfriend Rusty (Terry Moore) all make fun of Michael for wanting to be cautious behind the wheel. Upset by this, Michael decides to participate with Todd in a street race. Despite the police intervening, Michael doesn't give up reckless driving, taking Todd for a ride in his father's new convertible, driving recklessly through the streets and evading the police. [2] [3]
Despite close calls with police as well as the death of a fellow racer, they continue speeding, in part because of the encouragement from their girlfriends. Michael and Todd eventually push their luck to the point of fatal consequences. Michael's father John still possesses hotheaded driving habits, at least until he hears a police siren.
Boy racer is a term given to a young person who drives in a fast and aggressive manner; it has become a broader term for participants in modern custom car culture who tune and modify cars with street racing-style aftermarket cosmetic and performance parts such as body kits, audio systems and exhausts. The culture encompasses a broad range of car types including sport compacts and economy cars typical of the import scene, this is in contrast with the hot rod culture of previous generations. Some car enthusiasts and modifiers feel the term labels them as deviant and anti-social and are keen to distance themselves from the term. Boy racer is a term mostly but not exclusively associated with the UK, in Australia and New Zealand hoon is sometimes preferred. In the US, "Rice boy" or "Ricer" is a derogatory term for the driver or builder of an imported hot rod, or someone who modifies their car in a cheap way to imitate the look of a higher performance vehicle.
The Jaguar XJ-S is a luxury grand tourer manufactured and marketed by British car manufacturer Jaguar Cars from 1975 to 1996, in coupé, fixed-profile and full convertible bodystyles. There were three distinct iterations, with a final production total of 115,413 units over 20 years and seven months.
A hoon is an Australian and New Zealander term describing a person who deliberately drives a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner, generally in order to provoke a reaction from onlookers.
The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 56th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 33rd modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Saturday, February 7, and ended on Sunday, November 21. Kurt Busch, who drove a Ford for Roush Racing, was the Nextel Cup champion. It would be the last time until 2012 that the championship would be won by someone other than Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson.
The 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 55th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 32nd modern-era Cup Series season. The season began on February 8 at the Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout and ended on November 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 400. Despite only winning one race throughout the whole season, Matt Kenseth, driving the No.17 Ford for Roush Racing, was strongly consistent following the lone win, and was crowned the Winston Cup champion. His only win came in the third race of the 36 race season. Chevrolet took home the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship after capturing 19 wins and 264 points over second-place finisher Dodge, who had nine wins and 203 points. Ford finished the year third with seven wins and 200 points, and Pontiac finished fourth with one win and 125 points.
The 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 54th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 31st modern-era Cup Series season. It began on February 10, 2002, at Daytona International Speedway, and ended on November 17, 2002, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was declared as the Winston Cup champion. Bill Elliott won the 2002 NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award. He would win it for the 16th and final time in his career. He withdrew from the ballot after receiving the award. The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was captured by Ford after winning 14 events and gaining 245 points over second-place finisher Chevrolet, who had 10 wins and 211 points.
The 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 50th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 27th modern-era cup series. The season included 33 races and three exhibition races, beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon won the Driver's Championship, the third of his career, and his third in the last four seasons.
The 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 52nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and was the 29th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 13 and ended on November 20. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte was crowned champion at season's end. The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was won by Ford as they captured 14 wins and 234 points to better Pontiac's 11 wins and 213 points. Chevrolet finished third with nine wins and 199 points.
The 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 49th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 26th modern-era NASCAR Cup series. It began on February 9 and ended on November 16. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his second Cup championship at the end of the season.
The 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 46th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 23rd modern-era Cup series. The season began on Sunday, February 20, and ended on Sunday, November 13. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing was crowned champion at season's end, winning consecutive Winston Cups for the third time in his career and tying Richard Petty for the record of most top-level NASCAR championships with seven. It was also the 7th and final NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship for Dale Earnhardt before his death 7 years later in 2001, this was also the final season for 18-time Winston Cup winner Harry Gant.
The 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 48th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 25th modern-era NASCAR Cup series. The season had been started on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway, and ended on November 10 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The season would be remembered for Terry Labonte pulling off a massive upset and winning his second Winston Cup Championship over teammate Jeff Gordon.
The 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 53rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 30th modern-era Cup series. It began on February 11, 2001, at Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 23, 2001, at New Hampshire International Speedway. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports was declared as the series champion for the fourth time in seven years.
The 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 47th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 24th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on February 12 in Daytona Beach and concluded on November 12 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his first career championship.
The 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 45th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 22nd modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 7 and ended on November 14. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won the title, the sixth of his career.
The 1994 Daytona 500, the 36th running of the event, was held February 20 at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Loy Allen Jr., ARCA graduate and Winston Cup rookie, driving the No. 19 for TriStar Motorsports, won the pole. Speedweeks 1994 was marked by tragedy when two drivers, Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr, were killed in separate practice accidents for this race. Sterling Marlin in the Morgan-McClure Motorsports No. 4 won the race, the first win of his NASCAR career.
The 2001 edition of The Winston was held on May 19, 2001, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This was the 17th running of the event. The race is mostly remembered for the start, when rain progressed onto the track, causing cars to get loose and crash into the wall. One of the first ones to crash was Kevin Harvick, in his first appearance at the speedway. Then Jeff Gordon got sideways and wrecked after tapping Jeff Burton from behind, then Michael Waltrip wrecked Gordon, destroying his car, at which point the race was stopped. All of the drivers returned with back-up cars. At the end, Gordon came across the line and won his third All-Star race, tying Dale Earnhardt. Drivers Johnny Benson and Todd Bodine advanced from The Winston Open, with Benson winning the Open and Bodine winning the No Bull 5 Sprint race. This was the first Winston event without Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt. Waltrip retired at the end of 2000 and called the 2001 race from the booth, and Earnhardt was killed earlier in the season at the Daytona 500. Both drivers competed in the first 16 events.
Hot Rod Girl is an independent, black-and-white 1956 teen-oriented action film produced by Norman T. Herman, directed by Leslie H. Martinson and released by American International Pictures as a double feature with Girls in Prison. Hot Rod Girl stars Lori Nelson, Chuck Connors and John Smith. The film centers on efforts to keep hot-rodding teenagers from dangerous drag racing on city streets and having them move to the safety of a specialized drag strip, and the consequences when an aggressive newcomer to town goads them into street racing again.
Noreen Nash was an American film and television actress, who after working as a model, had a two-decade long career during the Classical Hollywood Cinema era. In the beginning of her career, she had uncredited parts at MGM. In 1945, she appeared in The Southerner, after which she had mostly leading roles in B movies of the late 1940s and 1950s, such as The Red Stallion (1947), The Checkered Coat (1948), and Phantom from Space (1953). After leaving the acting profession in 1962, she attended college and became a writer, publishing several books.
Microd racing is a form of youth automobile racing unique to Central New York state. Drivers race on a 1/10 mile dirt or paved oval track. Novice drivers typically race at speeds of 20 mph (32 km/h), while older drivers may exceed 50 mph (80 km/h). Traditional wood-frame microds were homemade vehicles built of common materials such as plywood with 2x2 wood mainframes and pulley-actuated steering. Microd clubs may also race metal-frame classes which resemble the outer appearance of the "classic" wood-frame microds but feature full suspension, tie-rod type steering, and wooden exterior. Both varieties have full rollcages. Additionally, there is a sister class termed "Open Wheels" which use quarter midget style cars, and share the 1/10 mi. oval race course. Syracuse-Geddes microd club features a somewhat shortened track, making it a bit long for the quarter-midgets, but short for the microds, estimated to be 1/15 mi. vs. the standard 1/10 mile. Several notable Northeast racing families have gotten their start at a Microd club.
James Cardwell was an American actor who appeared in more than 20 Hollywood films in the 1940s.