This film is in the public domain and time has not been good to the print. As a result of it being an orphan, the print is choppy--with parts of the dialog clipped out here and there. Additionally, during the first race, a scene occurs from early in the film--completely out of place and out of sequence. So, as the leading man is racing about in his hot rod, the scene switched from the race to the same guy with the female reporter--trying to make time with her! Then, the scene switches and he's back behind the wheel of his sports car in the middle of the same race! Yikes! There's plenty more like this, unfortunately.
James Murray plays a racing car driver. His best friend is his co-driver (standard back in the old days) and when this friend is killed in a race, Murray is so traumatized that he cannot bring himself to go back to racing. He also has inherited custody of his friend's son and has determined to keep him in a nice military academy--but paying for it is tough when he's not able to race. Murray makes ends meet as a taxi driver but doesn't tell the kid or a nice reporter (Joan Marsh) who is infatuated with him. In fact, he's so ashamed that he avoids her like the plague.
Later, the lady accidentally discovers his new identity as a cabbie but decides NOT to divulge this in her column. But, her friend's promise NOT to mention this is immediately broken--as he reports on Murray's fall in his next radio show--calling Murray "yellow" and telling everyone that he's now just a cab driver. This makes life tough for the kid in military school, as he's idolized Murray and told everyone all about his 'Uncle Mark' and his exploits. Considering that this is a rather predictable B-movie, you just know by the end of the film that Murray will be back behind the wheel and his winning ways. However, I must admit that HOW this occurred took me by surprise--even if it was incredibly contrived and odd.
The film is a very standard low-budget B-movie. There are a few things of interest, though not enough to make this one to see. First, the film did a nice job of portraying PTSD (though such a term wasn't coined for several more decades). Second, I liked that Marsh was a very ordinary looking woman--a bit chunky and less glamorous than you might expect. I like this, as too often in film everyone is sexy and beautiful--and totally unlike real life. Third, I liked the neighbors. While walking ethnic stereotypes, they were sweet and added nice color to the otherwise drab film. Overall, because of the standard plot and choppy print, there isn't any real compelling reason to see this one.
James Murray plays a racing car driver. His best friend is his co-driver (standard back in the old days) and when this friend is killed in a race, Murray is so traumatized that he cannot bring himself to go back to racing. He also has inherited custody of his friend's son and has determined to keep him in a nice military academy--but paying for it is tough when he's not able to race. Murray makes ends meet as a taxi driver but doesn't tell the kid or a nice reporter (Joan Marsh) who is infatuated with him. In fact, he's so ashamed that he avoids her like the plague.
Later, the lady accidentally discovers his new identity as a cabbie but decides NOT to divulge this in her column. But, her friend's promise NOT to mention this is immediately broken--as he reports on Murray's fall in his next radio show--calling Murray "yellow" and telling everyone that he's now just a cab driver. This makes life tough for the kid in military school, as he's idolized Murray and told everyone all about his 'Uncle Mark' and his exploits. Considering that this is a rather predictable B-movie, you just know by the end of the film that Murray will be back behind the wheel and his winning ways. However, I must admit that HOW this occurred took me by surprise--even if it was incredibly contrived and odd.
The film is a very standard low-budget B-movie. There are a few things of interest, though not enough to make this one to see. First, the film did a nice job of portraying PTSD (though such a term wasn't coined for several more decades). Second, I liked that Marsh was a very ordinary looking woman--a bit chunky and less glamorous than you might expect. I like this, as too often in film everyone is sexy and beautiful--and totally unlike real life. Third, I liked the neighbors. While walking ethnic stereotypes, they were sweet and added nice color to the otherwise drab film. Overall, because of the standard plot and choppy print, there isn't any real compelling reason to see this one.