About 40 minutes in when the kids are gathered around the roadster and snub David, talking about heating up the ignition and adjusting the plug gaps, one says that'll get you more gow. Rhymes with cow. Just some evidence for the eternal "how do you pronounce gow job" question. Thank you for posting this.
Always liked this movie, 'Devil on Wheels', and a couple more OLD ones. There was one I saw in the early '50s, two rivals had cars that looked to be black...(deep, shiny paint...black and white flick, though) One was a '34 roadster, the other a '35 Phaeton, both full fendered, the '35 had chrome wire wheels (Skylark? Cad?) and whitewalls. They had a fast startup in front of Hollywood High, ("Bet I can dig out faster than you can..") and there was a pileup, all I can remember. Anyone else ever see this one? Like I said, Old...
Its amusing to watch and hard to imagine the bad rap hot rodding had at its inception. I hope this serves as a lesson though and all you guys don't forget to consult with your parents before hopping up those engines !
I have always liked this movie. Jimmy was a pretty solid star back then. I spoke to his wife about 8 months ago. Jimmy was at the Post Office. He’s still hangin’ in there..
Thanks.......I've been revisting these movies lately with my kiddo's with the "home schooling", we call it 'class' during the day & I call it influencing the youth with history. Chris
Hey Rich, Do you remember Swifty Johnson (Gil Stratton) doing sports on one of the big three news shows in So Cal.?
Thanks for the movie As a result the youtube algorithm came up with this one along the same theme...some pretty cool cars and check out the Police cruiser.... makes you wonder where they all went hope the boss approves on this Tuesday
Just one question...how many pistons does a flathead have? As they were tearing down the motor, I’m pretty sure that I counted at least 10 of them on the ground.
Hello, That old movie shows the best photos of old hot rods. The technology was primitive. But, it made it so the action sequence was filmed in one place, a lonely two land road out in the empty scrub mountains of So Cal. In the scenes, there are passing lanes in one sequence, a two lane road, and the mountains disappear with a lake on the side. Perhaps it was near Lake Casitas close to barren roadways adjoining, Ojai. At any rate, the film does show some cool action. But, the development of a dragstrip was epic. GIL STRATTON, JR???? All of the roadside incongruities aside, the most interesting part was the one with Gil Stratton, Jr. Gil Stratton was known to all of us in So Cal as one of the most congenial sports casters in all of TV land. ("Time to call 'em as I see 'em") My dad used to watch him as an umpire in the local baseball team games in Los Angeles. He was also known as "The Voice" of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1960s. Gil Stratton CBS News Jnaki Gil Stratton had a colorful career in the movies as an actor, but for us, he was “The” sportscaster while we were growing up in So Cal. I guess going from an actor in Hollywood to the national TV screen sportscaster was not that odd, coming from the land of actors becoming Governors... His character in the Hot Rod movie was the little sidekick with colorful poses and participation. A mild slapstick role.
That was a fun watch. Here’s a question for one of you guys from that era. The cops kept calling it a “cut down” 32 Ford roadster. Did cut down refer to the lack of fenders?
Probably meant anything but stock...Hood missing, Top Lowered, fenders off, bumpers missing, Typical Hotrod things and I suspect many Youth in Hotrods and even Mom and Dads Stockers ended up in front of that judge if they were remotely lucky the unlucky paid with their lives...the description evolved with the problem. The real deal was a problem, existed and actually never went away...Lets see what the Older Hoodlum Set has to say...
That was cold, Bandit Billy ! LOL. Just think how many more SBC's would have occupied engine rooms in hotrods if GM had introduced the 265 in '49 along with the 303 Olds and 331 Caddy ! When weather does not permit cruising in my Deuce roadster, we watch all these films from the '40s and '50s. It's cheap entertainment and very enjoyable. We're 73 and 75 going on 18 !
Displacement is a dish best served cold, and it's very cold...in cyberspace. I have absolutely no idea what I meant by that, but in a Ricardo Montalban voice it sounded cool.
Hey guys and gals, a bit of a late entry for this thread (great thread, btw), but I just recently got my mitts on an original insert size movie poster for Hot Rod. After I got it in a frame and was looking at it, I noticed that the image they used for the roadster at the top of the poster got flipped, and as printed, that car on that format poster, at least in movie advertising history is right hand drive: I also have the 1 sheet and style A half sheet, and everything is correct on those, but the 3 sheet (which is still on the want list) uses some of the same art as the insert, and the roadster is right hand drive there as well. Thanks for looking!
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