Hot Rod

Warner Archive Collection (series)

Like something that rolled out of a garage in Andy Hardy's hometown of Carvel Indiana comes Hot Rod. James Lydon (whose radio and film portrayals of Henry Aldrich were perhaps but a half-block removed from Andy) stars as David Langham, an enterprising youth with an eye for the girls and an ear for a well-tuned high-compression machine. And his dad? He's a sagacious font of advice (Art Baker) who happens to be a small town judge. The film, which combines the excitement of tire-singing speed with a cautionary message about the perils of street racing, would see a stream of redlining exploitation flicks in its rearview, Hot Rod Girl, Hot Rod Gang and Hot Rods to Hell among them.

The postwar hot-rod craze spawned a whole new movie subgenre. This Monogram entry, titled simply HOT ROD, stars Jimmy Lydon as David Langham, the son of a juvenile court judge (Art Baker) who'd like nothing better than to throw all hot-rodders in the slammer. It is inevitable, then, that David succumbs to the lure of the race track, mainly to impress his girlfriend Janie (Gloria Winters). Before long, David's vehicle is stolen by his rival Joe Langham (Myron Healey), who is promptly involved in a hit-and-run accident. For a while it looks like David's dad is going to throw the book at his own son. Will the truth prevail' Featured in the cast is Tommy Bond, the former "Butch" in the Our Gang series.