THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (1955)

This seventy-three-minute B-movie is loaded with all the ingredients of a little-known film. But it is not. Despite its meager budget and a ten-day shooting schedule, it garnered a huge box office return. The two leads seem made for each other and perhaps that was a catalyst for moviegoers. Filming at the Pebble Beach racing circuit may have also boosted ticket sales—plenty of vintage sports car footage for the automobile fan. Produced by Roger Corman with a story by the same, this Palo Alto Productions was the first film produced for American International Pictures. There is a puzzling opening to the film that has the feel of a truncated theatrical trailer. The viewer has to wait about forty minutes to find out what it is all about. The film stars John Ireland, who also directed along with Edward Sampson. Corman updated his resumé after seeing Ireland’s good results. Getting few casting calls at this point in her career, Dorothy Malone signed on as the second-billed lead. Despite the necessary dialogue to explain why Ireland is furious and Malone drives fast, it is full of entertainment value and plenty of Corman trademarks.

Ireland, in another furrowed brow role, is framed for murder but breaks jail—the only means of escaping the rap. Minding his own business in a diner, Malone drives up in her Jaguar XK120 to get a glass of pineapple juice. Try requesting that in Minnesota. A blonde motormouth waitress, Iris Adrian—the physical equivalent of today's social media—is full of opinions and gossip about the recent murder. She is irritating Ireland as does a rotund male customer who keeps probing him with questions. He pulls a revolver on Ireland, there is a scuffle and "Lumpy" gets decked. The Jaguar did not go unnoticed. Ireland hustles Malone out of the diner and suspends her driving privileges. She might come in handy as a suggested couple. What she becomes is a nightmare hostage, frustrating him to no end as she tries to escape, throws the ignition key in the weeds, or constantly complains. They dislike each other immediately.

The unconscious music score is the single worst element in the film. A Corman tradition. It is never appropriate for any given scene as if they randomly chose selections from a music library based on the album's cover art. The first inappropriate use is during Malone’s arrival at the diner over sitcom music of the era. I half expected a laugh track when she ordered the pineapple juice. An over-the-top theme is used as the two escape motorcycle police facing the opposite direction down a switchback from them. Ireland decides to coast the Jaguar down the mountain, thus passing behind them. The complicated, raging orchestral music is played at a very low level so it will be less noticeable. But the scene calls for tension from a sustained note. Some of today’s action thrillers have a fear of silence like so many people on a picnic who cannot eat outdoors without a sound system making willows weep. The music quietly and mindlessly crescendos as Malone excitedly says, “I’m Hungry!”

Ireland pulls a gun on Malone as they enter a clichéd roadblock. “Don’t try anything,” he snarls. Hollywood's idle threat is always stupid. If he fires the gun, the police will be on top of him and there is no point in killing her. Maybe Ireland really is a psycho. No surprise they get through the roadblock after telling the authorities they are participating in the nearby international race. Suddenly, Malone gets playfully sarcastic as her mood changes. Soon, “humorous” jabs are traded, signifying an upshift in their relationship.

Malone is well-known and respected on the racing circuit. She enters her car in the cross-border race but Ireland will drive the manly course. Riding as a passenger, she verbally points out the correct driving techniques to be a winner as they take a practice run over the course. Ireland is implausibly a quick learner. She did not coach Ireland on how to appear believable when “driving” the studio prop car, though. His face looks positively numb. Suspicious of Ireland is Malone’s racing friend, Bruce Carlisle, who is given the caution flag for worst acting. The racing sequences, using shaky, rear-facing race footage, add some excitement. Rather humorous, though, is the race announcer calling turns and spotting cars over the long-distance road course despite a thick forest and distant hills obscuring his view. Ireland and Carlisle battle for the win until the latter loses control and crashes. Ireland’s plan for his Mexico escape does not become a reality as he stops to help his fellow racer.

Note: Dorothy Malone’s hit-and-miss career might be compared to a contemporary of hers, Marsha Mason. Malone’s most visible role may have been her lead in television’s “Peyton Place.” Originally a brunette, dyeing her hair platinum boosted her career for a short time—an assumed alternative to Monroe. But there were plenty of those.