DANGER ON WHEELS (1940)

Though low on production qualities, this super-quick, sixty-one-minute (thankfully) Universal Pictures release begins on the fictional Atlas Motors Proving Grounds. The stock footage is said to be actual Studebaker's testing grounds, causing somewhat of a stir, as it was being used without their permission. Over the opening credits, the music department decided on “can-can, circus music” from a stock library. A full list of credits is available online. The film has a full tank of studio prop cars being “driven” by actors. Real-life stunt footage is used as the cars are put through their paces on some very rough off-road courses to test the car's integrity and the driver's ability to stay in the car without a seat belt. One in-car camera is used during a head-on collision test with exciting 1940 results.

Richard Arlen had chalked up many miles in the air in the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Wings (1927). He ran out of gas by the Forties and returned to terra firma. Arlen plays a stunt driver known as “Lucky” Taylor, well known for his county fair stunt shows with a hidden talent for oval track racing. He and his co-star, Andy Devine, turned out more than a dozen action-packed short films from 1939 to 1941. Devine provides the comic relief, something he typically succeeded in doing with his high pockets, and a high-register cracking voice that suggests he is still going through puberty. Here, his quiet, high-pitched “Hee-Hee-Hee” after a teasing is a frequent gimmick.

After Arlen unintentionally offends the daughter of a veteran race car magnate, Peggy Moran waves him off with a caution flag. It is no surprise they will share the checkered version by the film's ending. Her ailing father, in collaboration with Devine, has developed a new motor that will far outpace other competitors.

The oval track vintage racing cars are open-cockpit cars with a rollover potentially deadly to the driver. One had to have nerves of steel and fearlessness to race during this dangerous era. An exposed spring in Arlen's driver's seat is fellow race driver, played arrogantly by Vinton Hayworth, who thinks Arlen cannot do much more than crash old vehicles. If you cannot win, eliminate the opposition. The climactic final race has Arlen blocked in by Hayworth's team, knowing full well his engine is faster than theirs. Arlen takes an opportunity to break free, then ignores the race track official's command to enter the pits. They have discovered his engine is illegal—and the fastest car on the track.

Notes: Vinton Hayworth became a frequent player on television, with many smarmy roles. He may best be remembered as General Winfield Schaeffer on the series, I Dream of Jeannie.

The “Lucky” Taylor character is loosely based on the real-life stunt driver, showman and entrepreneur from Indiana, Earl "Lucky" Teter (1901-1942). He pioneered and popularized the touring stunt driving show, performing across the country. His luck ran out during an Indiana State Fair performance in his attempt to jump 150 feet over a transport truck in his 1938 Plymouth. He came up several feet short. After his death, his widow sold the show to Joie Chitwood, a seven-time Indianapolis 500 driver who became famous with his “Thrill Show” until his retirement in 1950. His two sons carried on the tradition for over thirty more years.