Hot Rods to Hell (1966)

Hot Rods to Hell: Directed by John Brahm. With Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, Mimsy Farmer, Laurie Mock. The new owner of a motel in the California desert has a run-in with a gang of delinquent teenage hot rod drivers.

“Any movie from 1967 that has its own website canu0026#39;t be all bad. Not exactly a cult classic as many contend, u0026quot;Hot Rods to Hell,u0026quot; is still worth a peek for those among us who enjoy guilty pleasures. Fans of 1945u0026#39;s u0026quot;State Fairu0026quot; may find their dream couple, Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews, a bit weather worn but still fine Thespians, now playing a couple in mid-life crisis, with two children, one a daughter with a slight case of teenage angst.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTom and Peg Phillips (Andrews and Crain), with Tom disabled as a result of a car wreck, are on their way to operate a desert hotel they have just purchased. Itu0026#39;s a family move so their kids, Tina and Jamie (Laurie Mock and Jeffrey Byron, aka Tim Stafford), are in the backseat. Unfortunately, a trio of teens, Gloria, Duke, and Ernie (Mimsy Farmer, Paul Bertoya, and Gene Kirkwood respectively) decide they donu0026#39;t like the new proprietor because he is too square. The trio with Duke at the wheel of his 1958 Vette decide to terrorize the family which basically is the plot for the rest of the film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eProducer Jungle Jim (Sam Katzman) could crank out B action flicks with the best of them. His forte was to cash in on a passing fad before it vaporized by immortalizing it on celluloid, for example, u0026quot;Letu0026#39;s Twist Again,u0026quot; and u0026quot;Donu0026#39;t Knock the Rock.u0026quot; His major claim to fame, which may be apocryphal, was having coined the term u0026quot;Beatniku0026quot; to describe the social dropouts of the 1950u0026#39;s.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThough not as innovative or original as Samuel Fuller, Katzman could get some clever camera angles from his cinematographer and memorable setups from his directors. In u0026quot;Hot Rods to Hell,u0026quot; the shots of Duke piloting the Vette, Ernie riding shotgun, and Gloria on a pedestal between the two, her hair blowing in the wind, is as creative as the Bonnell brothers riding in the wagon at the beginning of Fulleru0026#39;s u0026quot;Forty Guns,u0026quot; which appeared ten years earlier. These images stick in the mind of the viewer after all else has faded.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Hot Rods to Hellu0026quot; was released during the Summer of Love but smacks of teen hot rod films of the 1950u0026#39;s. The u0026quot;animals,u0026quot; Duke, Gloria, and Ernie (what all-American names!) look sanitized and clean cut for 1967. Where are the long-haired hippies, the flower children, the yippees, the acid trippers? This trio looks about as rebellious and threatening as a Sunday school choir. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Hot Rods to Hellu0026quot; also caters to the u0026quot;kids going to hellu0026quot; stance held by those of the older generation since prehistoric times. Tom Phillipsu0026#39; speechifying, especially toward the end, typifies the preachy outlook of middle America that stressed tradition and so-called family values over the mores of the contemporary counter-culture movement. This is very much an establishment flick with more than a small dose of propaganda and indoctrination, a holdover from the Eisenhower decade. u0026quot;Hot Rods to Hellu0026quot; belongs to an earlier era. u0026quot;Easy Rideru0026quot; belongs to the 1960u0026#39;s. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf the viewer overlooks the terrible Hollywood music that sounds like a cross between Herb Alpert u0026amp; The Tijuana Brass and Lawrence Welk attempting to play rock on his accordion then the music of Mickey Rooney, Jr. and his rock combo is indeed a treat. The band sounds somewhat like The Box Tops and The Monkees and it really rocks.”