Born to Speed

Basically a drama about Midget Racers (small, sleek single-driver race-cars with normal-sized V-8 engines that helped to kill many drivers in their era) and the hotshot son of a great driver who died behind the wheel. The only way I saw this is because I got a 35mm print of it in a film collection I bought. I don't know if it's public domain or not, but it's fairly entertaining. The lead actors are all no-names, but they look good and can act just enough to make it work. The Midget Racer footage is the highpoint, but sometimes the use of stock footage gets pretty bad (the grains and contrasts don't match up at all). It would be a 4 or 5 B-Movie without the higher production values, but the sets look A-Grade and lift it a couple points higher. Not a must see, but not a waste of time, good 40s fun.

I must say that I did not have high hopes for this film going into the movie. But it really was not that bad. It had all the regular movie plots such as; a handsome hero, a beautiful girl, hated villains and a worried mother. All elements for a great adventure. But for some reason ,perhaps the out-of-date subject, it did not come across very well on the screen. I thought Johnny Sands and Vivian Austin worked well together. And it is always great to see Geraldine Wall, who played the mother, in any cast. The movie seemed to lack a surprising situation. The script was just too tame. This was a low budget movie so special effects are limited to a sound stage with clips of real racing woven in between. But if the viewer can remember that it was 1947 when the film was released, then most can be overlooked. And if overlooked the viewer will be entertained for the 61 minutes.

Plot-- Even though mother disapproves, youthful Johnny is encouraged to race in midget car contests. Too bad his father was killed in one, so Johnny's unsure. Meanwhile, his dad's mentor plus the older guy's bubbly daughter urge him onto the track. So what will he do and how will things turn out.

Produced right after WWII, the movie features two budding post-war trends-- car racing and a bobby-sox idol. Here it's midget car racers-- regular cars were in short supply given recent war production. As a result, kids would soon turn to hot-rods; that is, old car parts patch-worked into gas powered oddities. On the bobby-sox side-- with his all-American good looks, actor Sands became an instant teen idol. I recall the girls oozing over his handsome blondness. Trouble is he looks the lead actor part, but remains a rather bland thespic presence. That, in turn, allows the effusive Austin to dominate the screen with her coy mannerisms. Plus, she could double for a maturing Shirley Temple. Then there's Frank Orth supplying humor as the gruff racing vet. Of course, male viewers are expecting exciting racecar footage, and a lot is supplied. Then too, for a cheap production, the process shots of driver close-ups are not bad.

There's nothing special here. Sands would go on to a brief career, while Vivien's would be cut short by health problems. And shouldn't overlook the versatile Orth who would shortly land a recurring role on the successful Boston Blackie TV series. Anyway, this low-budget quickie is at least good for a glimpse of post-war youth trends.

(In passing- without giving it away, the ending for me was kind of a surprise.)