Speedway

Boastful race-car enthusiast William Haines (as William "Bill" Whipple) works for mentor driver Ernest Torrence (as Jim "Mac" MacDonald), who has been trying to win the Indianapolis 500 since its inception in 1911. When Mr. Torrence is sidetracked due to a weak heart, Mr. Haines enters the race, along with mechanic pal Karl Dane (as Dugan) and rival John Miljan (as Lee Renny). Haines also romances beautiful Anita Page (as Patricia "Pat" Bonner), who helps teach him a lesson. This is your typical Haines vehicle. It is most notable as one of MGM's last silent features, and includes actual Indy 500 location footage. "Speedway" has Haines and the MGM crew in good form, but the silent era was ending. After Greta Garbo's successful "The Kiss" appeared in November, all the big stars were being heard.

****** Speedway (9/7/29) Harry Beaumont ~ William Haines, Anita Page, Ernest Torrence, Karl Dane

Love & revenge, thrills & spills. A cocky young man. A beautiful young lady. A nasty celebrity racer and a decent old driver with a bad heart. They will all come together for the great Decoration Day Race at the Indianapolis SPEEDWAY

This is a fairly typical William Haines silent comedy. He chases pretty Anita Page throughout, engaging in antics so annoying they'd get him arrested today. Haines' personality is a bit much at times, but he is never anything less than entertaining. He benefits here by much location shooting at the famous Raceway.

The supporting cast is good: Ernest Torrence & Eugenie Besserer are the old driver & his wife who've taken Haines in like a son; Karl Dane is a good-natured, if slow-witted, mechanic; John Miljan is properly repugnant as the bad guy. The ubiquitous Polly Moran scores in her one scene as a frowzy hash house waitress.

William Haines should have retired before appearing in this dreary film. It has to have been his worst performance. He must have been cast just because his name was still bankable. He had been a good-looking, talented, generally likable actor, but, oy, here he was so childishly silly, it was painful to watch.

He didn't even look good. He was puffy, as if ill. Certainly he looked too old for the character.

The director and a trite script are also to blame, although the director and photographer deserve a lot of credit for the exciting car racing scenes at the Indianapolis track.

Haines' fellow players, especially the adorable and lovely Anita Page, but also Karl Dane, Ernest Torrence, and John Miljan did their best -- which is very good! -- but the predictable story and Haines' performance prevent "Speedway" from being worthwhile.

Remember that William Haines had given some great performances in the past. Maybe you will want to see this just to complete your knowledge of him and his career. When, a few years later, he retired from pictures, he became probably the number one most sought-after interior decorator in Los Angeles.

My favorite William Haines quote: "I can only tell you this -- I would rather have taste than either love or money."

Speedway (1929)

** (out of 4)

William Haines' final silent film has him playing the same type of part he did throughout the decade. In the film he plays Bill Whipple, a cocky race car driver who thinks he's the greatest thing in the world. He eventually sells out his best friend (Ernest Torrence) and gets overlooked by a girl (Anita Page) he has his eye on but soon Bill starts to realize that he's not as great as he thought. SPEEDWAY isn't a very memorable film and it's safe to say that the screenwriters simply copied earlier Haines' films as this thing doesn't offer anything original or fresh. If you really want to see Haines in a good role and film it's best to check out TELL IT TO THE MARINES or SPRING FEVER because this one here just doesn't cut it. I think when you mention Haines' name today you're going to find many film buffs who simply hate him and I can understand this. The characters he played were such jerks that it's easy to see why so many people might be turned off but in terms of a performance I thought he was terrific because of how well and easy he made this character seem annoying. It's the characters that are annoying and not Haines' himself so I can't fault his performance. I do think this film goes way too far in terms of that cockiness because even I started to really hate this guy and I couldn't care what happened to him. One example takes place when Haines walks into a restaurant and gets upset because the menu isn't clean. Fine, a bad joke. However, instead of just letting it go this scene continues to play out to the point where it's certainly not funny and you can't help but really start to hate the character because of how he's acting. Haines and Page appeared in a few films together but their chemistry here really isn't where it should be as the romance side of things never comes across. On their own both give fine performances but together there's just no spark. Torrence and Karl Dane are wasted in their supporting roles. The one interesting thing about this otherwise bland movie is that the race at the end was actually shot at the 1929 Indianapolis 500 and featured that events winner Ray Keech doing some work for this picture. It's strange to note that a man was killed during this actual race and that Keech himself would be killed during another race seventeen days later. Being able to see the actual event and how it looked in 1929 was certainly the highlight of the movie and the only real reason to watch this otherwise forgettable picture.

This is a typical William Haines silent film: brash young man makes an ass of himself and lets everyone down. Then he has a "right of passage" in his humiliation and comes back to win the day. No one could play this formula like Haines could, and the formula made him a top MGM star of the late 20s and into the early 30s.

Here he is a mechanic, but the opening scene has him waving to the crowds as Mac's (Ernest Torrence) racing car is towed through the downtown streets of Indianapolis. But Haines is waving and mugging to the crowds as though he is the racing star. He acts the same way when he spies Anita Page and tries to get her attention in a hash house. Haines plays a big goofy kid, and there's no one quite like him in silent films. He's not really a comic, but filmgoers of the era loved his silly antics.

After being a fool and falling for the rival's promises, Haines comes back to save the day (and the race) for old Mac. He also wins the girl.

SPEEDWAY is notable for its location shooting and exciting racing sequences. There's a sound-effect track tacked on to the racing finale but no talking sequences.

Haines and Page are an attractive couple and have chemistry. Torrence is also good as the gruff old man. Karl Dane plays a mechanic. Eugenie Besserer is the mother figure, and Polly Moran is funny as the hash house waitress. John Miljan is the evil Renny.

But this is a William Haines film all the way and he's hardly ever off screen......