Speedway

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.

I am not sure why, but there is a real cult-like love for William Haines and his films. I am shocked by the many 10s I see his films receive from reviewers. Now I am NOT saying his films are bad, but they clearly follow the exact same formula in most of them....a major reason I can't see giving any of these films 9s or 10s. They just were lazily written and repetitive. Now this is not to say some of them aren't great....a few defy the mold and work quite well...but they seem to be the exception, not the rule.

The usual formula is simple. Haines plays some sort of talented but thoroughly obnoxious guy who spends most of the movie bragging about how great he is and making passes at women. In nearly all these films he IS talented but his hubris sets him up for a major fall. And, predictably, by the end of the film the now humbled guy managed to save the day and prove he really is a stand up guy down deep. Fortunately, his redemption is a bit better than usual...a real stand out ending.

It's not a bad formula and if you see one or two of these films, you'll probably enjoy them. But the problem is that the formula was used so often that the films seem like essentially the same film. Whether he's a marine, ball player or race car driver...it's pretty much the same.

In "Speedway" he once again plays this sort of braggart. The only big difference is that here he is much more obnoxious in the way he annoys a woman into falling for him. His character clearly has no understanding of the word no....and today he'd be very likely arrested for what must have been seen as cute antics back in 1929. So back in the day, people might have enjoyed this but today with Women's Lib and the Me Too Movement, his films (especially this one) would sure raise a lot of eyebrows! It's so ironic that this piggish character was played by an openly gay actor and perhaps the studio was trying hard to overcompensate by making his characters this way.

In addition to spending most of the film annoying women, there is a bit about auto racing and this talented mechanic's loyalty to an older racer (Ernest Torrence)...though his chasing skirts is clearly the main theme in the film. He plays a guy who is all talk but has a hard time finishing anything. After disappointing everyone, can Billy manage to turn his life around and make good? What do you think?!?!

The biggest reason to see this film is the footage from the actual Indy Motor Speedway and the old racing cars. It's actually important historically...so I am glad the film has been preserved. But with Haines essentially playing a super sexual harasser, this great footage couldn't save the film for me. Worth seeing, but if you do, just be prepared to be shocked by his boorish behaviors...it's what MGM and the public apparently wanted at the time, though it sure wears very thin today.

By the way, if you do watch, note Haines' racing outfit and those of his crew...they look just like Team Rocket from "Pokemon"!

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

SPEEDWAY (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1929), directed by Harry Beaumont, stars William Haines in a typical race car story in typical William Haines fashion. With William Haines in the cast, the story revolves around two characters, William Haines and his portrayed character, Bill Whipple, which equals to William Haines. Aside from this being his final silent movie, SPEEDWAY is also notable for actual participation of world famous drivers with actual race car sequences through the cooperation of the Indianapolis Speedway Association.

Opening title: "According to Bill Whipple's impression of Bill Whipple, nobody had anything on Bill Whipple but Bill Whipple." Plot development focuses on Bill Whipple (William Haines), a top mechanic for the Indianapolis Speedway, assisted by Dugan (Karl Dane), his mechanical friend. Bill has a close relationship with Jim MacDonald (Ernest Torrence) and his wife (Eugenie Besserer), who treat Bill more like a son than a close friend. Mac, also a race car driver who's big dream since 1911 is to win the annual 500 mile decoration day racing classic. Mac holds a serious grudge against Lee Renny (John Miljan), a race car rival responsible for his serious crackup in Altoona a year ago. Bill, who never takes anything seriously, meets and becomes attracted to a beautiful blonde named Patricia Manning (Anita Page) while in a diner. His brash personality turns her off, but regardless of her rejections, he refuses to give up on her. When the doctor (Alfred Allen) diagnoses Mac's heart condition and to not participate in the upcoming race, further complications ensue as Mac and Bill become rivals caused by Bill's association with Renny. Aside from race car driver Harry Hartz appearing as himself, Polly Moran makes good with her five minutes as a wisecracking waitress which males any avid film buff think of future comedienne, Patsy Kelly.

Released in the final year (1929) of the silent movie era, SPEEDWAY is accompanied by fine 1920s style orchestral scoring through much of its 76 minutes, except during the annual 500 mile decoration race where sound effects and roaring of the crowd take precedence. One amusing sequence occurs when Pat (Page) piloting an airplane in her attempt of teaching Bill (Haines) a lesson by giving him a thrill ride. Bill, who fears airplane rides, appears ill at ease one moment, to suddenly smile the next in pretense of enjoying himself as Pat faces his direction. He and Page commend each other well enough to work together again, such as an early talkie and 1929 release of NAVY BLUES. Ernest Torrence, a gruff older man with a heart of gold, never disappoints with his presence while Eugenie Besserer (best known as Al Jolson's mother in THE JAZZ SINGER (1927), offers another sympathetic and caring performance. Though MGM used the title of SPEEDWAY for another race car story in 1968 starring Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra, it was not a remake.

Considering its typical story with Haines annoyance or entertainment value (depending on the viewer), it's a wonder had SPEEDWAY been a talkie would the movie have had the same affect? Unseen for many years until the arrival of Turner Classic Movies cable channel in 1994, SPEEDWAY has also been made available for rediscovery on DVD. (** finish lines)

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."