Speed to Spare (1948)

Stunt driver Cliff Jordan takes a job with his old pal Jerry McGee, branch manager of an express trucking firm. Jerry is married to Mary, Cliff's former girl friend. Also working for Jerry ... See full summary »

Director:

William Berke

Writer:

Milton Raison (original screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Arlen, Jean Rogers, Richard Travis

Cast

Credited cast:
Richard Arlen	...	Cliff Jordan
Jean Rogers	...	Mary McGee
Richard Travis	...	Jerry McGee
Roscoe Karns	...	Kangaroo
Nanette Parks	...	Jane Chandler
Pat Phelan	...	Pete Simmons
Ian MacDonald	...	Pusher Wilkes
Paul Harvey	...	Al Simmons
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monte Blue	...	Bit Role (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Stunt driver Cliff Jordan takes a job with his old pal Jerry McGee, branch manager of an express trucking firm. Jerry is married to Mary, Cliff's former girl friend. Also working for Jerry is Pete Simmons, son of the owner Al Simmons, and office secretary Jane Chandler, who is Pete's sweetheart. Before long, Cliff has made enemies of Pusher Wilks, a trucker whose run he takes over, and also Pete, whose girl he is trying to take over. Pusher sabotages Cliff's rig at every opportunity causing several near-fatal accidents.

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Plot Keywords:

enemy | friend | manager | sabotage | doublecross | 

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Taglines:

Mile-a-minute thriller of those fearless heroes who drive our cargo juggernauts...risking their necks for glory...and love!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Correndo Para a Morte

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pine-Thomas Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

57 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "National Express" office building was located at East 7th and Anderson Streets in Los Angeles.

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Soundtracks

"Golden Earrings"
by Victor Young and Ray Evans

User Reviews

Roaring trucks and Roscoe Karns. What's not to like?

An ex-race car driver becomes a trucker (Richard Arlen, going from "Wings" to wheels). The plot dishes up enough action to keep things interesting. Roscoe Karns steals every scene he's in, as usual, but lovely Jean Rogers isn't given enough to do. This is a good example of the taut programmer that often held your attention as much or more than the main feature. I actually saw it in its first release on the second half of a double bill at the Hollywood Theatre in Kenosha. ("Speed to Spare" also had some great posters, and I found a few posted on the Internet.) As you can see, this picture was memorable and interesting enough for me to comment on it a half-century later, and I found a VHS copy of it last year. (No, I don't recall the main feature that night.)