The Fast and the Furious (1954)

A trucker framed for murder breaks out of jail, takes a young woman hostage, and enters her sports car in cross-border road race hoping to get to Mexico before the police catch him.

Directors:

John Ireland, Edward Sampson (as Edwards Sampson)

Writers:

Jerome Odlum (screenplay), Jean Howell (screenplay)

Stars:

John Ireland, Dorothy Malone, Bruce Carlisle

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Ireland	...	Frank Webster
Dorothy Malone	...	Connie Adair
Bruce Carlisle	...	Faber
Iris Adrian	...	Wilma Belding - Waitress
Marshall Bradford	...	Mr. Hillman - Race Marshal
Bruno VeSota	...	Bob Nielson - Truck Driver (as Bruno Ve Sota)
Byrd Holland	...	Doctor
Larry Thor	...	Detective Sergeant
Henry Rowland	...	Faraday - Motorist in Park
Jean Howell	...	Sally Phillips
Dick Pinner	...	State Trooper (as Richard Pinner)
Robin Morse	...	Gas Station Attendant
Lou Place	...	Det. Faraday
'Snub' Pollard	...	Park Caretaker (as Snub Pollard)

Storyline

A man wrongly imprisoned for murder breaks out of jail. He wants to clear his name, but with the police pursuing him, he's forced to take a beautiful young woman, driving a fast sports car, hostage and slip into a cross-border sports car race to try to make it to Mexico before the police get him.

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Plot Keywords:

held at gunpoint | hot wiring a car | police detective | roadblock | police checkpoint | 

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Taglines:

High speed Excitement! When a Wanted Man -- Meets a Wanting Woman!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der rasende Teufel

Filming Locations:

Saddle Peak Lodge - 419 Cold Canyon Drive, Calabasas, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$66,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$250,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Palo Alto Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Roger Corman doubled as one of the race drivers, and got so caught up in the race that he forgot he wasn't supposed to "win" it; he wound up beating star John Ireland across the finish line, resulting in another take being shot in which Ireland won the race.

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Goofs

When watching the first police road block stopping the racers, the boom mic and operator are reflected in the car's windscreen during the entire scene.

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Quotes

Connie Adair: I hate you!
Frank Webster: Just hate me all the way to Mexico.
Connie Adair: I not only hate you, I dislike you.
Frank Webster: I always did have trouble making friends.

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Connections

Referenced in Off-Mikes: The Fat and the Furious

User Reviews

Auto racing plays a part ...

This may be one of very few opportunities to see real racers in real race cars on a real - late and lamented - racetrack. Pebble Beach was an early Mecca for road racing fans, and while there are some discontinuities and incongruous events in the story, some of what is shown on-screen will be of value to motor sport historians, who should be able to identify the drivers and cars. As a novelty, perhaps, but valuable.

John Ireland and Dorothy Malone went on to do some creditable work, and are not bad here, but to be honest, they don't have that much to work with. Not entirely a time-waster, at any rate.