Hot Rod Gang (1958)

Kid who wants to enter his car in the drag races joins a rock band to make enough money to do it.

Director:

Lew Landers

Writer:

Lou Rusoff (story and screenplay)

Stars:

John Ashley, Jody Fair, Gene Vincent

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Ashley	...	John Abernathy III
Jody Fair	...	Lois Cavendish
Gene Vincent	...	Gene Vincent
Russ Bender	...	Bill
Steve Drexel	...	Mark
Henry McCann	...	Dave
Maureen Arthur	...	Marley
Gloria Grant	...	Tammy
Dub Taylor	...	Al Berrywhiff
Scott Peters	...	Jack
Helen Spring	...	Abigail Abernathy
Dorothy Neumann	...	Anastasia Abernathy (as Dorothy Newman)
Claire Du Brey	...	Agatha (as Claire Dubray)
Doodles Weaver	...	Wesley Cavendish
Lester Dorr	...	Dryden Philpot

Storyline

Kid who wants to enter his car in the drag races joins a rock band to make enough money to do it.

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Plot Keywords:

carsploitation film | psychotronic film | teensploitation | camp | rock n roll | 

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Taglines:

Proud young rebels!

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Considered, along with its sequel Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow, the forerunner to the Beach Party films of the 1960s, establishing the archetype of up-front comedies for teenagers and employing the tried and true formula of a popular trend coupled with romance and music. Hot Rod Gang screenwriter Lou Rusoff went on to pen the script for the first Beach Party film.

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Quotes

On-screen epilogue: This story is true - only the facts have been changed...

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Connections

Followed by Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959)

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Soundtracks

Dance to the Bop
(uncredited)
Written by Floyd Edge
Performed by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps

User Reviews

Drive-In Goodie

Hard to rate a movie like this. It really belongs with the popular teenage genre of the 1950's. But judged on that restricted basis, it's a goodie-- roaring hotrods, tight sweaters, poodle skirts, and a nice dash of Gene Vincent r&r. Even multi-talented actor Ashley does his own numbers without dubbing. Forget the plot, something about raising rent money for the clubhouse, and John (Ashley) acing out rival Mark (Drexel). Then too catch the many snappy lines from a better than usual script that plays up the laughs. Even the old gals are a hoot, and I still can't believe the elderly maid did her own acrobatic tricks. See what you think. Note too, how many of the street scenes were apparently filmed alongside the slab-like walls of the movie studio. Still, I'm glad there's some cop catch-up for the wild street racing that may be fun but really is dangerous. So how did I miss this little gem back in '58; I'm sure I would remember it if for nothing more than the bullet-busted Marilyn Monroe look-a-like. But I'm glad to have finally caught it thanks to IMDB. Hard to believe the surviving kids from the flick are as old now as we drive-in freaks. But it was fun while it lasted. And it will be for you too if you still like a can of soda pop now and then.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hot Rod Rock

Company Credits

Production Co:

Indio Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1