The Fast and the Furious (1955)

No, not that Fast and the Furious unfortunately. This B-movie from 1955 named The Fast and the Furious has no relation other than its title to the successful drag racing-fast car-cool action franchise that will release its sixth film in theaters this May. Nope, this one is just a lousy, dull B-movie made on the cheap that just doesn't have much going for it.

Wrong accused of murder, Frank Webster (John Ireland) is on the run. He claims he's innocent, but he's wanted for the murder of a truck driver he was accused of driving off the road, the driver killed in the process. He's on the run in southern California, but when a vigilante-like trucker asks too many questions, he becomes desperate, kidnapping race car driver Connie Adair (Dorothy Malone). With the beautiful captive/hostage along for the ride in her souped-up racing jalopy, Webster must come up with a plan to evade the police. His best option is what Connie was on her way to, a road race that briefly crosses into Mexico. Posing as a race car driver, Webster tries to get in, but his chances seem slim, and Connie isn't going to make it easy on him.

Aired in late March as part of a Turner Classic Movies theme night, 'Furious' caught my attention because I'll watch just about any racing/car movie. It was lightly recommended to me via Netflix, but because it runs just 74-minutes, I didn't want to waste a rental on such a short movie (my worries were well-founded by the way). It sounded pretty cheesy, but in that 1950s cornball cheesy way that can be appealing. I was wrong. It's not entertaining and just doesn't have anything worth recommending. In other words, this isn't going to be too long of a review. It stunk, and that's all.

Working with Edward Sampson, star and co-director Ireland were at the helm of this one that's also produced and written by B-movie master Roger Corman. It was made on the cheap, and it looks it, but that's far from the biggest problem here. The story itself is ridiculous, and the issues are hamstrung even more by the miniscule budget. An "epic manhunt" is meant to corner and capture Ireland's Webster, but they don't have a picture of him anywhere to distribute? He's stopped by cops who even when they question him don't realize he's a wanted fugitive. And a road race is the best way out of the country? Yes, I know, it's a way to get some cool racing footage into an otherwise pretty pointless story, but come on, show a little effort. Cheap is one thing, downright dumb another. Much of the driving scenes are aided by some horrifically cheap, out of place green-screen scenes where Ireland is in a studio while the background flies by behind him. Yeah, cheapness!

If there is a positive, and I'm straining for one at this point, it is the racing footage. We get to see some cool 1950s race cars in action. 'Fast' filmed in the California hills, and the racing scenes are pretty cool with some impressive crowds providing a somewhat realistic backdrop. That's about it. Fast cars are cool.

Then there's the acting, Ireland and Malone spending much of the time delivering some of the worst, most truly stilted dialogue I've ever heard. Because the story requires it, they fall in love with each other sometime after a hungry Malone is offered food on a picnic from the cantankerous, annoyed Ireland. I'm totally serious there. He steals food for a picnic, and she falls for him. Then, Connie spends the rest of the movie trying to convince Webster to turn himself in and prove his innocence. But NO! He's got to escape to Mexico via a popular road race! Yes, an inexperienced driver handling himself in a road race. Uh, I'm out of things to rip about this movie, and I've said too much already. Bad, badder and baddest.

The Fast and the Furious (1955): */****