Hot Cars
Directed by Don MacDougall
Written by Don Martin and Richard H. Landau from a novel by H. Haile Chace
1956/USA
Schenck-Koch Productions/Bel-Air Productions
First viewing/Amazon Prime
Nick Dunn: She is like a hardtop convertible.
This is a late “B” film noir. It might be worth a watch for the ending.
Nick Dunn (John Bromfield) is in the wrong business. He is honest to a fault and sells used cars. He also has a wife and sick child at home who rely on him. As the movie starts, he is fired for failing to sell a lemon to a customer. The customer calls on him the next day to offer him a job with his own used car franchise. It’s a great deal and Nick eagerly goes to work only to find that the lots actually fence stolen cars. Soon Nick is in a world of hurt, caught between the gang and a state inspector who is investigating a spate of auto thefts.
This is short, sweet, and kind of lurid. It’s mid-range fair but has a boffo fist fight on a roller coaster to close it off. I don’t know what it is with film noir and amusement parks. The thrill ride climax is used often but it almost always works well.
