Hot Rod Girl (1956)

When his kid brother (Del Erickson) is killed in a street race, a champion dragster (John Smith) vows to quit racing forever. An arrogant newcomer (Mark Andrews) moves in to not only take over the dragster's champion title but take his girlfriend (Lori Nelson) too! Directed by Leslie H. Martinson (FATHOM). Long before the FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise (2001 to the present), hot cars and drag races were all the rage in the 1950s. Aimed at the teenage market, there were a plethora of quickly made low budget hot rod movies (DRAGSTRIP RIOT, HOT ROD RUMBLE, TEEN AGE THUNDER, etc.) usually released by American International. This one is rather tame. With one exception, the dragsters and hot rodders are good kids at heart and don't mean to hurt anyone, they just want to have fun. The movie poster shrieks, "Rock 'N Roll! Youth On The Loose!" but it has a moral lesson so this is an exploitation film that the whole family can enjoy. The jazz underscore by Alexander Courage is pretty decent. With Chuck Connors, Frank Gorshin, Roxanne Arlen and Carolyn Kearney.