Hot Cars

Hot Cars
Hot Cars
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Don McDougall
Screenplay by	Don Martin; Richard H. Landau
Based on	Hot Cars; by H. Haile Chace
Produced by	Howard W. Koch
Starring	John Bromfield; Carol Shannon; Joi Lansing; Ralph Clanton; Mark Dana; Charles Keane; George Sawaya
Cinematography	William Margulies
Edited by	George A. Gittens
Music by	Les Baxter
Production; companies	Schenck-Koch Productions; Bel-Air Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	November 2, 1956;
Running time	60 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Hot Cars is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed by Don McDougall and written by Don Martin and Richard H. Landau.^[2] The film stars John Bromfield, Carol Shannon, Joi Lansing, Ralph Clanton, Mark Dana, Charles Keane, and George Sawaya. It was released on November 2, 1956, by United Artists.^[3]^[4]

Plot

Nick Dunn, a used car salesman, can't close a deal with customers Karen Winter and Arthur Markel, so he is fired. A sympathetic Markel has a car lot of his own and offers a job to Nick, who quits after discovering Markel's disreputable business: Mankel obviously sells stolen cars.^[5]

Nick and wife Jane have a financial dilemma when their baby son falls ill. Swallowing his pride, Nick asks for his job back with Markel, who promotes him to manager. But the criminal activity continues. Detective Davenport, on the trail of the racket, tries to get hand at a hot car. Last minute the lot's boss, Smiley Ward, shows up under a false name and cancels the purchase, claiming the car was already sold to him. Returning shortly after, Davenport warns Dunn to stay at his job. The detective leaves and is murdered by Ward, who shadowed him.

Jane is appalled by Nick's new line of work. Conspicuous account movements aroused her suspicion, resulting in an argument. Dunn seeks solace in the company of the beautiful Karen, Markel's assistant. A while before, he had some drinks with her at Jack's bar. But when the cops come to investigate Davenport's death, Karen refuses to give Nick an alibi. Now a - framed - murder suspect, he escapes. At the gang's car forging shop, he is abducted by Ward, who threatens to murder him too. On the parking lot at Jack's bar, a fight between the two ensues. Ward flees to the nearby amusement park, entering a roller coaster. Dunn, who pursued him, joins, the fistfight between the two results in Ward being thrown off, falling to his death. Nick tries to explain the hot-car racket to the police, implicating Karen and Markel.

Cast

John Bromfield as Nick Dunn
Carol Shannon as Jane Dunn
Joi Lansing as Karen Winter
Ralph Clanton as Arthur Markel
Mark Dana as Smiley Ward
Charles Keane as Lieutenant Jefferson
George Sawaya as Lt. Fred Holmes
Dabbs Greer as Detective Davenport
John Frederick as Hutton
Kurt Katch as Otto
Joan Sinclair as Miss Rogers
Robert Osterloh as 'Big John' Hayman
Maurice Marks as Paul the Bartender
Paula Hill as Mrs. Davenport

References

^ Monaco, James (1991). The Encyclopedia of Film. Perigee Books. p. 303. ISBN 978-0-399-51604-7. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
^ Brickman, Barbara Jane (1 March 2012). New American Teenagers: The Lost Generation of Youth in 1970s Film. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-7677-6. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
^ "Hot Cars (1956) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
^ "Hot Cars". TV Guide. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
^ Doherty, Thomas (4 June 2010). Teenagers And Teenpics: Juvenilization Of American Movies. Temple University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-59213-787-9. Retrieved 24 September 2024.

External links

Hot Cars at IMDb
Hot Cars at the American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films

This 1950s crime film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to an American film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Monaco, James (1991). The Encyclopedia of Film. Perigee Books. p. 303. ISBN 978-0-399-51604-7. Retrieved 24 September 2024.

[2] Brickman, Barbara Jane (1 March 2012). New American Teenagers: The Lost Generation of Youth in 1970s Film. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-7677-6. Retrieved 24 September 2024.

[3] "Hot Cars (1956) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 24 October 2014.

[4] "Hot Cars". TV Guide. Retrieved 24 October 2014.

[5] Doherty, Thomas (4 June 2010). Teenagers And Teenpics: Juvenilization Of American Movies. Temple University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-59213-787-9. Retrieved 24 September 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]