Simply Perfect

From my favorite movies..

Admirable film.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

A humane cop works at converting troublesome teens from street racing onto supervised dragstrips. But then a new guy, a street outlaw, comes to town and stirs the pot.The movie's title is something of a misnomer. Actually, our hot rod girl operates a clipboard rather than a road racer. But that's okay, since Lori Nelson is—surprise, surprise—very pretty, and even a good actress, to boot. Focus shifts about half-way through from the teens to cop Chuck Connors as he tries to shift street racing to the less dangerous drag strip. At 6'6", he's clearly an imposing presence that commands audience attention. There's also a good look at young Frank Gorshin (Flat-top), who comes through with some badly needed snap. He's also a very distinctive presence and clearly on his way up the show-biz ladder; he even does a couple brief Cagney bits. Too bad he wasn't cast as the outlaw where he could have shown his talents as a sneering villain (e.g. The Riddler).No doubt much of the theme is familiar to teens of the time when a guy's status could depend on how close he was to a fast car, preferably a 'hot rod'. The movie itself is fairly routine, longer than needed, and without much drag strip footage. Overall, the results lack needed drama, as when the two collisions are only implied and not shown. Maybe the staging was just too expensive for a budget outfit like Nacirema. Then too, actor Smith comes off as too bland to inject his nice boy Jeff with much personality. All in all, the movie's a drive-in programmer with a provocative title minus anything more.

HOT ROD GIRL is one of the many American-International teen oriented films that flickered at the drive-in and equally was part of those Saturday triple features in the ice cold theaters during the duck-tail days. A decent flick that has Chuck Connors playing a concerned cop that helps organize a drag strip to keep illegal drag racing to a minimum making the city streets safer. John Smith is a former champ who has quit racing and is happy to keep his friend's rods tuned. But he is forced to race again in order to avenge his little brother's death and win his sweetheart(Lori Nelson)back. The cast also includes: Frank Gorshin, Mark Andrews, Roxanne Arlen and Dabbs Greer.

I have to admit it. Why? Well it features a young Chuck Connors for one thing but even more importantly for me it stars Lori Nelson of REVENGE OF THE CREATURE fame. I have to admit there's just something about Nelson I adore, not sure what it is exactly but she has a certain quality that defies description. The film itself is an interesting piece of 1950s nostalgia, especially for anyone who remembers or actually lived through the hot rodding craze from that era. Now I'll admit this was before my time, yet it holds a certain fascination and appeal for me. The film, while being basically pro-teens (they are just mixed up kids in need of a place to go and have fun but who need the help and guidance of a responsible adult-Connors' Detective Ben Merrill), does send a mixed message with regards to hot-rodding...both positive and negative to the point that in the end we are left scratching our heads.

I own this movie and after reading your comments etc. I felt the plot summary and some comments were incorrect. I just finished watching it again and it has absolutely nothing to do with kids stealing cars or a motorcycle cop being killed. It is however, a great piece of nostalgia.