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Hot Cars

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Hot Cars
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDon McDougall
Screenplay byDon Martin
Richard H. Landau
Based onHot Cars
by H. Haile Chace
Produced byHoward W. Koch[1]
StarringJohn Bromfield
Carol Shannon
Joi Lansing
Ralph Clanton
Mark Dana
Charles Keane
George Sawaya
CinematographyWilliam Margulies
Edited byGeorge A. Gittens
Music byLes Baxter
Production
companies
Schenck-Koch Productions
Bel-Air Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • November 2, 1956 (1956-11-02)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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

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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 sales methods.[5]

Nick and wife Jane have a financial dilemma when their son falls ill. Swallowing his pride, Nick asks for his job back with Markel, who promotes him to manager. But the criminal activity continues, until Nick becomes convinced that Markel has even ordered his henchman, Smiley Ward, to murder Davenport, a detective.

Jane is appalled by Nick's new line of work. He seeks solace in the company of the beautiful Karen, but when the cops come to investigate Davenport's death, Karen refuses to give Nick an alibi. Now a suspect, he tracks down Ward, who during their struggle at an amusement park falls from a roller coaster to his death. Nick tries to explain the hot-car racket to the police, implicating Karen and Markel.

Cast

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References

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  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.
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