Review of Dragstrip Girl

Introduction

This period piece must have been quite a hit at the Drive-Ins of the late 1950`s. Though not a big budget piece it certainly had all the right ingredients. There`s love interest in the form of Fay Spain, playing a crazy tomboyish hellcat, though looking every bit the blonde bombshell. There`s also drag racing, rock`n`roll and some good old-fashioned fisticuffs to spruce up the proceedings too.

Jim Donaldson`s a cool hot-rodding grease monkey who runs a garage with his so-called best friend, Fred Armstrong. Jim`s a poor boy with a heart of gold, but Fred`s rich with a heart of ice who`s obsessed with getting one over on his cooler friend. Enter crazy fun loving teen Louise Blake who`s new in town and looking for thrills. She`s soon playing the boys off against each other and Fred reveals his jealous streak in a series of icy eyed monologues that leave fun loving Louise confused about which boy to favour. A wild ride with Jim nearly results in a horrific accident and he realises the error of his drag-racing ways, which from Louise`s point of view means that he could be turning into a square. All the crazy devil-may-care driving does lead to a tragic accident, and in the final furlong Fred is a hit and run driver turned killer who will stop at nothing from winning.

Fay Spain is absolutely stunning in this picture, though she was never able to really rise to the dizzy heights of international movie-stardom. As a popular pin-up of the late - 1950`s she starred in a couple of other b-movie classics, `Teenage Doll` in 1957 and `The Beat Generation` in 1959. She did, however, go on to become a staple `guest star` of countless US TV shows including Night Gallery, Police Woman, Hogan`s Heroes, and Gunsmoke.

Also worthy of note is the inclusion of Frank Gorshin who has a slightly humorous bit part - and you can see some of the manic overacting that was to serve him well as `The Riddler` in the 1966 TV show `Batman`.

The whole thing is directed with a straightforward no-nonsense style by Edward L. Cahn who also directed `Invasion of the Saucerman` and `Motorcycle Gang`.

There are some particularly toe-curling performances from the Italian couple who own the coffee shop where the kids meet up, as they fail miserably in their responsibility to provide the light relief.

Video

Presented in a very standard 4:3 (1:33:1) format, with little effort illustrated with regard to panning and scanning so a little of the action appears to be lost. Overall though this is a surprisingly good print where contrast has held up well and with little sign of wear. It is a low-budget b-movie though so don`t expect miracles from a lighting point of view.

Audio

Presented here in original mono, it all stands up well and is probably far clearer than it ever was in the individual tinny echo chambers that comprised the audio in drive-Ins of the period, this movies natural viewing environment.

Features

In common with other movies in the collection, there is a 50-minute audio only interview with Producer Samuel Z. Arkoff. There are also a number of drive-in style trailers for other drive-in style movies in the collection. Strangely the only subtitles on offer are Dutch.

Conclusion

This is yet another in the fast-expanding `Arkoff film library` that features a whole range of low-budget drive-in movie sci-fi and horror schlock and 1950`s youth movies. This clearly fits into the latter category and is a fine example of the genre. It has all the right ingredients, including a sassy dame who`s looking for kicks, rival dudes, hot-rods and a whole lotta rock `n roll.
Overall it`s a tight little movie that rarely pauses for breath. It`s a little over an hour and is consequently not really long enough to drag - if you`ll excuse the pun. Nostalgia freaks will love this 50`s b-movie which is a great reflection of the youth culture of the time. It`s full of exciting hot-rod racing and rock n` roll and if that`s your bag daddy-o then I`d recommend this piece of period kitsch unreservedly.

Oh - and as a footnote. Don`t get this muddled up with the truly awful 1994 remake that, despite its Los Lobos soundtrack, was a real turkey.