Hot Cars (1956) User Reviews

Despite the low budget and lack of stars, this one is amazingly good.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 3 February 2011]

"Hot Cars" will never be seen as a classic, but it is well worth seeing--especially by young film makers who need a lesson on how to make a good film with practically no budget. So, despite its shortcomings, the film is actually better than you'd expect--much better.

"Hot Cars" stars John Bromfield--a guy you probably never heard of and had few chances to star in films. Yet, surprisingly, he did a nice job playing an honest man who is, through circumstances, pulled into a world of crime. You see, his son is very sick (the exact illness is never mentioned) and he's just lost one job as a used car salesman because he was just too honest. When he's offered what seems like a wonderful job with a wonderful boss, he's excited. But the excitement is short-lived. It seems the company makes money by buying and selling stolen cars and then altering them to avoid detection. At first Bromfield is angry and appalled, so he quits. But, when he learns from his wife that they need money to get the kid treatment needed to survive, he reluctantly agrees to go back to this job. The money is excellent and he's able to live with his conscience, but things are closing in on him...and fast! Can he somehow make it through this sleazy business and come out unscathed? Watch this well-crafted and interesting film to find out for yourself.

If you like film noir, you'll probably like this, but I would consider it 'noir-lite'--not as dark and without the style you'd really expect from film noir but still having some of the elements of this gritty genre. If you don't, you still can't help but respect what these folks did with so little at their disposal. Nice.

Mixed Bag

[boblipton · 6/10 · 28 July 2017]

John Bromfield is an honest young man with a pretty wife and a new baby. He's also a used car salesman, who gets fired for not pushing junk to a customer. That customer turns out to be the owner of a chain of used car lots, looking for someone like Bromfield to sell stolen cars.

HOT CARS, like many a Schenck-Koch production in this period, has an interesting story, people who look good on the screen and fine visuals. Not only is it shot in the "Southwest Noir" style, but there's a fine noir ending on a roller coaster. What it lacks is good performances. The line readings all seem a bit droning, like a bad episode of DRAGNET. It even results in calling attention to the actors. Joi Lansing, in particular, seems to hit her mark and pose before reciting her lines.

Still, the careful visuals and bravura ending add to the story to keep things interesting all the way through.

The steering wheel takes this in the right direction.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 5 June 2021]

Don't mistake this for other films that have "Hot Car" in the title from the 1950's. Most of those involved teenagers in hot rod races, and 99.9% of those films are just absolutely dreadful. This is a film noir about the hot car racquet, meaning stolen cars that have been repainted and given new titles and then sold to various top notch car lots around the country. John Bromfield is the owner of one of those lots who finds himself in a spot when his son becomes ill and must make some quick cash. Along the way, he becomes involved with femme fatale Joi Lansing who refuses to give him an alibi when he is accused of murder.

Fans of "Little House on the Prairie" will be delighted to recognize Dabs Greer who plays the police detective investigating the stolen car racket. Carol Shannon plays Bromfield's wife who seems far too perfect and understanding, the one teeny misstep in the story, claiming to be flawed but even sickeningly sweet in that scene. Ralph Clanton is discreetly sinister, suave and sophisticated but downright vile as he manipulates Bromfield every step of the way.

Another highlight is the Southern California beach locale, taking you to the boardwalk in Santa Monica and giving you an indication of what it looked 60 something years ago. Lansing is a terrific femme fatale, and Bromfield the perfect noir hero, not motivated by greed or lust, but a noble hard-working man who gets in over his head, especially when he has to climb up a moving roller coaster to escape the police in the sensational finale.

Coming a little late in the genre of noir, this would be a definite classic had it been made on a higher budget with major noir stars like Burt Lancaster and Jane Greer in the leads. But being a mid 50's entry into the genre, this deserves to be given a second look where it truly could gain cult status.

Much Better Than Expected

[dougdoepke · 19 May 2019]

From the title and release date I was expecting jalopy races and juvenile delinquents. Instead the brief 60-minutes amounts to a tight little crime thriller. Poor family man Bromfield. He's seduced into a criminal hot car operation because of typical family problems like money and a sick kid. The crooks run a slick network of stolen cars almost like a regular business. With a needy wife and child, Bromfield adjusts his conscience, getting the kind of security his family's has long desired. I like the way his ethics are compromised in realistic fashion that we can well understand and maybe sympathize with.

For a handsome Hollywood hunk, actor Bromfield brings off his difficult role in surprisingly nuanced fashion. Then there's the busty blonde Lansing parading her measurements in good Marilyn Monroe fashion. Note too the not-so subtle innuendo between her and a straying Bromfield that no doubt pushed the bounds of the fading Hollywood Production Code. However, I couldn't figure out her relationship with the gang, whether it's just me or a flaw in the narrative.

The exteriors are all filmed on LA locations, the car lot, the city streets, that lend an air of urban reality. But most of all there's that white-knuckle climax aboard the rollercoaster at Santa Monica pier. It's a real grabber, made more so by what must have been a hand-held camera that puts us right there inside an upsy-downsy car-- thanks guys, my head is still swimming. Credit producer Howard Koch for the general quality of the results. Over a lengthy career he helped guide such classics as The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and The Odd Couple (1968).

Anyway, it's a neatly packaged little crime drama that almost qualifies for what many old movie buffs treasure most -- a sleeper.

CROOKED CAR DEALERS & JOI LANSING IN THE "CITY OF CARS"...LOS ANGELES

[LeonLouisRicci · 6/10 · 27 August 2021]

Not a Teen-Ager or Rock n' Roller in Sight in this Mid 1950's B-Movie that is Pretty Pedestrian.

Although Joi Lansing is Pretty and quite a Sight Lighting Up the Screen with a Sculpted Goddess Appeal.

But the Movie is Rather Dull when Joi is Off-Screen although the B-Actors do a Good Job with the Go-Nowhere, Predictable Script.

Cars Relentlessly Role in and out of the Screen and some L. A. Locations get a Nod.

The Story Includes an Episode of Adultery, but is Quickly Forgiven,

The Climax aboard a Roller Coaster was Fast becoming a Cliche at the Time.

But it Looks Well Staged and Adds a bit of a Thrill-Ride (ironic it's not a car) to the Conclusion.

The only Other Thrill in the Film is Ogling Joi Lansing, whose Career went Absolutely Nowhere.

Her most Famous/Infamous Film is "Hillbillies in a Haunted House" (1967), but the Stunning Ms. Lansing did do a Lot of TV.

She Made most of Her Money Modeling.

EARLY IDEA FOR "GONE IN 60 SECONDS".

[larryanderson · 7/10 · 2 December 2020]

This is the same story as GONE IN 60 SECONDS, 1980 and later version. Stolen cars made to look like other vehicles and buried in red tape. Hot car market was alive and well before the 60 Second writers made their movies.

A Basic Crime-Drama

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 29 August 2019]

"Nick Dunn" (John Bromfield) is an honest, hard-working man who does his best trying to support his wife, "Jane Dunn" (Carol Shannon) and their extremely ill newborn son. Then one day things take a turn for the worse when he is subsequently fired from his job as a used car salesman after telling a customer by the name of "Karen Winter" (Joi Lansing) the truth about one of the vehicles. Needless to say, this puts him in a bind as the bills are quickly piling up and he has no money left to pay them. Things begin to change, however, when he learns that Karen has recommended him for a job at another used car lot and after talking to the owner "Arthur Markel" (Ralph Clanton) he is not only hired but also discovers that he will now make even more money than before. What he doesn't know, however, is that there is more to this used car lot than he was initially told and in order to sell the cars he will have to put his integrity on the line as well. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather basic crime drama which suffers from an unremarkable script and a general lack of suspense. Having said that, it wasn't necessarily a bad film by any means and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Excellent late film-noir

[chank46 · 10/10 · 18 December 2008]

I seem to have a soft spot in my heart or head for B movies of the 30's thru the 50's. I like their fast pacing, attention to the story line, the actors who for the most part are virtually unknown. Hot Cars, if it is known at all today lives on because of the lobby cards featuring the beautiful, and, talented Joi Lansing. This is a really good movie though with great performances by John Bromfield and Joi Lansing. Of course wherever Joi is there is delightful eye candy but make no mistake about it, Joi was a very good actress. This movie gives her a bigger role than just walking across the back drop. It's a real shame she didn't get better roles. John Bromfield is an ideal actor for the role of Nick Dunn who is caught in the middle of the hot car scam. The supporting cast works along with these two stars to form a cohesive ensemble. Something you don't always get in the "Bigger" movies. OK, it's not a lavish movie with a big budget and razzle dazzle special effects. Just a gripping story told in a late film-noirish manner. The actors make you care about what is happening on screen in a most convincing manner. This is a real gem! See it if you can. It needs to be released on DVD.

"Don't Push, Man! Don't Push Me!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 16 July 2021]

In HOT CARS, used car salesman, Nick Dunn (John Bromfield), gets mixed up with the "wrong crowd" after being fired from his job. Nick winds up working for a rival car lot run by a criminal mastermind.

When Nick's son becomes ill, he finds himself deeply involved in the car theft underworld.

Violence and murder soon follow.

This is an entertaining crime drama / morality tale, packed with 1950's ambiance and culminating in a wonderful finale, featuring the "fight-to-the-death on a rollercoaster" sequence!

Co-stars the beautiful Joi Lansing as the seductive Karen Winter!...

Should Be Revered as a Great yet Basic Film Noir

[cultfilmfreaksdotcom · 10/10 · 5 September 2018]

A hybrid of lounge lizard and game show jazz plays during the opening where a quiet Los Angeles main street's lined with outlet stores across from a used car lot, and John Bromfield's Nick Dunn is so honest, he ironically passed the acid test for crooks...

That is, the main (though polite and unassuming) heavy, rolling stolen vehicles through his own larger lot, sees that Nick is the man to trust: Not trusted to be dishonest but to remain faithful and, like any Film Noir outing, it takes something desperate and personal for a good man to cross the line...

In this case, his child needing surgery causes Nick do what Joi Lansing and her incredible body couldn't initially persuade. And by the time our husband/dad's up to his neck in HOT CARS, delivered to the illegal, seemingly untouchable operation where Nick is stuck as middleman, he's the sole target of a determined police investigator, with no way out... Or is there? And does freedom have a price? And who's gonna pay?

The best scenes occur before he gets hounded and right after he's on board the seemingly perfect, well-paying gig as the fitfully cool, underrated movie and TV actor John Bromfield, with all the ingredients of a casual b-actor, nails the put-upon working man persona, with class to boot: A nice fit for caustic, melodramatic lines like: "That's the problem with dopes like us," to his incredibly-trusting wife, without sounding corny, or cliché: "Too much month at the end of our money."

In cult movie retrospect, Bromfield played the flirtatious scuba diver (targeting pretty Lori Nelson who prefers humble John Agar) in REVENGE OF THE CREATURE. Though he wasn't able to "reign in heaven" as a leading man in mainstream features, he's a sublime b-leading man and does a particularly fine job here, looking handsome and boxy-muscular under well-suited work clothes...

Set in the cut-and-dry mid-1950's, the vacant, bare-boned, industrial locations, shot in fitfully sparse B&W, lends to the overall purgatory aesthetic as our sexy, full-breasted, manipulative "femme fatale" in Joi Lansing lights up every room. Meanwhile, her boss, Ralph Clayton as Mr. Markel... with Mark Dana's tall, square-jawed and very lethal Smiley Ward at his beckon call... make for a solid if subtle, professionally villainous trio...

Within the Film Noir template, instead of being an otherwise kindhearted anti-hero, Nick's a solid clean slate, working for the wrong side while that extremely pestering cop (Dabbs Greer) is the main "antagonist" albeit in protagonist's clothes: most of the second act suspense occurs between these two proverbial "good guys," one masked with an effective, royal flush poker face...

And after a slight twist, there's an intense HOUSE OF BAMBOO style action climax with Nick and an armed Smiley battling-it-out on a fast-moving, rickety rollercoaster (in Ocean Park Pier, Santa Monica). Meanwhile, an 11th hour stampede of cops move in on "poor little me" Joi Lansing and her gentleman boss, who can't flirt or pay their way out of how these kind of movies all wind down and end up: Learning that harsh, inevitable lesson that crime doesn't pay... at least, not for very long.

50's crime drama has noirish elements without much style

[gortx · 3 August 2017]

HOT CARS (1956). TCM recently unearthed this rare crime drama (not sure if ever got a legit home video release until very recently) produced by Howard Koch and directed by Don McDougall (mainly a TV director). It could be termed 'lite Noir' as it certainly has all the basic elements: A man forced into a criminal enterprise (John Broomfield). A dangerous femme fatale (the luscious Joi Lansing). A crime boss (Ralph Clanton). The Detective on the case (Dabbs Greer). A murder. Etc.. It certainly qualifies, but, it lacks much style as it's mostly done in a flat TV episodic style. That is, until the pretty exciting and cinematic finale in an amusement park. Nothing great, but, 50s crime completists will want to take a look should TCM run it again.

Thrilling Crime Movie

[jeremycrimsonfox · 8/10 · 30 November 2019]

Despite this being a B movie, I actually think it's a good film. A story about a man who works in a hot-car racket to save his son's life, only to find himself becoming the fall guy when a detective investigating said racket is murdered, it is a story full of many twists and turns. Despite its lack of star power and its short length (a little over one hour), the story is very powerful and dramatic. Plus, the actors do a good job here, despite not being big names in the movie industry. This is one classic crime film I recommend giving a try.

decent short 50s B film

[filmalamosa · 8/10 · 31 December 2011]

This is a decent short (100 minute) film. It is about an honest man who agrees to work for a used car company that hocks stolen cars (after they have been repainted etc...).

Have seen versions of the plot before (e.g. Kloptka) an honest man gets involved with crooks to get the money to save his sick child. The crooks turn out to be nobody's friend and they frame him for a murder.

Fast moving and entertaining decent acting well filmed. The last scene on the roller coaster made me dizzy.

Recommend for some entertainment. I originally watched it to look at the vintage 1950s cars it turned out to be entertaining as well.

A well done 50s B movie.

I Love Antique Car's !

[1969VIETNAM · 10/10 · 16 September 2021]

This is a great movie storyline. Plenty of classic beautiful cars in this movie. The women are gorgeous also !

The Perfect Programmer

[TheFearmakers · 10/10 · 13 November 2023]

Despite not making any Film Noir lists, HOT CARS is the epitome of the seedy side of crime cinema led by an otherwise honest guy who, in this case, is ironically a used car salesman in John Bromfield, perfect as the perfect suburban wife's husband and father of a sick child: thus needing extra money, and quick...

Yet the best scenes occur in the first act when Bromfield's Nick can't catch a break, mainly from bullying boss Robert Osterloh, who both sophisticated desk-set villain Ralph Clanton and handsome killer henchman Mark Dano... eventually targeting token snoopy cop Dabs Greer... are initially a nice break from...

Yet not for very long as one pivotal scene involves a literal truckload of HOT CARS, moved onto the nighttime lot as it's revealed... perhaps too soon for enough suspense to gather... both to the audience and central hero what kind of trouble he's in, leading to the inevitable agreement to do crooked things for logical reasons, the staple of Film Noir...

Vibrantly saturated with a snappy jazz score, CARS is mostly shot in the California sunshine... from the car lot to a rollercoaster ride finale... so the dark-shadowy element is missing: yet scene-stealing Joi Lansing as the main boss's kept trophy blonde, with her sights on honest Nick from the start, puts enough sex-driven-fatale for HOT CARS to be the perfect crime programmer, whether anyone knows it or not.

For a slow movie

[searchanddestroy-1 · 28 July 2023]

Only the late fifties atmophere saves this movie. Only the settings, music, way of directing are really worth for those nostalgia seekers. I had never heard about this petty film noir from an Aubrey Schenk - Howard Koch production which gave us some other movie of this kind. Howard Koch, anyway made more interesting stuff, at least as a film maker. This very one, I knew in advance that I will forget it very rapidly. Only the climax in the amusement park can bring some spice to the whole, but for the rest, this stolen cars plot is so boring for me who was used for more tense, gritty, rouh crime flicks. But on you tube and good quality, why not?