The big picture
- Jimmy Stewart's first leading role in
speed
offered the Hollywood icon a chance to advance his career, although the film was not well received. - The film is a romance at heart, while drawing inspiration from real land speed records.
- Despite its flaws,
speed
showcases Stewart's charisma and sets the stage for his legendary acting career.
Even the most legendary acting careers have humble beginnings. For Jimmy Stewart, this meant working in some unannounced plays in New York before moving to Hollywood in 1935 and signing a seven-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). His first feature film appearance involved a bit The murdered manand followed it up with supporting roles in romantic comedies like Now Wife vs Secretarywho starred Clark Gable i Jean Harlowi Small town girl. It came with his first opportunity to carry a film speed (1936), a low-budget B-movie that saw him share top billing Wendy Barriewhose engagement to a gangster Bugsy Siegel often overshadowing her own impressive acting career.
while speed, which is recorded in just 70 minutes, will never be mistaken for a great film, it was instrumental in advancing Stewart's career. The only way to get better at something is to do it, and actors need to act. Stewart had to go from small roles in big pictures to starring roles in small pictures.speed offered this opportunity, and he made the most of it.
'Speed' is a romance at heart
In speed, Stewart plays Terry Martin, a test driver and mechanic for Emery Motors, a thriving auto manufacturer in Detroit, Michigan. The first time viewers see Stewart, he is intentionally rolling cars over to test their safety standards. He simply emerges from the wreckage, dusts off his shirt and tie, and begins to tell engineer Frank Lawson (Weldon Heyburn) the possible areas of improvement. Lawson becomes Terry's main rival, both professionally and romantically, as the two men vie for the attention of Jane Mitchell (Barrie), a new employee in the company's advertising department.
The traditional love triangle between Terry, Jane and Frank is more of a love diamond thanks to Josephine “Jo” Sanderson (A Merkel), a former stenographer who has climbed the corporate ladder. Now a top executive at the company, Jo is sweet to Frank, but he sees her as a good friend, so she is quickly sidelined in his pursuit of Jane. Meanwhile, Jane favors Terry, though her jealousy of Frank's white-collar job and privileged background give him an unpleasant inferiority complex, causing him to question Jane's true intentions. Only one thing could make these romantic entanglements more convincing: carburetor design and development.
Yes, in the midst of all this romantic tension, Terry is trying to design a new carburetor that could revolutionize the auto industry. No one believes in his idea because he is just a humble driver and mechanic, but his boss, the rude Mr. Dean (Ralph Morgan), assigns Frank to the project to determine once and for all whether the design has any merit. The two rivals achieve a forced partnership and their combined efforts bring the carburettor closer to completion. Despite this, Terry's testing of the new design at the Indianapolis 500 leads to a horrific crashnearly killing his best friend and fellow mechanic, Clarence “Gadget” Haggerty (Ted Healy). Undeterred, Terry tries the carburetor again, this time trying to break the land speed record in an experimental car called the “Falcon”. He's halfway to breaking the record when an exhaust leak causes another crash. Frank comes to the rescue and completes the sprint as he rushes Terry to the hospital. Despite the near-tragedy, Terry and Frank proved that the carburetor worked. The happy ending is marked by Terry and Jane, who is secretly the niece of the company owner, finally admitting their love for each other, and Frank and Jo even reunite.
Related
One of Jimmy Stewart's best films was originally banned overseas
While the film was celebrated by Western audiences, the film's message was problematic for some countries.
'Speed' was inspired by real life
On September 3, 1935, British racing driver Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed record, becoming the first person to drive a car over 300 miles per hour. Campbell accomplished the feat at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and the feat attracted international attention. Wanting to capitalize on the event's popularity, MGM pounced speed in production, and the film's dramatic conclusion features Stewart essentially recreating Campbell's record-breaking run.
Due to its limited budget, speed had to cut some corners in his fictional recreation of the land speed record. The production team changed Utah to the much closer Muroc Dry Lake in Muroc, California. The same area would eventually become the location of Edwards Air Force Base.
Jimmy Stewart saves 'Speed'
Although critics were less than kind speed, the film is not without its charms. By AFI, director Edwin L. Marin incorporated archival footage from the Indianapolis 500, giving modern viewers a rare look at racing in the 1930s, an era when cars looked like hot dogs on wheels and sported two-man, one-driver teams and a mechanic A few newsreel-like clips from the Detroit Chrysler factory explain the car-making process, adding to the film's eerie time-capsule feel. Another interesting piece of history comes courtesy of you Ted Healy, who shines as Gadget. A veteran of vaudeville, Healy pioneered slapstick comedy and created the act that became the Three Stooges. Here, he provides comic relief, delivering one-liners and stealing the camera even as his character is recovering from his near-fatal accident.
However, the only real reason to watch speed is to see Jimmy Stewart in his first starring role. Whether flirting with Wendy Barrie or jumping behind the wheel of a race car, Stewart displays the natural charisma and likability that would one day make him a Hollywood icon. After speedStewart appeared in nine more films, including a show-stealing performance as an assassin After the thin manbefore finally achieving true leader status You can't take it with you, which won the Oscar for Best Picture. His career at the top would not have been possible without the valuable experience gained speeda classic romance between a boy and his carburetor.
speed is available for purchase on Amazon Prime in the US
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