Joe is the three time Indy champion who still races to put young Eddie through College. Joe wants a better life for Eddie, and he explodes when he finds out that Eddie quit school for a racing career. Joe tries to teach Eddie the trade, but they separate when Eddie will not drop bad girl Frankie. When Joe causes the death of a driver at the next race, he quits racing and wanders around. Joe winds up at Indianapolis where Eddie is driving the Martin Special. The movie that this was based on, THE CROWD ROARS, starred Jimmy Cagney and was simply a better film in every way. Thanks to a very astute reviewer (Arthur Hauser), the footage of the races is identical in the second movie and many other scenes were just lifted from the original. So, apart from the remake not being original, why else did I dislike this film? I think the biggest reason was Pat O'Brien's character. While he was a controlling jerk in the original, in this case he also seems very shrill and totally unlikable. So here we have a retread movie with an unlikable star–what is left? Well, not much. All you really have is a time-passer. Period.<br/><br/>It's really a shame. The actors in the movie were better than the material and the complete rip-off of the footage from the original makes this a cynical attempt by Warner Brothers to expend little money or effort to squeeze a few more bucks out of an ancient story. Although this was a remake as the 3 other reviewers cite, it was well done with refreshing portrayals by Ann Sheridan, and Gail Page. Pat O'Brian? please, he's a genius. in the thirties, unlike today, the oldest sibling did take up for the family more often than not, in fact my grandfather turned down a chance to go to college (notre dame) because his father passed away and he went to work to support his mom and siblings. I think the train scene early on set the tone of what kind of guy Joe is and then when seeing his brother not in school, who could blame him for being upset. This movie is a wild ride with great old racing footage, including a (non fatal in real life) fiery crack up that was actually a driver named Friday from the mid-west. I loved the cast and I loved the movie, the two, The Crowd Roars & this one are in a virtual dead heat at the finish line.
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345 weeks ago