The Crowd Roars (1932)

Directed by Howard Hawks. Starring James Cagney, Ann Dvorak, Eric Linden, Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Frank McHugh.

Auto-racing melodrama is thin gruel between the stock elements nudging the jalopy across the finish line. Race champion Joe Greer (Cagney) is determined to protect his little brother, Eddie (Linden), upon the youngster’s entrance into the sport, causing strife between Eddie and his gal (Blondell), and hammering divisions into Joe’s own relationship with girlfriend Dvorak. Pleasingly cynical about the “roaring crowd”, attending races for their spectacle and mutilation, and trite battles are fought and won (er, lost) within the metallic screams—closeups of tires locked in a heated grind are presumably in tribute to DeMille’s silent Ben-Hur. In turn, this contraption undoubtedly inspired future race picture testosterone aesthetics (testosthetics?), but it’s hard not to feel a dizzy whiplash between horror and chuckles among the choppy, careening montages of dated rear projections and imported dusty footage. Cagney’s forceful charisma is misused in the absence of clear motivations for his character. Several vintage Indy 500 drivers appear as themselves. Remade seven years later as Indianapolis Speedway.

54/100