An heiress with a penchant for speeding runs afoul of a traffic cop. Romance develops between the two, but it's soon complicated when he believes she is responsible for killing someone by re... Read allAn heiress with a penchant for speeding runs afoul of a traffic cop. Romance develops between the two, but it's soon complicated when he believes she is responsible for killing someone by reckless driving.An heiress with a penchant for speeding runs afoul of a traffic cop. Romance develops between the two, but it's soon complicated when he believes she is responsible for killing someone by reckless driving.
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Joe Sawyer
- Police Sgt. Sanborn
- (as Joseph Sawyer)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since; its earliest documented telecast took place in Asheville NC Wednesday 15 July 1959 on WLOS (Channel 13).
- GoofsAlthough Frances Drake may not be guilty of manslaughter due to the fact that her brother was the actual driver of the car involved in the accident, she would be guilty of being an accessory after the fact for switching places with him after the accident.
- Alternate versionsThis film is a remake of Manslaughter (1930) with Frederic March and Claudette Colbert.
Featured review
Before he rode tall in the saddle...
...Randolph Scott played the likable every man in films such as this. Here he plays Police Lt. James Knox, a traffic cop who is out to make an impression on drivers that speed kills. Now you might roll your eyes at such an obvious statement today, but back when the country and the roads were much less crowded and the common man owning an automobile was a trend that was only 10-15 years old, being consistent about traffic enforcement was still a bit of a novelty in many places.
Knox's attempt at cracking down on speeders immediately runs afoul of fast driving heiress Betty Winslow (Frances Drake). As a repeat offender she is ordered to traffic school - also a novelty in 1936. It is interesting to see that the syllabus for such a class hasn't changed in 75 years. Here the students get a lecture about facts and figures regarding speeding and to drive the point home, a trip to the morgue. At this point Betty has a change of heart, takes a less nasty tone with Knox, and they soon become friends on the path to becoming more than that.
After a day of fun, Betty separates from Knox as she must drive her drunken brother home. Knox is taken back to town by another couple. The next time Knox sees Betty is about an hour later in a professional role. Her car has hit a bus load of kids and there is a casualty among them - the son of Knox' best friend who also happens to be the officer that arrested Betty for speeding the first time. How will this turn out? Find a copy of this rare old film and find out.
Also of historical interest is seeing how car inspection was done in 1936. The police just set up checkpoints and see if any cars are particularly not sea-worthy. Other than that they have no way of knowing - annual state inspections of automobiles were still 10 years away in most states.
This film has a pretty predictable plot and none of the players are big names except for Scott, but I think it will hold your interest as it moves at a fast clip and packs a lot of story in its short 67 minute running time.
Knox's attempt at cracking down on speeders immediately runs afoul of fast driving heiress Betty Winslow (Frances Drake). As a repeat offender she is ordered to traffic school - also a novelty in 1936. It is interesting to see that the syllabus for such a class hasn't changed in 75 years. Here the students get a lecture about facts and figures regarding speeding and to drive the point home, a trip to the morgue. At this point Betty has a change of heart, takes a less nasty tone with Knox, and they soon become friends on the path to becoming more than that.
After a day of fun, Betty separates from Knox as she must drive her drunken brother home. Knox is taken back to town by another couple. The next time Knox sees Betty is about an hour later in a professional role. Her car has hit a bus load of kids and there is a casualty among them - the son of Knox' best friend who also happens to be the officer that arrested Betty for speeding the first time. How will this turn out? Find a copy of this rare old film and find out.
Also of historical interest is seeing how car inspection was done in 1936. The police just set up checkpoints and see if any cars are particularly not sea-worthy. Other than that they have no way of knowing - annual state inspections of automobiles were still 10 years away in most states.
This film has a pretty predictable plot and none of the players are big names except for Scott, but I think it will hold your interest as it moves at a fast clip and packs a lot of story in its short 67 minute running time.
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 7 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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