Hot Rod Girl

2105. HOT ROD GIRL (1956-USA). WITH LORI nelson, chuck connors, frank corshin. The heroine of this well-done melodrama of hot teens and hotter cars is pert Lisa Vernon, a drag racer who is quite a trailblazer in that she is a female participant in a male-dominated sport. However, the scenario does not tell of her attempts to thwart male chauvinism on the track. It focusÂes on a group of restless adolescents (most of whom are like Lisa in that they are played by actors well into their twenties) who live for racing their hot rods. Their elders think that drag racing anyÂwhere and at any time is equal to juvenile delinquency. Compassionate cop Ben Merrill knows othÂerwise. “More kids on the drag strip mean fewer on the street,” he tells his superior. Merrill’s efforts have resulted in the construction of the drag strip where Lisa and her pals race. Trouble comes in the form of a black leather-jacketed stranger who tools into town. His name is Bronc and he begins lusting after Lisa while taking an instant dislike to her hard-luck boyfriend. The Jailer’s kid brother has been goaded by a similar lowlife into participating in a fatal street race, and he has little patience for Bronc’s bad attitude. Comedian/impressionist Frank Corshin is enjoyable as Flat-Top, a jive-talking hot rodder who is pressured by Bronc into partaking in a deadly chicken race. Watch closely and you’ll even see Corshin do a brief and on-target James Cagney Imitation. 79 minutes. Teen-Age Drama