Though it came along in the later half of the 60's, HOT RODS TO HELL could easily have been a 50's suspenser. Dana Andrews is a happy-go-lucky suburban husband and father until a car crash one Christmas changes him into a sour, gun-shy man near the end of his nerve. Oh, he's no coward or anything, but he's overly-cautious to the point of being considered so by his family. When he gets a new job in the desert, the family packs up. When they get there, though, they find it JD central, with the family harassed by a hot rod gang that picks on them for no reason... at the start. Eventually, they find a reason, in the lead thug making designs on the family's teenage daughter! As so often happens with Dana Andrews, he's pushed to the breaking point, where he fights back! Super-charged combination of domestic drama, psychological suspense, and JD thriller, HOT RODS TO HELL remains mysteriously obscure. The film has some fans, and was even used as the frame for a Freakazoid! cartoon entitled "Hot Rods From Heck" but it's not got near the reputation it should. Reference materials often write the film off as an ineffective B picture, but it's got a lot going for it. Though the family is the main focus, the script tries to offer plenty of insight into the roughnecks as well, making it a more balanced affair than one might expect. Dana Andrews played a number of troubled men who must overcome extraordinary circumstances, so he's a natural here. Jeanne Crain plays his wife, and Mimsy Farmer is one of the delinquent girls. Reportedly, the film was to be made as early as 1955, but didn't get produced until 1966 as a planned TV movie (which, if true, explains a lot of the film's aesthetic aspects). Instead, the film was released theatrically in 1967. Recommended.
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