DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

utgard14 Nope, not that Speed. Here we have one of Jimmy Stewart's first starring roles. He plays a test driver (sort of a living crash test dummy) for Emery Motors with ambitions to become something more and win the heart of pretty Wendy Barrie. So he designs a new carburetor and works with a rival to make it work before testing it out at the Indianapolis 500.Jimmy Stewart fans might be a little surprised by this one. This isn't the usual likable guy-next-door Jimmy we all know and love. In fact, he's kind of a jerk at times. But that's the way the character is written so we can't fault Jimmy much for that. It feels like it was written with someone like James Cagney in mind. Weldon Heyburn (who?) plays Jimmy's rival for Wendy Barrie. Ted Healey plays Jimmy's comic relief best friend. The always adorable Una Merkel has a supporting part as an executive at Emery. Pretty surprising to see that, given the time in which this was made. Of course, she's in love with Heyburn's character and wonders aloud if the promotion to executive was worthwhile since it's come between them. But she never gives up her career during the film. There's also some talk at the end about gender fairness as relates to Wendy Barrie's character ("A girl can have horse sense, too!"). So this is pretty forward-thinking for a B picture from 1936.The movie makes good use of rear projection effects and stock footage. It's interesting stuff if you're an automotive history buff. I liked seeing the old cars, auto factories, and the racing and crash footage. The "Falcon" car that Jimmy drives in the exciting climax was created just for the picture and it's pretty cool. All in all it's a decent movie with a few extras that make it a little more interesting than you might expect.

wes-connors "Emery Motors" cars are being tested by race-car driver James Stewart (as Terry Martin). Although he should be wounded in the opening crash, Mr. Stewart emerges from a car unscathed. He must be invulnerable. "Woman drivers" make Stewart nervous, so he takes the driver's seat to show arriving publicist Wendy Barrie (as Jane Mitchell) how cars are created on an assembly line. "A whole lot of man and a while lot of machine make a whole lot of automobile," Stewart explains...From the engineering department, Weldon Heyburn (as Frank Lawson) also likes showing Ms. Barrie around the factory. He doesn't seem to notice the loving glances being thrown around by Una Merkel (as "Jo" Sanderson). Stewart gets his new carburetor in shape for the "Indianapolis 500" with help from comic sidekick Ted Healy (as "Gadget" Haggerty). "Speed" amounts to little more than stock footage and juvenile romance. In the end, Stewart learns "a girl can have horse sense too." *** Speed (5/8/36) Edwin L. Marin ~ James Stewart, Wendy Barrie, Weldon Heyburn, Una Merkel

MartinHafer This film was made well before Jimmy Stewart was a real headliner. And, the studios didn't yet know exactly what sort of caliber actor they had on their hands. So, they experimented with him in a variety of films--some successful, some not. This one falls in the middle and while isn't playing the sort of character you'd expect from Stewart, he isn't nearly so out of his element as he would be just a short time later in BORN TO DANCE--where he sings!!! This film is very very reminiscent of a Jimmy Cagney film from just a few years before, THE CROWD ROARS. Both are in fact pretty indistinguishable. Yes the plots differ, but they all just seem like a lot of race cars spinning around track that are obviously the result of rear projection and stunt men. Not both but not particularly good either.

bkoganbing I've always been curious about this since someone never got the bright idea to release it on video to capitalize on the success of Keanu Reeve's film with the same title. After viewing it, I think it was to save James Stewart's reputation.This Speed is a modest B picture actioner about a test car racedriver who is a bit of a fathead. For reasons not explained in the film, he has a problem with design engineers who have an education. But he's got an eye for Wendy Barrie from the publicity department and so does Weldon Heyburn the engineer who has roused Jimmy Stewart's ire.That thin romantic plot is fattened out with newsreel scenes from the automobile plant and from racetracks. Stewart is involved with a nasty crash that almost kills his pal Ted Healy who as the sidekick has the best part in this film.Since it didn't cost much and played the bottom half of doublebills, I'm sure Speed recouped its cost for MGM. But today it wouldn't make the made for TV grade.