Vintage 2

 

The plot of “Speedway” is simple; silent film star William Haines plays the role Bill Whipple, a cocky young mechanic who knows he could drive faster than anybody, given the chance. His Dad, “Mac,” played by Ernest Torrence, owns and drives a race car, will not let Bill drive despite that fact that Dad has a bad heart, because Bill is too busy joking around. Dad asks, "Bill, why don't you take the game seriously? You'll never be a driver if you don't." As the plot unfolds, young Bill tries hard to impress a beautiful female pilot, Patricia Bonner, played by Anita Page. After some madcap action, Bill and Pat end up in an airplane, with Pat stunt flying, when the wing breaks off the plane. Bill and Pat parachute to safety, and Bill is a hero. Because of the publicity, a rival car owner, ‘Lee Renny’ gives Bill a chance, and Bill wins the pole position. Come race day, held on “Decoration Day” (as Memorial Day was called then), the car owner double-crosses Bill Whipple and drives the car himself. Mac then puts Bill behind the wheel as a relief driver with instructions to “catch Renny.” Of course he does, making up a 4-lap deficit, before turning the car over to Dad for the victory, and in the final scene Bill gets the girl.

 

This film is fascinating from a racing history perspective because it shows  what the Speedway grounds really looked like in the late 1920’s including views of the original garages (which burned in 1941), and expansive views of the track and infield, complete with trees lining the inside of the backstretch, which is not yet spanned by the pedestrian bridge. Other remarkable details are the low outside retaining wall, the existence of an inside retaining wall, and how the cars slid on the bricks in the turns.

 

                                                  

      while Deacon Litz’ #26 Rear-drive Miller represented the “McDonald car.”  Both Litz and Duray drove the cars on track with cameras fitted, which provides some exciting footage that shows how hard it was to hold one of those machines in a straight line on the brick surfaced straightaways.  

 

The footage of the start of the race is worth mentioning; in the story, the Renny #21 won the pole position, but in reality, Duray started second. As the field pulls away behind the 1929 Studebaker President pacesetter, the camera was carefully positioned to obscure Cliff Woodbury’s actual pole-winning car behind the Studebaker. As the race begins, the roar of racing engines replaces the piano soundtrack typical of silent films, adding realism. As the race progresses, the film captures the crash of pole-sitter Woodbury’s #8 Boyle Valve Special although out of sequence. During the ‘500,’the #8 Boyle Special bounced off the outside wall of Turn 4 lost a wheel and continued down the front stretch on lap three, but the crash appears in the middle of the race in the film. Most surprising, the fatal crash of Bill Spence is included in the movie footage; the #10 Duesenberg slid in Turn 2, hit the inside wall, flipped over once and landed on its wheels. Although the aftermath of the crash is not shown in the film, 24-year old Spence was removed from the car and died shortly thereafter of a fractured skull; the first of three men named Spence to die at the Speedway. Little is known about Bill Spence, other than he hailed from Los Angeles, California- do any of our readers know more? 

 

In the Hollywood version, the McDonald #26 Miller RWD edged out the Renny #21 Miller FWD by less than a wheel-length at the finish; the actual 1929 ’500’ finish was much different. Leon Duray’s #21 retired on lap 65 with carburetor problems, credited with a 21st place finish, and Deacon Litz’ #26 broke a connecting  rod on lap 56 to finish in 24th position. Former World land Speed Record holder Ray Keech, driving a Miller in only his second Indianapolis start, won by six minutes over defending champion Louis Meyer. Unfortunately, the 29-year old Keech did not have long to savor his Decoration Day ‘500’ victory; he was killed 16 days later in a gruesome crash at the Altoona Pennsylvania board track.

 

For those racing historians interested, DVD copies of the 1929 “Speedway” film are widely available for sale online.  This reviewer gives it two thumbs up for the period racing footage alone.