Pedantic, dull and rote enough to qualify as a documentary about a Ford Motor Co. assembly line. I'm half-certain I saw this in science class in Grade 5. Frankly, if this is Jimmy Stewart's first starring role he's lucky to have survived this dog of a movie . Best part is when they show them testing a white 1935 Plymouth Garbagecan. The stunt driver - clearly wearing a racing helmet and white fire suit - rolls it. They play it up for comedy. They cut back to the dame. Then back to the car, which is now a dark 1935 Plymouth Rollingcoffin. Out hops Jimmy Stewart in tie and slacks and flawless white shirt, with slightly tousled hair. Cue the romance .

That honor goes to Next Time We Love with Margaret Sullavan. Indeed, she specifically chose Stewart to play opposite her. What stands out here is how even in his early raw period, his naturalness before the camera stands out. Most everyone's style of acting is rather dated, but not Stewart's. This is so even in the musical he did with Eleanor Powell, Born to Dance. Not even in those early roles where he was honing his skills. He even stands out against Powell and Loy and Company in After the Thin Man, where he shows an early surprising edge. Speed demonstrates that Stewart did drunk well--see The Philadelphia Story for later confirmation of this. He's also quite sexy in some of that early stuff.

The point of interest in this movie is that it is the first starring role for James Stewart. Being a Three Stooges fan, as well as a fan of Mr. Stewart, I enjoyed Ted Healy's fairly substantial supporting role. If you don't know, Ted Healy started the Stooges act - they were HIS Stooges, at first - with first Moe Howard, then adding Shemp Howard, Moe's older brother, and finally adding Larry Fine in 1925. Ted was their boss; they basically responded to him as the central figure in their stage act. They signed with MGM in 1933, with Jerome Howard (Curley) as the third Stooge instead of Shemp (who quit), did a few shorts and had some minor roles in some features, then separated over money (mainly) in 1934. Ted went on to appear in a number of MGM films before his untimely death in 1937. In "Speed", he plays Gadget, Terry Martin's (Stewart) comic sidekick. Ted does a few things reminiscent of the Three Stooges, like having three incompetent assistants in one scene, letting out a "woo-woo" like Curley in another, and pulling the old "Gentlemen" gag (looking behind him when someone addresses them, as if he doesn't know who he's talking to). Not a great movie, but enjoyable enough. Also look for the underrated Una Merkel as "Jo".

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.