Uriah43 After being injured in a head-on collision with a drunk driver, "Tom Phillips" (Dana Andrews) is laid up in a hospital and faces a lengthy rehabilitation that results in his inability to perform his job successfully. Faced with these life-changing events he reluctantly accepts his brother's advice and buys a hotel in the middle of the California desert which he can manage in spite of his painful condition. Unfortunately, upon driving there he and his family encounter several rude and belligerent young men drag racing on the highway who recklessly endanger everyone they come across. And they take umbrage upon anyone who dares to voice displeasure or prevent them from doing whatever they want. So much so that two specific young men by the names of "Duke" (Paul Bertoya) and "Ernie" (Gene Kirkwood) demonstrate that they will stop at nothing to silence Tom from going to the police. Now rather than reveal any more and risk spoiling this film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this particular "Hot Rod movie" was more intense than the usual pictures of this sort produced a decade or so earlier. Whereas the earlier Hot Rod films typically revolved around teenagers simply having fun the specific antagonists in this movie were much more arrogant and ruthless. And this worked in the film's favor in my opinion. In any case, although it was clearly a grade-B production, I still found it to be entertaining and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

AJSteele Yes "66, not "67 as IMDb says. 1966 gave us all the classics, "Dr. Goldfoot & The Girl Bombs", "Modesty Blaise', "Ghosts In The Invisible Bikini", "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill" and of course "Hot Rods To Hell." I hadn't seen this film in 25 years and suddenly there it was in front of me, a DVD, with the original movie poster artwork right on the case. Dana Andrews gives a serious performance as a old school dad who ends his suburban life and heads out to face some unexpected "animals." Animals being the teenagers who harass his family in hot rods while on the sun lit deserted desert roads of California.Dads at a distance by phone as we're introduced to the main characters who show their cute family affections at home during Christmas. Mom, played by an under-rated Jeanne Crain, daughter Tina played by the gorgeous Laurie Mock, and seemingly 12 year old spunky son Jamie played by a second tier credited Tim Stafford. Dad gets a bit morose after a near fatal car accident on his return home to the family. This induces a semi reluctant property deal of Uncle Bill's to buy a motel in no mans land. The family packs and off they go.Nothing like the teeth gritting smiles and wide eyed looks of a mid sixties teenager to charge you up. Enter Duke, the hot rod king and mega sixties siren Mimsy Farmer who plays Gloria, Dukes brassy mouthed flunky. They and the gang do the chasing while dear old dad is just about to crack. One close encounter after another gets dads already frayed nerves to the boiling point while in route to supposed peace. Pops wisely takes a detour into a picnic area for refuge where Duke tries to sneak up and work some "magic" on daughter Tina.A worthwhile side story involving an arrogant pedal heavy dad and his son at the picnic area works while the real driving force of Dana Andrews carries on with his cranky fed up demeanor. Arriving at the wild atmospheric motel which they intend to purchase, dad rescues Tina from the clutches of Duke with murderous rage. Some jumping sounds emit from the motel bar courtesy of Micky Rooney Jr. And His Combo strumming some nice electrics. Moms always there, never disappointing with her plucky supportive dialog, especially as Tina stokes her ire on the evils of boys. As we race towards hopeful survival some harrowing techniques by dad end up relaying what he was really made of. Duke and the gang turn out to be the punks the teens of that generation thought were hip ,while Daddy O is pretty cool after all.Hot Rods To Hell epitomizes the 1966 era. I always believed that Laurie Mock should have gone further in films with her natural style and good looks. The generic sixties soundtrack throughout keeps time and pace. The small missing dialog between Duke and Tina is a downer and inexplicable but having the film available at all compensates. Hot Rods To Hell is a classic because of its family focusing universal effectiveness. It rises above the mockery of it's meager means. It's time for a definitive release containing extras, baby, extras!

ducatimatz28 This film was released the year I graduated from High School. Shot in 1966 it debuted in theaters in January 1967. Maybe if I had been still 12 or 13yrs I would have thought this movie was cool but by the time your 17 or 18yrs you know it was pretty cornball.One of my favorite Scenes is where the Highway Patrolman is saying "Putting these cars in the hands of these teenagers is like giving them sticks of Dynamite(or something close to that) I remember laughing at that the 1st time I saw the movie.Hot Rods to Hell is one of those Films you make fun of but when you see it coming up at the end of the week on a Cable TV Channel; you make sure you watch it again one more time.I'm sure Dana Andrew's isn't going to put it among "The Best Years of our Lives" and "State Fair" as one of his favorite Roles...s.m.

sonya90028 Hot Rods To Hell revolves around a middle-aged man, who decides to purchase a hotel located in the southwestern US. He's from Boston. And he realizes that the change in locale will be difficult for himself, his wife, and their kids. Still, he decides to give it a shot, and so he and his family pack-up and head out west. But some reckless teenagers driving fast hot rods, harass them along the way. The man finally decides to stand-up to the delinquent teens, who keep menacing him and his family, during their journey. This film was typical of most mid-60s movies, which highlighted the consequences of the notorious generation gap. It emphasized how wild and uncontrollable young people were becoming in the 60s, in the opinion of their bewildered elders. Most 60s teens were no where near as dangerous, as the older generation believed them to be. And this film did a spectacular job, of exaggerating how malignant young people appeared to be, to older folks during the 60s. Overall, this film managed to milk the suspense element, for all it was worth. There were many hair-raising scenes, that made this movie quite an adrenaline rush. For those that crave a film with plenty of nail-biting moments, Hot Rods To Hell will certainly do. It's a 60s B movie, with a heavy jolt of electrifying thrills.