The Crowd Roars | Cinema | Auto Class Magazine

The Crowd Roars | Cinema

Nearly a hundred years ago, motor-racing movies were very fashionable, especially at Warner. One of the many examples is the 1932 film directed by Howard Hawks and entitled “The Crowd Roars”, starring James Cagney and Eric Linden, who play the Greer brothers, the first who seems to be experiencing the darkest period of his illustrious career and the second intending to pursue the great successes achieved by his older brother. The story is therefore focused on the relationship between the two, with Joe’s growing feeling of protection towards Eddie, fearing for his life in a too dangerous racing world. The almost distressing aspect is that the crowd at the track seems invoking some accident, so as to experience a thrill in a high-speed show that exactly as in the real world saw the drivers take off, without having the certainty of returning to hug their loved ones at the end of the race.

TITLE: The Crowd Roars

YEAR: 1932

DIRECTED BY: Howard Hawks

LENGHT: 1h 25 min

GENRE: action, drama

Although the movie does not introduce a particularly intricate plot and follows the vein of the genre that was very popular at the turn of the 20s and 30s, “The Crowd Roars” stages very realistic racing scenes and at the same time manages to convey the drama of the situation experienced by the protagonist brothers and by Joe Greer’s partner. As far as the cars concern, these are obviously racing single-seaters and among them a 1927 Duesenberg and a Miller 91 are the highlights. Between dust and almost impossible counter-steering, the seventy minutes go by as fast as the racers, entertaining the contemporary viewer, also and above all thanks to the nostalgia factor that we love so much in these films.

Edited by Tommaso Mogge