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Hot rod movies date from the 1940s. Wild teens, fast cars, fast women, drag racing and rumbles are among the key components to any good hot rod film worth its weight in burning road rubber. The movie posters used to promote hot rod and car movies are, in the vernacular of the genre, "a real gas."
Here are ten classic hot rod and car movie posters that are sure to rev up the engine of any Hollywood gearhead. Also included is a collector's value guide. "Gotta be cool now power shift here we go..."
Hot Car Girl (1958) Three Sheet Movie Poster
Allied Artists produced this roaring hot rod entry from the Elvis Presley era. Richard Bakalyan and John Brinkley play Duke and Freddy, respectively, two young hoods who strip cars and sell the parts to crooked repair shops. Also on hand is blonde, buxom beauty June Kenney as Margaret "Peg" Dale, who falls into the wrong crowd. The three sheet poster (41x81-inches) is a wild piece of movie art, featuring the classic hot rod blurb, "She's Hell-On-Wheels...fired up for any thrill!" One example in fine/very fine condition blew a gasket at auction, selling for $896.25.
Hot Car Girl (1958) three sheet poster $896.25
Hot Rod Girl (1956) Insert Movie Poster
American International Pictures came out smokin' in 1956, bringing to the silver screen Hot Rod Girl. Chuck Connors plays friendly police detective Ben Merrill, who wants to keep the hot rodders off the street by building a dragstrip. Lori Nelson plays Lisa Vernon a.k.a. "hot rod girl," with John Smith, Mark Andrews, Roxanne Arlen and Frank Gorshin also along for the wild ride. One of the movie's best lines is copped by Fred Essler as Yo-Yo, the owner of a teen hangout. When advised that his place is crawling with hot rodders, the elderly Yo-Yo replies in disgust, "That's one pest you can't control!" Collectors are real keen on the movie's insert poster (14x36-inches), which promises viewers, "Chicken-Race, Rock 'N Roll, Youth On The Loose." One example in fine+ condition crossed the finish line at auction for $310.70.
Hot Rod Girl (1956) insert poster $310.70
Hot Rod Rumble (1957) One Sheet Movie Poster
Allied Artists produced this nifty automotive flick starring Richard Hartunian as Arnie Crawford, a young, shiftless lad who joins a hot rod club. Leigh Snowden plays the requisite tight skirt girl, with Wright King, Joey Forman and Brett Halsey also in the grease pits. They filmed this baby at California Studios in Los Angeles and at the Pomona Raceway in Pomona, California. Fetching blonde Leigh Snowden along with two dueling hot rods highlight the movie's standard one sheet poster (27x41-inches), with one example in fine- condition bringing a cool $567.63 at auction.
Hot Rod Rumble (1957) one sheet poster $567.63
Dragstrip Girl (1957) One Sheet Movie Poster
Fay Spain plays automotive femme fatale Louise Blake in this entry from American International Pictures. Spain is out for kicks and to shock her square parents, playing hot rod suitors Steve Terrell and John Ashley against each other, with Frank Gorshin and TV Tommy Ivo also hanging out at the drags. The film's one sheet poster (27x41-inches) is high octane, featuring the enticing blurb, "Car Crazy!...Speed Crazy!...Boy Crazy!..." One example in pristine mint condition blew 'em away, baby, selling for $358.50 at auction.
Dragstrip Girl (1957) one sheet poster $358.50
T-Bird Gang (1957) One Sheet Movie Poster
The Filmgroup brought this automotive/juvenile delinquency classic to movie theaters on October 16, 1959. John Brinkley plays Frank Simmons alias Frank Minor, who joins the rough-and-tumble T-Bird Gang in order to track down his father's killer. Ed Nelson, Tony Miller, Pat George, Coleman Francis and Vic Tayback also appear. Quite a promotional gig for the Ford Motor Company and its classic Thunderbird. The film's one sheet poster (27x41-inches), featuring the blurb "The One Year Out Of High School Crowd – Fast Cars, Girls...No Place To Go!," in very fine+ condition sold at auction for $71.70.
T-Bird Gang (1957) one sheet poster $71.70
American Graffiti (1973) One Sheet Movie Poster
Director George Lucas' American Graffiti, an ode to 1960s cruising, rock and roll and the American car culture, premiered on August 1, 1973. Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Paul Le Mat, Charlie Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Harrison Ford and Wolfman Jack are all here along with some great cars. Who could forget the classic showdown on Paradise Road pitting Paul Le Mat's 1932 yellow deuce coup against Harrison Ford's growling midnight black 1955 Chevy? The movie's standard one sheet poster (27x41-inches) is a biggie with collectors – "Where were you in '62?" the blurb asks – with one example in very fine condition cruising to a top bid of $131.45.
American Graffiti (1973) one sheet poster $131.45
Hot Rods to Hell (1967) One Sheet Movie Poster
MGM produced this automotive hellraiser starring Dana Andrews as a father who tries to protect his family from two hoodlums (Paul Bertoya, Gene Kirkwood) on a lonely stretch of California highway. The two hot rodders are getting their cheap kicks in a flashy Corvette, weaving in and out and terrorizing the totally square Andrews, his wife (Jeanne Crain), fetching teenage daughter (Laurie Mock) and young son (Tim Stafford). Mimsy Farmer is on hand as Gloria, the film's sexpot party girl. The movie's titillating one sheet movie poster (27x41-inches) – "Hotter Than Hell's Angels!" reads the blurb – is a collector favorite, with one example in fine/very fine condition selling at auction for $42.
Hot Rods to Hell (1967) one sheet poster $42
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) One Sheet Movie Poster
James Taylor and Dennis Wilson play two itinerant street racers who travel America, searching for the next drag race. Considered a car movie classic, the film also features Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, a '55 Chevy and a wicked 1970 Pontiac GTO. Two-Lane Blacktop's standard one sheet poster (27x41-inches) was rendered in black and white for some reason, with one example in very fine condition bringing $143.40 at auction.
Two-Lane Black Top 1971 one sheet poster $143.40
Corvette Summer (1978) Half Sheet Movie Poster
Mark Hamill stars as Ken Dantley Jr., a teen who builds a customized Chevy Corvette only to have it stolen. Ken embarks on a search to find his beloved 'Vette, enlisting the help of Las Vegas prostitute Vanessa (Annie Potts). The movie's half sheet poster (22x28-inches) is a Corvette lover's dream, with one example in very good condition bringing a reasonable $15 at auction.
Corvette Summer (1978) half sheet poster $15
Hot Rod Hullabaloo (1966) One Sheet Movie Poster
Allied Artists produced this tawdry hot rod thriller starring John Arnold as a young man who enters an illegal drag race in order to earn some money for college. Val Bisoglio, Gene Bua, Ron Cummins and Marsha Mason (in her movie debut) also appear. Far out is the word for the film's standard one sheet poster (27x41-inches) – "Speed's Their Creed! The Hot Rodders! The Swingers!" – with one example in fine/very fine condition burning auction rubber for $89.63.
Hot Rod Hullabaloo (1966) one sheet poster $89.63
Credits
Another beautiful addition to your movie collectibles series William. They don't make movies like these anymore. They were great movies. I loved them.