Daredevil Drivers (Warner Bros.) (1938)

== PU pti C..y (Current) STRAND STARS PORTRAY NEW HEROINE TYPE Through the years, motion picture heroines have been portrayed in cycles, just as pictures have run in cycles. Starting as the sickly, sweet, adoring girl, who gaped at the hero with wide, adoring eyes, the film heroine soon developed into the flapper, wild, reckless, daring. Then, a slinky eyed foreign star caught the public’s fancy — and soon Hollywood was overrun with accents and _ temperament. Mat 101—15ce BEVERLY ROBERTS who is now at the Strand Theatre with Dick Purcell in their latest picture, “The Daredevil Drivers.” Another type of femme heroine to become popular is the flip, wisecracking gal who drops gags right and left between newspaper scoops. Warner Bros. have introduced a new type of heroine to the screen in the person of Beverly Roberts, charming star of ‘‘The Daredevil Drivers.”’ They felt that women in real life had changed radically in recent years. So in “God’s Country and the Woman” they introduced a screen heroine in keeping with the times, so to speak. The gal was Beverly Roberts. As head man of a big lumber company, she strutted about the camp in boots, breeches and lumberjack, barked orders and ruled the place with an iron hand. And so in “The Daredevil Drivers,” Beverly Roberts again stepped into a man’s job and portrayed the owner of a bus company, barking orders, hiring and firing men and being head man with Dick Purcell. (Current ) Auto Accident for Movie Done Twice “Crash!” An automobile hit a lamp post and a stone wall behind it. There was that sickening scrape and creak of crumpled fenders and body metal, the shivery clatter of broken glass. But it was only for a movie scene in Warner Bros. action film, ‘“‘The Daredevil Drivers,” now showing at the Strand Theatre. Just a typical movie crash scene with the “double” driving the car unhurt, and everybody casual about it, except for one thing— Something about it hadn’t satisfied director ““Breezy’’ Eason. He said: “We'll take it again.”’ And they dragged out duplicates of the smashed car and lamp post, and smashed those. Two more cars and two more lamp posts were available if needed! “The Daredevil Drivers’ costars Beverly Roberts and Dick Purcell. They are supported by such well known players as Gloria Blondell, Gordon Oliver, and Charley Foy. Strand Theatre Presents Fast Auto Drama In *‘The Daredevil Drivers’’ STORY IN SYNOPSIS: (not for publication )—Bill Foster (Dick Purcell) is disqualified for reckless driving on a race track. Broke, he gets into a crash between a Neeley bus and a Burnell bus. His racer is ruined, so he stops at the town where the two bus lines -have their headquarters to demand damages—and punch Neeley’s nose! Neeley, however, turns out to be a girl, Jerry Neeley (Beverly Roberts). They quarrel—the first stage of falling in love with each other—and Jerry, hard-up financially because of her fight with the Burnell line, refuses to pay damages, Bill goes to work for Burnell. He soon learns Jerry is being double-crossed by her own trusted men, and he tries to side with her. Finally she weakens enough to go out with him, and let him kiss her. Burneli has started suit in Bill’s behalf, but Bill promises Jerry to call it off. Hearing that, Burnell gets Bill out of the state on a long run, and launches the suit anyway, as on it hinges, he hopes, the decision of Jerry’s bankers to cut off her credit. He returns in time to save the company. CAST OF CHARACTERS Jerry Neelegs. 22303 Beverly Roberts Bin. Vegterie cuba a Dick Purcell Oe END "ae See ieee Gloria Blondell Wiel NMI gn. sceonccasscssecess Gordon Oliver Roo) 21 Bel ra Charley Foy emmy Burnell..o.. 0... Donald Briggs Mr. Lane....... Eric Stanley Joe,Baileys&k...:. w.....Max Hoffman, Jr. Councilman Bakev.................... Ferris Taylor Mire MieAullifer 40 ees Cliff Clark I) ee ae ae ee Earl Dwire Neeley Bus Drivev............... William Hopper Burnell Bus Driver............... Fred Lawrence i nr) a Anderson Lawlor EG ES ee ee John Harron PRODUCTION STAFF Director ise: annette B. Reeves Eason Screenplay by... Sherman Lowe Story "By... Jd. Spee Chas. R. Condon Photography by... Ted McCord, A.S.C. Film Editors: Se Harold McLernon Dialogue Director... John Langan Pere ivectOV,. fe en Hugh Reticker Bares: mie er Howard Shoup ~ Leslie G. Hewitt Length — 5446 feet Running time — 60 minutes (Review ) “The Daredevil Drivers,” the film story of an intense rivalry between two bus companies had its first local showing yesterday at the Strand Theatre and proved extremely entertaining to the several audiences. Once again Beverly Roberts has the part of a business girl. She is manager of one of the warring concerns. She did such a part splendidly in “‘God’s Country and the Woman”’ in which last year, she had the role of manager of a lumber camp in the Northwest woods. In “The Daredevil Drivers,’’ Dick Purcell is her leading man. He is an automobile race driver whose car gets smashed up while he is on his way from one track to another. It is one of Beverly’s buses that ruins his machine. He goes to her office, prepared for a battle, but is entirely disarmed when he finds that his enemy is a girl. Investigating the accident, he finds out that she is being double-crossed by her own drivers who are secretly in the employ of the rival concern. He throws his lot in with hers, helps to keep her out of bankruptcy, and together they start the company over again on a success ful basis. Romance enters, of course, and wed ROMANCE SPEEDS ALONG for Beverly Roberts and Dick Purcell, who head the cast of the stirring drama of the speedways, “The Daredevil Drivers,” now showing at the Strand. Mat 201—30¢ ding bells ring out. Thrilling automobile races are an exciting feature of the story, and the entire movie is fast-paced, with many breathtaking moments that will be enjoyed by one and.all. “The Daredevil Drivers’’ was directed by “Breezy Eason from a screenplay by Sherman Lowe based on a story by Charles R. Condon. Eason is considered the best action director in the motion pictures. He started his career making westerns and for years directed such well known western stars as William S. Hart and Tom Mix. He is probably best known for his direction of the chariot race in the silent picture “‘Ben Hur’ which is one of the screen’s classics. More recently he staged and directed the thrilling ‘charge of the six hundred for the Warner Bros.’ production, “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” Other notables in the cast include’ Gloria Blondell, the sister of Joan Blondell, who is making her movie debut after a successful stage career, Gordon Oliver, up-and-coming young screen villain, Charley Foy, Willard Parker and other well known film _ players. err ee — — — — — OOOOSOC™* (Opening Day Story) DICK PURCELL AT STRAND IN THRILL MOVIE With . Beverly Roberts once again enacting the part of the business woman — this time as head of a passenger bus company — a Warner Bros. melodrama called ““The Daredevil Drivers” dealing with the warfare between her outfit and a rival concern, will be the feature attraction today at the Strand Theatre. Automobiles are wrecked right and left in this movie, no less than fifteen altogether, four buses and Mat 104——15¢ DICK PURCELL, the two-fisted star from Warner Bros., who is now at the Strand Theatre in “The Daredevil Drivers.” eleven passenger cars are being sent to the junk heap as a result of the many crack-ups engineered by the villains of the piece. The speedy story tells of the rivalry between two bus _ companies. Many lives are endangered and some lost due to the underhanded ruthless tactics of one of the rivals, until an honest two-fisted racing driver enters the situation and helps to put an end to the foul play. Dick Purcell, handsome young leading man carries the romantic interest with Miss Roberts. Other well-known players in the cast are Gloria Blondell, Gordon Oliver, Charley Foy, Willard Parker and Donald Briggs. Charley Foy Brings Comedy to Strand Charley Foy used to be one of the Seven Little Foys who worked with his father, Eddie Foy, famous vaudeville comedian. That’ s where he learned to be funny. When vaudeville blew up, Charley Foy turned to being funny in pictures. He’s appearing now in “The Daredevil Drivers,” a Warner Bros. melodrama at the Strand Theatre. Even when he filled out his biographical questionaire, he managed to be funny. Asked to whom he credited his first screen opportunity,. he answered “‘the depression.”” His present ambition was to be “Charley Foy.”’ His suppressed desire was ‘“‘to look like Robert Taylor.” “What do you do to protect your good looks?’’ — was answered by “‘plastic surgery.”” His favorite reading is ““Anthony Adverse,” Walter Winchell and the racing form. According to Charley his favorite hobby is “midgets,” the thing he collects most is “‘bills,”’ his best friends are “Charley Foy” and his good luck charm is a contract. The picture stars Beverly Roberts and Dick Purcell. Also in the cast are such well known actors as Gloria Blondell, Gordon Oliver, and Charley Foy. Page Three