Cars and sex are all teens seem to think about in 1957's Dragstrip Girl. Among exploitation B-movies of the '50s, this one shines a bit above the rest with its clear-eyed, flirty screenplay and hip conceptualising. There's no heavy handed moral here, just kids who want to race cars and have sex.
Fred (John Ashley) and Jim (Steve Terrell) are a pair of hot-rodding buddies with nothing but blue skies and shiny chrome ahead of them until a chance encounter with the beautiful Louise (Fay Spain).
After an improvised street race, the three know they're going to be fast friends. Except how's two guys and one girl supposed to work? Louise invites them over to her place and suggests they "come together" in one of the film's many suggestive lines.
Surprisingly, Louise's parents like both boys and they even don't mind her drag racing. Louise's dad likes Jim because he knows his way around a car engine and Louise's mom like Fred because his parents are rich.
They fall into an arrangement where Fred takes Louise out one night and Jim the next, alternating. But eventually, tensions flare up. Jim becomes the good guy, no longer wanting to risk racing on public streets, while Fred gets it into his head that Jim has somehow always stood between him and what he wants. But John Ashley in the role remains a charismatic disciple of Elvis Presley and even as he becomes outright villainous no-one loses sympathy for him.
The gang of screwy teens hang around at a pizza shop. Among them is Frank Gorshin who was already captivating with his broad but inventive mannerisms.
But Fay Spain is the real main event as the titular girl. She's beautiful, poured into every outfit, and always has a deadly sparkle in her eye. She's a pleasure to watch.
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