THUNDER IN CAROLINA

Rory Calhoun at the wheel

THUNDER IN CAROLINA (1960). Director: Paul Helmick. 

Race car driver Mitch Cooper (Rory Calhoun) has an accident on the track, breaks his foot, and smashes his auto. He decides to cool his heels for awhile and looks up an old friend but discovers that he's passed away. The garage that friend used to own is now owned by Les York (Race Gentry) and his wife Rene (Connie Hines), who invite him to stay. Les helps Mitch fix his car and importunes him to let him race it as well, although Rene is not crazy about having to become the camp follower of a race car driver. Still she goes along with the idea, becoming as worried about other women as she is about Les being injured or killed. 

Race Gentry, Calhoun, Connie Hines

Despite the title, Thunder in Carolina is an awfully dull picture. Even the climax which employs real footage from a race track is put together in such a way as to minimize thrills. This was the second of only two films helmed by Paul Helmick, who isn't able to do much to save the film. The occasional provocative sequence -- Mitch thinking a woman in the motel shower is an old girlfriend when it's really Rene and an catfight that never really materializes -- are too minor to amount to much. Supposed to be a hell-raiser and lover boy, Mitch basically takes a back seat to Les York's activities, which would scarcely raise an eyebrow. Race Gentry was a handsome if limited actor who had a few credits, mostly on television; he makes a favorable impression in this. Connie Hines was introduced in this film but she had over a dozen television credits beforehand. This was her only theatrical feature and she is much better known for the TV series Mr. Ed. Alan Hale Jr. is fine as a mechanic on the track and a friend of Mitch's. Many of the cast members only appeared in this one movie. 

Verdict: Even an attractive cast can't save this stinker. **.

TEENAGE THUNDER

Chuck Courtney

TEENAGE THUNDER (1957). Director: Paul Helmick. 

18-year-old Johnny Simpson (Chuck Courtney) is a sullen, difficult teenager who keeps making stupid choices, allegedly because his father (Tyler McVey) is neglectful and distant. Johnny takes up with plain-but-appealing waitress Betty Palmer, (Melinda Byron), who asks her sister "why aren't boys as smart as girls are?" True, Betty is a lot smarter than Johnny, whose life is made miserable by bad boy Maurie Weston (Robert Fuller), who not only gets him to play "chicken" but nearly gets both of them killed until Betty intervenes. Johnny's father tries to teach him self-defense, but it backfires, and Johnny steals a hot rod from his former boss, Burt Morrison (Paul Bryar), and takes off. But when he learns that Burt wants to race the hot rod for his son, Jimmy (Gregory Marshall), who has polio, Johnny may have a change of heart. 

Robert Fuller on the left with uncredited player

Teenage Thunder is not really a wild exploitation film with juvenile delinquents and wild, painted women -- more's the pity -- but more along the lines of a lower-budgeted Disney picture, with obvious moral statements and a wind-up meant to tug at the heart strings. The best scene is between Tyler McVey and Paul Bryar when Johnny's boss comes to give his father some advice. Although not especially charismatic, Chuck Courtney, who was actually 27,  gives a more than adequate performance, and eventually amassed 91 credits, most of them on television. His most famous film was Billy the Kid Vs. Dracula, in which he played William Bonney. Robert Fuller, on the other hand, who also had a long career, exudes plenty of charisma as Maurie; he and Courtney were good friends in real life. Melinda Byron had only 15 credits. The other actors all turn in solid performances. The climactic race takes all of ten seconds!

Verdict: Not enough of those hot rods! **.