The Pace That Thrills (1952)

Bill Williams, Carla Balenda, Robert Armstrong, Frank McHugh, Cleo Moore ... see more  , John Mallory Asher , Diane Garrett , John Hamilton , Claudia Drake , Michael St. Angel

The title refers to the euphoric pleasures of motorcycle racing, a sport that is exploited to the breaking point in this film. Reckless racer Bill Williams and his cycle-designer buddy Steve Flagg com... read more e to blows over the lovely Carla Balenda (a blonde in this picture, a brunette in other films). This tenuous plot device is used as a framework for an endless flow of film clips shot at real-life racing events--crashes, hairbreadth rescues and all. Since this was made before The Wild One, the correlation between motorcycles and leather-jacketed hoodlums is not touched upon. The Pace That Thrills is recommended primarily for motorcycle buffs; other viewers will be less than thrilled. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi