Review of The Crowd Roars

I found it interesting that only one previous reviewer mentioned the poor matching of actual footage and rear projection of the racing scenes. For me they were a deal breaker. In virtually every switch the position of the cars changed. On the dirt track the announcer said the younger brother's car was in front while the footage showed it third. At Indy where the numbers 2 and 4 cars are shown way out front, the rear project shows them back in the field. These mistakes aren't rare, the are consistent. And when the cars run through the burning gas slick, it's obvious that after a few circuits someone poured more on the track. Come on guys! What could have been an exciting film just turned into head-shaker for me.

On the other hand, the women in the film held it together with excellent acting. Ann Dvorak's opening scenes where she expresses her fears are especially noteworthy. Joan Blondell is fine as the love interest and no-nonsense wife. The men are just cardboard characters. A real misfire.