User Reviews

that was a pretty harsh review. I thought it was light and entertaining and enjoyed the old school racing scenes. This movie is not much different than the Elvis Presley movies of that era ... the acting wont blow you away but it will entertain you, seems like most reviewers agree.

BTW, it was racer Dave MacDonald who did some of the driving scenes for this film, he also appears in a cameo role. He was killed in the 1964 Indy 500 before the movies release date.

Pamela Tiffin is gorgeous so it was a pretty easy movie to watch.

I believe it was Bobby Darin who did the soundtrack

My parents and I saw this one rainy Saturday evening in the mid-1960s when it was playing at a theatre in the area near where I grew up. It was one of those "lets go see a movie" nights and none of us really knew what to expect.

As it turned out, all three of us found it to be a nice bit of fun. I remember my mother referring to it as one of those films in which the movie interrupts a great auto commercial.

It's the kind of movie that Hollywood has long stopped making. There was no preaching, no message (others than cars can be great), no sex, violence, or gore, and I don't remember there being any profanity. (The latter point was one reason all three of us went as I believe I was still in elementary school.) It's not brain-blasting but fun like this doesn't have to be.

Like with many such films, the best parts were those that dealt with the cars, seeing them in action, seeing them up close, or simply seeing them built or repaired--the kind of stuff we used to call "neat".

It's the sort of movie where one goes out with one's friends or family and then maybe for pizza afterwards.

This is one of the best car movies ever made. I saw it when I was very young and have looked for it on some type of video or copy ever since I reached an adult. It's the only place I have ever seen the Chrysler Turbine car and the cross country race had several real drivers including the late Mickey Thompson. I have checked the paper for several years hoping it would air so I might make a copy but it never has and that is sad with all the great car movies out there that this one has never been released on video of some kind that I know of. I primarily signed on to this website hoping that someone might could help me locate a copy. If it ever airs on tv don't miss this one!

This film begins with a college student by the name of "Chuck Manning" (Doug McClure) admiring a hot rod in the parking lot of the university while his sister "Eadie Manning" (Pamela Tiffin) impatiently waits in their car. As luck would have it, while Chuck is studying the engine, the owner of the car "Casey Owens" (James Darren) comes back and, after sizing one another up, a challenge is issued between the two over which car can beat the other in a race. So, off they head to a nearby drag strip which ends, unfortunately, in both of them getting a ticket for trespassing. If that wasn't bad enough, Chuck's car is damaged during the race which requires Casey to tow it to his father's garage. It's then that Chuck learns how incredibly talented Casey is when it comes to mechanics as he is working on a new type of car engine which could revolutionize the automobile industry. Even so, being a student of engineering, Chuck doesn't believe Casey's theories will work and a lengthy discussion over the concept begins at that point and continues for hours afterward. Meanwhile, Eadie has become attracted to Casey and, being somewhat mechanically inclined herself, sparks begin to fly between the two of them which will have a lasting impact on all concerned. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie was a remake of the 1954 film "Johnny Dark" which featured Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie. Having said that, however, there are a few slight differences which, strangely enough, benefited both films equally. For example, the first movie focused more on the overall action coupled with some excellent camera work from the driver's point-of-view. This particular film, on the other hand, included a bit more comedy and romance than its predecessor, which worked nicely due to the sexual chemistry between James Darren and Pamela Tiffin. At least, that is how it seemed to me. Be that as it may, I enjoyed this film for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Aside from some eye candy this movie is just junk. The eye candy, of course, is in the shape of two very respectable hot rods (which are not on screen long enough), Pamela Tiffin for the guys and Doug McClure for the gals. The pretense is cartoonish. The script is laughable (particularly the two stars in the racing scenes near the end of the movie). And the inability of the producers to realistically focus on any aspect of the 60's culture.

Here we were, just getting into the throes of the Vietnam War (with colleges all over the country boiling over in protest) and two 'college' kids are portrayed as Ricky Nelson letter sweater wearers from the 1950's. Both obviously have very expensive hot rods but no visible means of support (and college was not that inexpensive back then). They drive the hot rods like sports cars (which would have torn them to shreds in no time) but can't figure out the problem when one of them throws a rod (for non-car types reading this it would have been a very visible catastrophe). The girls don't get off scott-free either. Whoever decreed the wearing of dresses, handbags, gloves and Rodeo Drive hairdo's was very out of touch with the America of the mid-60's.

We are treated to a very 1960ish "will she or won't she" when Darren and Tiffin start courting which might as well have been set in the Gay 90's for all its realism.

The final racing scenes reminded me of a poor Elvis movie where the focus is on the driver and not the racing action. "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad World" did a far better road racing sequence about the same time and it was a full out comedy. McClure's character continually yells at his driver to overtake his opponent so much that you are hoping the driver stops the car and punches McClure in the nose. And why was McClure in the car to begin with? He serves no purpose.

The only reason anyone would want to watch this potboiler is if you have wondered what happened to the featured Chrysler turbine engined car (which was a real Detroit product). The movie suggests it was the engine of the future but it disappeared almost without notice. The two major reasons were cost of production (it was much more expensive to manufacture than a comparable piston engine) and emissions (it would have not met the then-new standards). And even in the heyday of the American muscle car its gas mileage was poor.

The title "The Lively Set" suggests this movie is about thrills and chills with teenagers chasing a dangerous life. In fact, it is a boring and tedious movie with nothing significant to recommend it.

My father stunt drove for James Darren in this movie. He has a lot of Lively Set info & stills at his house, including autographed pictures from James Darren, Doug McClure, Peter Mann, Marilyn Maxwell (Casey's mom), Pamela Tiffen, & Joanie Summers (Chuck's girlfriend). He was selected since he worked on the Turbine car project at Chrysler Corp., was a mechanic, and had some previous racing experience. This movie's race sequence had to be re-done. One of the drivers in the original sequences (Eddie Sachs I believe) was killed at the Indianapolis 500 just prior to the movies original release. Also a car magazine (Car & Driver?) had several years ago listed this movie in its top ten movies for action car scenes. My father probably has that information also. If you are interested in contacting my father for more information, etc. please send me an e-mail, and I will call him and ask.

Greg Morris (later of Mission Impossible fame) was the policeman who gave Casey & Chuck their tickets early in the movie.

Terrific remake of JOHNNY DARK (Universal, 1954), like the title says, this is a lively, fun picture. A young auto enthusiast and race-car driver, Casey Owens (James Darren reprising the Tony Curtis role from the earlier picture) enters a cross-country endurance road race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Nevada. The car(s) he enters in the race were the unique Chrysler Turbine Cars, of which 50 examples were built; a few of them were used on loan from Chrysler Corporation to make this movie, a few were sent to Auto Museums around the country after their testing was completed, and the rest were unfortunately destroyed to please the IRS. A cool, very enjoyable teenage-market movie, although with the usual teen romance, this was made by Universal to compete with Elvis Presley's MGM picture VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964) then in production, and this movie turned out to be more satisfying with an audience than the contrived romance of ELVIS and Ann-Margret, despite their obvious on-screen chemistry. And, to be even more cool, there were some surf music-hot rod songs by The Surfaris, like "Boss Barracuda", a song by hit pop singer Joanie Sommers (in her only movie role), "Casey Wake Up!", and the first film score written by pop singer Bobby Darin, who wisely did not sing in this movie. But what put this picture over the top was the elaborate, realistic, grueling road race from L.A. to Las Vegas, covered by real KMPC Radio announcers Dick Whittinghill and Captain Max Schumaker. Great stuff! Great cast! Highly recommended. From the same team that made the classic Universal sci-fi movies of the 1950s like IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. So what's not to like? So Universal, why isn't this out on video?

The main reason I love this movie is because it shows off the Chrysler Turbine Car to great effect. The scene where the camera zooms in on the exposed turbine engine during the road race still gives me goosebumps when I see it. Back in the sixties that was like saying, "Here's the Future, folks; get a close-up look at it in action!"

The rest of the movie is admittedly a bit stilted and obvious, but Darren and McClure are earnest and believable, and the race scenes are well staged and filmed. Seeing the actual race drivers in their younger days is kind of fun, too.

I was shocked upon a recent viewing because when I saw this film as a kid I remember believing that the evening desert scenes were actually filmed outdoors! Now the studio lighting and backdrops are painfully obvious to adult eyes.

I always wondered why such a Chrysler-oriented movie would have so many Mercurys hanging around (Pam's convertible Comet, most notably.) Were there some hard feelings between the studio and Chrysler, for some reason, which may have caused the director to populate the sets with competitor's cars? I would much rather have seen Furys and 300 Letter cars in this instance. However, those two great Engel Imperials are worth the price of admission for me.

I just wanted to tell anyone interested in this movie that it's available on DVD from a small specialty supplier of hot rod movies and rock and roll videos, www.thevideobeat.com. The quality is very good (it appears that it was recorded from an AMC broadcast) and is well worth it if you, like me are a fan of the Chrysler Turbine Car program.

As for the movie itself, what can I say that hasn't been said in earlier posts? The most interesting elements for me are any of the scenes where the Turbine Car is featured, the scenes in and around Los Angeles (where you can see how the area has changed in the 40 years since the movie was filmed) and the racing scenes filmed in Death Valley (before it was a National Park) with the cooperation of the Department of the Interior, something that would never happen today.

Just to say that the '32 Ford Channeled roadster driven by Casey is powered by a genuine Chevy 409 With original tri-power which makes it very quick. Seems to have very low gears. Maybe 5.13s Oh well. You can still buy this VHS movie on the Internet. This little hot rod completely overshadows the Chrysler Turbine car. Look for Mickey Thompson and Wink Martindale Of course Pamela Tiffin too. The scene by the swimming pool is kinda funny Too much kissing Too bad about Doug McClure and Marilyn Maxwell

That Buick powered T Bucket looks like a Tommy Ivo car, but sure does blow a rod. Some of the drag strip scenes are very nostalgic Peter Beamer.

Great old movie. Loved it when it came out and still do. Nice hot rods. Although some of the drag racing scenes appear to be 'sped up', the road racing scenes are really nice.

Callling it a 409 is really just a guess. Chevy also built a 348 getting ready for the "big block", a 396 or 427 or 454 like the Two-Lane Blacktop '55 Chevy had. The 409 and 348 had those odd-shaped rocker covers. I sure hope The Lively Set becomes available for purchase at AMAZON.COM.

I just watched this movie on AMC and I was struck by how similar it was to the cartoon "Speed Racer". I loved that cartoon as a child, and I wondered how Peter Fernandez (voice, writer and talent behind the cartoon) veered so completely from the more violent Japanese Anime original, to focus on a much more "Americanized" theme (Peter Fernandez wrote the scripts). It is interesting to see the cartoon's probable genesis.

James Darren plays a character just like Speed Racer--a young man totally focused on cars and racing, and how to make a car engine better, faster. He even has a white race car with the number five painted on it. His character, Casey Owens, is hard working and relentless, someone who would rather spend his talents creating than sitting in a college classroom. He wants to do things his own way, with or without help, so he drops out of college to satisfy his dreams of building a faster engine.

But he learns (by family and friends pushing him into it) that hard work and talent are not enough in the real world-- you have to have an edge (i.e. money). Eventually, with the support of friends and family, Casey builds the revolutionary turbine engine.

According to AMC, the film uses the real turbine engine that Chrysler pioneered. Three hundred were made and they ran on almost anything--perfume, alcohol, whatever. The engines were eventually destroyed, but at the time, they were ahead of their time, a hint of the technology to come.

Just like "Trixie" in the cartoon, Casey has a wonderful brunette sidekick in the way of actress Pamela Tiffin. She is a beauty, reminiscent of actresses Karina Lombard and Catherine Zeta-Jones, with a great comedic flair. Her character, Eadie Manning, knows about cars, and tolerates Casey's obsession. At first, all she wants is to marry Casey, then just to be his bud--she genuinely wants him to win, to help make his dreams come true.

Who can resist that kind of support? Casey isn't stupid--he doesn't, they marry and he wins the race of course. The only thing missing from this entertaining movie, is a small boy and a monkey. :-)

Great race scene at the end--but remember, this was made in the sixties.

Just to add a bit to my initial review. If it was in fact a 348 block then I had many opportunities to drive my friend's '61 chevy (with a genuine 348 with factory tri-power and 4.11s) in moving it from one parking lot to another at UCLA. Of course I always got my foot in it and it really hauled ass. I saw another car like that the other day (a '62 with a 409), kinda like to have that '62.

I first saw this movie when I was in the Air Force back in 1964. I like it very much then. I saw it again last night on AMC and I still liked it a lot but I did not realize back in 1964 how hokey the non racing scenes where. However, there were enough racing scenes to carry the movie and it was fun to see it again. I recommend it to anyone who wants some "light" racing car entertainment. I think it was better than any Elvis movie of the era.

I saw this bow-wow at a drive-in when I was about 15. I thought then that Pamela Tiffin was the worst actress I had ever seen. The male reviewers are all bewitched by her looks, but I've seen granite boulders that were more interesting actors. James Darren was a pretty face who wasn't much of an actor, but he did manage to do better than his co-stars-- a dim starlet and a car.