The First Auto

The First Auto
The First Auto
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Roy Del Ruth
Written by	Anthony Coldeway (scenario); Jack Jarmuth (titles)
Story by	Darryl F. Zanuck
Produced by	Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring	Barney Oldfield; Patsy Ruth Miller
Cinematography	David Abel
Edited by	Martin Wall Bolger (uncredited)
Music by	Herman S. Heller
Production; company	Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	June 27, 1927 (New York City); September 18, 1927 (US);
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	Sound (Synchronized); (English Intertitles)

The full film

The First Auto is a 1927 American synchronized sound drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth about the transition from horses to cars and the rift it causes in one family. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects, some spoken words, cheering, and laughter, using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The film stars Charles Emmett Mack and Patsy Ruth Miller, with Barney Oldfield having a guest role in the movie.^[3]^[2]^[4] As of January 1, 2023, the film is in the public domain.

Plot[edit]

In 1895, champion horse racer and livery stable owner Hank Armstrong is greatly disturbed by the advent of the "horseless carriage" in Maple City. He mocks Elmer Hays, a car manufacturer, when he states in a public lecture that the days of the horse are numbered and that a car will one day go 30 miles an hour. However, Armstrong's efforts are in vain. He quarrels with his friends when they start purchasing the machines and is only stopped from horsewhipping his own car-mad son Bob by the timely appearance of Bob's girlfriend Rose Robbins.

Bob leaves to find a job in nearby Detroit. There, he is present when famed driver Barney Oldfield (playing himself) breaks the speed record, driving a mile in a minute. Meanwhile, Hank goes bankrupt and has to sell off all his possessions to satisfy his creditors.

One day in 1905, Bob returns, without telling his father, to compete in the first car race in the county. A jealous rival for Rose's affections convinces Hank to tamper with a car on display so that it will explode. When Bob sends Rose to bring his father to the race, Hank is horrified to discover he has sabotaged his son's car. They hurry to the track, but are too late. Bob's car crashes and burns. Hank is convinced he has killed Bob and burns down his livery stable, but Rose brings word that Bob is expected to live. Relieved, Hank gives up his hopeless resistance and joins his son in his car manufacturing company.

Cast[edit]

Barney Oldfield as himself - the Master Driver
Patsy Ruth Miller as Rose Robbins
Charles Emmett Mack as Bob Armstrong
Russell Simpson as Hank Armstrong
Frank Campeau as Mayor Jim Robbins
William Demarest as Dave Doolittle, the village cut-up
Paul Kruger as Steve Bentley
Gibson Gowland as the blacksmith
E. H. Calvert as Elmer Hays, the inventor
Douglas Gerrard as Banker Stebbins, the richest man in town
Anders Randolf as the auctioneer (uncredited)

Production[edit]

To ensure authenticity and provide a measure of safety in the racing scenes for The First Auto, race car driver Barney Oldfield was hired as a technical coordinator. Oldfield, the first to reach a speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), in 1903, also was given a small role in the film.^[5]

Mack was killed in an accident while driving to work, prior to the end of filming. According to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, his car was struck broadside by a wagon on a country road. His co-star Patsy Ruth Miller had turned down a ride with him that day because she was not needed for filming until later. The last scene shows Hank at a car race, while Bob and Rose are away (off-screen) at a horse show.^[5]

Reception[edit]

The New York Times reviewer, Mordaunt Hall characterized The First Auto as "... packed with sentiment, but it is nevertheless a good entertainment." He noted that Oldfield was driving a famous race car, Henry Ford's 999.^[6]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e The First Auto at the American Film Institute Catalog
^ ^a ^b Miller, Frank "The First Auto (1927)" (article) TCM.com
^ Progressive Silent Film List: The First Auto at silentera.com. Retrieved: April 1, 2014.
^ Drew, William M. (1989) Speaking of Silents: First Ladies of the Screen. New York: The Vestal Press. pp. 151–152, 281. ISBN 978-0-91157-281-0.
^ ^a ^b Miller, Frank. ""The First Auto (1927)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: April 1, 2014.
^ Hall, Mourdant. "First Auto (1927)." The New York Times, July 3, 1927.

External links[edit]

Media related to The First Auto at Wikimedia Commons
The full text of The First Auto at Wikisource
The First Auto at the American Film Institute Catalog
The First Auto at IMDb
The First Auto at the TCM Movie Database
The First Auto at AllMovie

[afi-1] The First Auto at the American Film Institute Catalog

[tcmart-2] Miller, Frank "The First Auto (1927)" (article) TCM.com

[3] Progressive Silent Film List: The First Auto at silentera.com. Retrieved: April 1, 2014.

[4] Drew, William M. (1989) Speaking of Silents: First Ladies of the Screen. New York: The Vestal Press. pp. 151–152, 281. ISBN 978-0-91157-281-0.

[Miller-5] Miller, Frank. ""The First Auto (1927)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: April 1, 2014.

[6] Hall, Mourdant. "First Auto (1927)." The New York Times, July 3, 1927.

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