The young boy who would come to be known as "Burn-'Em-Up" Barnes (Jack Mulhall) dreamed of becoming a professional race car driver. As he grew older, he raced motorcycles and speedboats, and eventually succeeded in becoming a racing car champion heralded as "The King of the Dirt Tracks." When Barnes' best friend, photographer George Riley, is killed by an out-of-control race car, Barnes decides to retire from racing and look after George's kid brother Bobbie (Frankie Darro). To earn money, Burn-'Em-Up forms a partnership with businesswoman Marjorie Temple (Lola Lane) to form the Temple & Barnes Transportation school bus company. Marjorie intends to sell a "worthless" plot of land to race promoter John Drummond (Jason Robards) to pay her overdue bills, but what Marjorie doesn't know is that her land is rich in oil deposits and the corrupt Drummond will do anything--including murder--to get the land from her!
Jack Mulhall plays the lead role with an extra dose of enthusiasm--always in motion in every scene. You will need to suspend your disbelief when Burn-'Em-Up survives certain-death car and plane crashes, but actor Frankie Darro's physical quickness and agility makes his many escape sequences seem quite believable. BURN-'EM-UP BARNES may be somewhat corny and dated by today's standards, but it is action-packed and full of charm. Kids in the 1930s must have eaten this up. (1934 - Mascot Pictures)
Jack Mulhall plays the lead role with an extra dose of enthusiasm--always in motion in every scene. You will need to suspend your disbelief when Burn-'Em-Up survives certain-death car and plane crashes, but actor Frankie Darro's physical quickness and agility makes his many escape sequences seem quite believable. BURN-'EM-UP BARNES may be somewhat corny and dated by today's standards, but it is action-packed and full of charm. Kids in the 1930s must have eaten this up. (1934 - Mascot Pictures)
Category
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Short film