The First Auto

The First Auto (1927)

See this picture---it's funny enough to make a horse laugh.

The transition from horses to automobiles at the turn of the century causes problems between a father and son.

Date of release
1927-06-27
TMDB
5.8 / 10 (5)
Runtime
1h 15m
Genres
Comedy
Director
Roy Del Ruth

Casting

Interesting facts

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. As of January 1, 2023, the film is in the public domain.

Production

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.

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.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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