Essentially a 10-minute trailer for the feature THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE, this short begins with some promise as the uncredited narrator booms out hyperbole about a supposedly "brilliant yellow" 1930 Phantom II. Unfortunately, the surviving print of THE CAR THAT BECAME A STAR is in black and white, sort of defeating the whole purpose of watching such post-MAD MEN era flackery. To add insult to injury, the final third of this increasingly tedious promo is pre-empted BY A FASHION SHOW. The craftsmen who assembled this luxury model probably were set spinning in their graves as a bevy of Joan Leslie models rub their rumps on the poor Rolls in their allegedly yellow outfits (drab shades of gray here, of course). Some of the material modeled appears just slightly less coarse than steel wool. Possibly a young Stephen King was similarly traumatized by the injustices heaped upon this classic ride, inspiring his automotive revenge tale CHRISTINE (subsequently adapted as a feature film). Such shenanigans might be humorous when heaped upon a 1928 Porter in the classic TV situation comedy MY MOTHER THE CAR, but a Phantom never should have been demeaned with CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG-style disrespect. Obviously, THE CAR THAT BECAME A STAR could not make the rounds on Jay Leno's watch!
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boblipton21 February 2023Here's another of the coming attractions shorts that became a thing by the end of the studio period of film production. While coming attraction shorts of a minute or two continued, and do so to this day, for the big movies that the studios hoped to drive their profits, they would produce longer movies, sometimes as much as a full reel in length, offering some unusual aspect of the movie. It might be the beauty of the location used on the shoot, or the operations of the costuming department. For the feature THE YELLOW ROLL ROYCE, we get a look at the eponymous car.
Which was a blue Rolls until they repainted it for the movie. We also get a look at some of the stars.