Rubber Tires (1927) DVD-R

Starring Bessie Love, Erwin Connelly, Frank Coghlan Jr., May Robson, Harrison Ford
Directed by Alan Hale

Print: black/white
Runtime: 70 min.
Genre: comedy

Those who believe that It Happened One Night was the first film to tap the comic potential of "auto courts" (later known as motels) are referred to the 1927 film Rubber Tires. It all begins when the Stack family sells all its worldly possessions, invests in a car, and heads to California. Every possible disaster befalls them, from flat tires to busted radiators, but the family is always rescued by Bill James (Harrison Ford), the erstwhile sweetheart of Mary Ellen Stack (Bessie Love). Upon arriving in the Golden State, Pa Stack (Erwin Connelly) finds that a promised job has fallen through, but fortunately the manufacturer of their car gives the family a huge cash reward for proving the durability of the auto. Rubber Tires was filmed on locations ranging from Monterey Bay to the coast of Carmel; according to co-star Frank "Junior" Coghlan, one scene was filmed in the tiny chili stand owned by future "restaurateur-to-the-stars" Dave Chasen.