Wildcat Bus (1940) User Reviews

Slow Vehicle

[boblipton · 5/10 · 30 October 2006]

This rather poor RKO programmer manages to keep some interest going, mostly due to Fay Wray, who struggles with the poor material, but who is canny enough to make the most of her close-ups, and to Paul Guilefoyle who is pretty good is his supporting role as the hot-tempered moral center of the piece. Leading man -- actually, leading chump -- Charles Lang suggests, if anyone, a rather clueless Dan Duryea.

The plot, about a struggling bus line, owned by Miss Wray's father and run by her, despite the efforts by wildcatters to put it out of business by faking accidents, has hints of screwball comedy about it at some points, but it is rarely played for laughs. Lang, the newly indigent ex-playboy, is down to his last limousine, which has its potential, but the effect is not funny, merely incongruous. Not a terrible piece to watch, but not to go out of your way for.

Efficient little programmer

[fredcdobbs5 · 5/10 · 31 August 2014]

Looking more like it came from "B" action specialist Breezy Eason at Warners than little-known Frank Woodruff at RKO, this quickie little time-filler about crooked limo drivers trying to drive a bus company out of business accomplished what it set out to do, no more or no less. The script is serviceable, at best, if too talky at times, and leading man Charles Lang--in only his second picture--is rather colorless and bland and has no chemistry whatever with star Fay Wray, though she tries hard. There's some action on the road, and if you're a vintage-car enthusiast you'll really like all the shiny new--at the time--Packards, Chevys and other models sprinkled throughout the picture, and there's a pretty good though brief brawl near the end. Wray is still as beautiful and sexy as she was seven years earlier in "King Kong" and, as other reviewers have stated, is probably the best reason to watch this picture. It's OK, nothing more, and a decent way to pass the time. Nothing special, though.

"We've got a job ahead of us and we can do it!"

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 3 September 2014]

This picture reminded of the 1932 programmer "Taxi!" starring Jimmy Cagney, but in reflecting on what happened in this one, it's a little baffling. I can see two rival cab companies going up against each other to try and steal the other guy's customers, but how does it work with a cab company versus a bus company? It's really two different types of customers, one presumably for the long haul and one for getting around town. Even back in 1940, I can't imagine a cab company being so hard up for business they'd have to knock off a bus company. It just doesn't make sense to me. Especially when you consider that both companies were vying for passengers on an LA to San Francisco run!

But you know what floored me even more? When Ted Dawson (Fay Wray) took matters into her own hands to investigate possible sabotage on the part of the cabbies, she got a quote of four dollars to make the trip, and chiseled foreman Casey down to three and a half! How crazy is that?

Things wound up a bit more believable at the finale with the reveal that the cab company was run by Ma Talbot (Leona Roberts), whose husband was fired by Federated owner Dawson (Oscar O'Shea) for stealing. Ma called the shots on when and where her goons would sabotage the buses causing them to crash, thereby creating a financial burden on Federated.

Say, pay attention to that scene when Casey pays off Jerry Waters (Charles Lang) when he quit. Casey said he owed Jerry two dollars, but handed him more than two bills! But the better goof was when driver Donovan (Paul Guilfoyle) crashed his bus after a Federated thug ran him off the road. When Casey made his way into the bus, all the passengers were gone!!?? What!!??

Well even if a story doesn't have much going for it like this one, I get a kick out of that kind of goofy stuff that no one ever picked up on while making the picture. It always makes me wonder why no one thought things through to consider whether events written into the script were believable or not.

Seriously???

[Michael_Elliott · 9 September 2010]

Wildcat Bus (1940)

** (out of 4)

Warner made a crime picture about taxi drivers in the entertaining TAXI! so I guess RKO thought they'd push the envelope by making a crime picture with bus drivers. This film, however, is pretty dull from start to finish. In the film a playboy (Charles Lang) goes bankrupt so he has to get a job at a bus company ran by a woman (Fay Wray) and her father. The bus company has had all sorts of accidents that are ruining their company but they begin to think that it's racketeers running a taxi service that's trying to steal their business. This RKO picture runs a very brief 63-minutes but at times it feels doubt that length. The biggest problem is the rather bland direction that puts very little life into the picture. The screenplay really doesn't help matters either as all the characters are pretty one-dimensional and none are overly interesting. The bad guys are carbon copies of what you'd see in a Warner picture and the good guys are just boring and constantly saying bad jokes. Lang is okay in his role but the screenplay pretty much lets his character done as at times he's annoying and it's really hard to care too much for him. Wray is pretty much going by the numbers but once again, a lot of this could be blamed on the screenplay or direction. Paul Guilfoyle, Don Costello, Paul McGrath and Joe Sawyer round out the supporting players. There's very little energy to anything in the film as the entire story just feels forced and it's just not interesting enough to carry the short running time. The ending picks up a few punches as we get a big fight sequence with plenty of punches and kicks.

Leave the driving to who?

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 14 October 2010]

Crooked racketeers are using passenger cars to take customers away from a legitimate bus company. The daughter of the owner (Fay Wray) investigates and helps break up the racket with one of the members of the crooked gang who has found out first hand what they are capable of.

This is a typical RKO programmer of this era, 90% of their annual releases. Rarely seen until Turner Classics brought them out from mothballs, these features are a mixed bag, and this one, which has a few redeeming values, is like many others of the golden age of cinema.

Somewhat violent, not as fast moving as similar crime dramas made at Warner Brothers, they've got all the necessary ingredients to be nothing more than just forgettable bottom-of-the-bill features that ended when television came along. Wray is feisty, and Leona Roberts, as a slovenly landlady with a secret, adds spark to what otherwise would be simply ordinary.

Half Empty Glass

[SFTeamNoir · 4/10 · 14 July 2020]

An evil granny gangsta tries to bring down Fay Wray's family busing business. Light comedy, romance, and harrowing vintage bus crashes, but not enough juice to fill your glass.

Very good B movie

[joeshoe89 · 7/10 · 30 October 2006]

Seen on Turner Classic movies, this is a quick very entertaining little B movie. It features Fay Wray who is the main reason for watching as the daughter of the owner of a bus company who is being threatened by Ma whose husband was dad's partner and stealing from the company who dad got sent to jail. Ma is running a group of cars that go from LA to San Fran for a price in order to take business away from the bus company. There are also sabotage on the buses and using cars to force the buses into crashing. The best part is two strong women Fay and Ma even if Fay ends up quick for marriage to Jerry at the end. Ma isn't quite so lucky.

Fay Wray.. .it aint king kong.

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 11 September 2020]

Fay Wray, years after her big film King Kong. She runs a bus line with her dad, but lately mysterious things have been happening to their buses, causing them to break down and get in accidents. Charles Lang is Jerry Waters, who needs money fast, so he applies as a bus driver. but gets caught up in a syndicate that transports people in private cars without a license. the script is not great. story is just silly. and some of the acting is pretty iffy. was transporting people around without a license really a big problem in 1940? maybe so. this one wasn't anyone's best work! it's just a shortie from RKO, at 64 minutes. Directed by Frank Woodruff. he only directed eleven films. three of em in 1940, and this was one of them. written by Lou Lusty. he also produced two Annabel films with Lucille Ball!