The First Auto

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1927 film by Roy Del Ruth

title: "The First Auto" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1927-films", "1920s-english-language-films", "american-silent-feature-films", "american-black-and-white-films", "films-about-automobiles", "films-directed-by-roy-del-ruth", "films-produced-by-darryl-f.-zanuck", "films-set-in-1895", "films-set-in-1905", "transitional-sound-comedy-drama-films", "warner-bros.-films", "1927-comedy-drama-films", "early-sound-films", "1927-american-films", "american-silent-comedy-drama-films", "synchronized-sound-films", "english-language-comedy-drama-films"] description: "1927 film by Roy Del Ruth" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Auto" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1927 film by Roy Del Ruth ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

Field	Value
name	The First Auto
image	TheFirstAuto-poster-1927.jpg
caption	Theatrical release poster
director	Roy Del Ruth
writer	Anthony Coldeway (scenario)
Jack Jarmuth (titles)
story	Darryl F. Zanuck
producer	Darryl F. Zanuck
starring	Barney Oldfield
Patsy Ruth Miller
cinematography	David Abel
editing	Martin Wall Bolger (uncredited)
music	Herman S. Heller
studio	Warner Bros. Pictures
distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures
released
runtime	75 minutes
country	United States
language	Sound (Synchronized)
(English Intertitles)
::

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.

Plot

In 1895, champion horse racer and livery stable owner Hank Armstrong is greatly disturbed by the advent of the "horseless carriage" in Maple City. He mocks Elmer Hays, a car manufacturer, when he states in a public lecture that the days of the horse are numbered and that a car will one day go 30 miles an hour. However, Armstrong's efforts are in vain. He quarrels with his friends when they start purchasing the machines and is only stopped from horsewhipping his own car-mad son Bob by the timely appearance of Bob's girlfriend Rose Robbins.

Bob leaves to find a job in nearby Detroit. There, he is present when famed driver Barney Oldfield (playing himself) breaks the speed record, driving a mile in a minute. Meanwhile, Hank goes bankrupt and has to sell off all his possessions to satisfy his creditors.

One day in 1905, Bob returns, without telling his father, to compete in the first car race in the county. A jealous rival for Rose's affections convinces Hank to tamper with a car on display so that it will explode. When Bob sends Rose to bring his father to the race, Hank is horrified to discover he has sabotaged his son's car. They hurry to the track, but are too late. Bob's car crashes and burns. Hank is convinced he has killed Bob and burns down his livery stable, but Rose brings word that Bob is expected to live. Relieved, Hank gives up his hopeless resistance and joins his son in his car manufacturing company.

Cast

Barney Oldfield as himself - the Master Driver
Patsy Ruth Miller as Rose Robbins
Charles Emmett Mack as Bob Armstrong
Russell Simpson as Hank Armstrong
Frank Campeau as Mayor Jim Robbins
William Demarest as Dave Doolittle, the village cut-up
Paul Kruger as Steve Bentley
Gibson Gowland as the blacksmith
E. H. Calvert as Elmer Hays, the inventor
Douglas Gerrard as Banker Stebbins, the richest man in town
Anders Randolf as the auctioneer (uncredited)

Production

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Henry_Ford_and_Barney_Oldfield_with_Old_999,_1902.jpg" caption="Barney Oldfield and [[Henry Ford]] with the ''999'' race car, shown on a postcard in the film."] ::

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, 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.

Reception

The New York Times reviewer, Mordaunt Hall characterized The First Auto as "... packed with sentiment, but it is nevertheless a good entertainment." He noted that Oldfield was driving a famous race car, Henry Ford's 999.

References

{{AFI film. 9069
[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/F/FirstAuto1927.html Progressive Silent Film List: ''The First Auto''] at silentera.com. Retrieved: April 1, 2014.
Miller, Frank [https://web.archive.org/web/20110930001952/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/767/The-First-Auto/#articles-reviews "The First Auto (1927)" (article)] [[TCM.com]]
Drew, William M. (1989) ''Speaking of Silents: First Ladies of the Screen.'' New York: The Vestal Press. pp. 151–152, 281. {{ISBN. 978-0-91157-281-0.
Miller, Frank. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110930001952/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/767/The-First-Auto/#articles-reviews ""The First Auto (1927)".] ''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: April 1, 2014.
Hall, Mourdant. [https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F04E3D6133FE03ABC4B53DFB166838C639EDE "First Auto (1927)."] ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 3, 1927.

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