Across the Continent on AllMovie

Wallace Reid starred in a legion of comedy-dramas involving speeding cars and most of them (generally written by Byron Morgan) were interchangeable -- this one is no exception. John Dent (Paramount's most dependable character actor, Theodore Roberts) manufactures solid, dependable -- and rather boring -- cars (these were a spoof on Ford's Model T's, changed around just enough to avoid a lawsuit). His son Jimmy (Reid), who works at his father's plant, has no use for these "flivvers," since he likes the bigger, flashier models made by Dent's rival, Dutton Tyler (with Walter Long in this role, it's almost guaranteed he'll turn out to be villainous). Dent orders that all his employees -- Jimmy included -- drive a Dent, but Jimmy rebels. There's a cross-country race going on, and since he has been carrying on a flirtation with Tyler's daughter Lorraine (Betty Francisco), he decides to ride with her and her father. Tyler's car holds the record, and Jimmy finds out why -- because he sabotages the competition. So Jimmy turns around and mans one of his pop's cars instead. He wins the race in the trusty Dent, and also wins a better girl (Mary MacLaren). Reid's inert performance and lack of closeups were obvious enough to be noted in trade paper Motion Picture News -- the star would die within a year of drugs and perhaps the effects of his addiction were showing.