Crack O'Dawn on AllMovie

Produced on the cheap by Harry J. Brown, this silent car-racing drama starred former male model Reed Howes and Ruth Dwyer as lovers whose feuding fathers (J.P. McGowan and Henry A. Barrows), former business partners, are both dead set against the union. When the girl's father discovers that his rival's enterprising son has built his own race car and plans to enter the big race, the jealous manufacturer indulges in a bit of sabotage. But despite numerous perils, Howes manages not only to win the race but also reunite the partners. Crack O'Dawn was photographed by Lee Garmes, an ace cinematographer and lighting expert who would win an Academy Award for Shanghai Express seven years later.