Actor Cornel Wilde branched out into directing with The Devil's Hairpin--reserving the starring role for himself. Wilde plays a motor racing champion who ruins his career through his reprehensible behavior on and off the track. Thrown off the racing circuit in disgrace after crippling his brother in an accident, Wilde tries to make a comeback, and to compensate for his past recklessness. Jean Wallace, who was Mrs. Cornel Wilde at the time, plays the girl who supervises Wilde's redemption. The Devil's Hairpin set the standard for Cornel Wilde's later directorial efforts: Pedestrian dialogue sequences, first-rate action highlights.