Excuse My Dust

During the early '20s, Wallace Reid starred in a number of snappy car racing films. This one was adapted from the Saturday Evening Post story "THE BEAR TRAP," by Bryon Morgan, the same author responsible for the story to Reid's prior film, THE ROARING ROAD. "Toodles" Walden (Reid) is manager of the Darco auto concern. His father-in-law, J.D. Ward, also known as "the Bear" (Theodore Roberts), is the company's president. Ward has a Darco with a powerful, new motor, which he is hiding from his rivals at the Fargot Motor Car Company. Its president, Mutchler (Tully Marshall), is determined to get his hands on the design. One of Fargot's racing drivers, Ritz (Walter Long), gets Walden involved in a street race and he is arrested. As a result, the angry Ward makes sure his license is suspended and sells the three Darco racing cars. The Fargot company acquires two of them and disguises them as Fargots. The firm challenges Darco to a race and Ward puts up ten thousand dollars for a Los Angeles-to-San Francisco race. Walden buys the other old Darco, which the Fargot people assume is the one with the new motor. Ward still has it and he gets into the race himself when he hears that Ritz has been ordered to destroy Walden's car. Walden beats Ritz up and takes over the other Fargot car. Ward wins the race, with Walden coming in second.