Motor Racing feature films!
Discussion
A
Angel on Earth (1966). An airline stewardess falls in love with a race car driver. His guardian angel, taking the form of the stewardess, shepherds him through some difficult times and, after helping him win the Grand Prix de Monaco, arranges for the two to marry. Starring Romy Schneider and Henri Vidal.
Army Bound (1952). Stanley Clements, Gill Stratton Jr., Karen Sharpe, and Steve Brody star in the story of a midget driver who is drafted and tries to get leave to drive in the big race. Action from Saugus and Culver City speedways.
B
Back Street (1941). This melodrama starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullivan is notable for its scenes of the Vanderbilt Cup race. Barney Oldfield, winner of the 1907 Vanderbilt Cup, worked as a technical advisor in the film and two of his cars, a 1909 six-cylinder Stearns and a 1012 four-cylinder, sixteen-valve Prince Henry Benz, were used in the movie.
Baffled; TV movie (1972). Race driver Leonard Nimoy has visions of people in danger.
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913). Mack Sennett comedy starring Mabel Normand, with top driver Barney Oldfield as himself. Oldfield must race a train in his roadster to save Mabel, who is chained to the railroad tracks.
The Betsy; also called Harold Robbins' The Betsy (1978). In this heavy melodrama, Laurence Olivier hires race driver Tommy Lee Jones to design a new automobile model called "The Betsy" in honor of his granddaughter. A rather high class treatment of Robbins' enjoyable sleaze.
The Big Wheel (1949). Mickey Rooney races hot rods and midgets at California tracks. When he causes the death of another driver, he goes to the dirt tracks of the East to find a ride. The climax is the Indy 500. Lots of track footage from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Culver City (California) Speedway.
Bikini Beach (1964). Teen surfers get into drag racing. Starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
The Blonde Comet (1941). Driver Barney Oldfield appears in this story of a woman driver, played by Virginia Dale, who competes successfully against men in European races such as the Grand Prix series and the Corriere D'Italia. In the end she lets the boyfriend win and yields to his demands that when they marry only the man in the family will work. Features race footage of "big cars" at tracks including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Southern Ascot Speedway and Oakland Speedway in California.
Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus; TV movie (1978).
Bobby Deerfield (1977). A race car driver played by Al Pacino falls in love with an ailing socialite played by Marthe Keller. Based on the novel Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque.
Born to Race (1988). Kidnappers grab an engineer to get her revolutionary engine design. Starring Joseph Bottoms, George Kennedy, Marc Singer, and Maria Heasley.
Born to Speed (1947). Johnny Sands plays the son of a midget racer who was killed at the track. He rebuilds his father's race car and goes racing against his mother's wishes. Frank Orth co-stars as the faithful mechanic, Don Castle as the rival, and Terry Austin as the love interest. The foreword to the film states: "Out of man's mania for speed grew the midget racer...A BULLET ON WHEELS. Though tiny in size the midget racer is mighty in power. Today, on scores of speedways from Maine to California, daring drivers pilot these little buzz-bombs in thrill-packed contests that draw over forty-five million fans a year....Most midget pilots work their way up from the Bush-League Circuits. Many a country barn and smalltown shed shelters a car which a speed-loving youngster is building. And many a dawn finds him secretly training, preparing himself for the chance of a lifetime."
Buck Privates Come Home (1947). Abbott and Costello farce in which they become partners with a race car driver and designer and go through all manner of shenanigans to get the car out of hock and enter it in the Gold Cup race. Costello takes the wheel and quickly loses control, exiting the racetrack with the police in pursuit. An automobile manufacturer is so impressed with the speed of the car that he orders a number of them.
Burn 'Em Up Barnes (1921). A wealthy young man who likes to drive fast (Johnny Hines) is robbed and dumped into a box car, where he falls in with a band of hobos. The climax is an auto race in which he foils the thieves, who have robbed a bank and are using the race to escape.
Burn 'Em Up Barnes (1934). This twelve- part serial was spliced into a feature film. A young driver (Jack Mulhall) retires after a friend is killed during a race, and enters a business partnership with a friend (Marjorie Temple). He signs on as a test driver to make enough money to keep the business afloat and eventually saves it from unscrupulous profiteers. Dirt track racing.
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor (1938). Dennis O'Keefe plays an up-and-coming midget driver who hooks up with Harry Carey, a car builder who wants to break speed records, no matter the danger to his drivers. Track action includes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Roosevelt Field, New York. Based on the novel Salute to the Gods by Sir Malcolm Campbell.
C
California Holiday. SEE Spinout
Cannonball; also called Carquake (1976). David Carradine survives all the dirty tactics of rival drivers in this story of a road race from Los Angeles to New York. The film has a full complement of car crashes.
The Cannonball Run (1981). Another "screaming-wheels" film by Hal Needham follows Burt Reynolds in a wide-open cross country race.
The Cannonball Run II (1984). This sequel, a car crash extravaganza, follows Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise as they compete in a no-holds-barred coast to coast race.
Carquake. SEE Cannonball
The Challengers; TV movie (1969).
The Checkered Flag (1926). A mechanic designs a special carburetor and installs it in the car he intends to race against a field that also includes an entry from his prospective father-in-law. Unbeknownst to anyone, including the audience, his fiancee drives the car for him and wins.
The Checkered Flag (1963). Dark story of the alcoholic, unfaithful wife of a wealthy playboy driver who seduces a young driver to kill her husband. It all ends badly. Some scenes were shot at Sebring, Florida and the Twelve Hours of Sebring sports car endurance race.
Checkered Flag or Crash (1977).
Checkpoint (1956). British film about road racing in Europe. Anthony Steel is a race driver who becomes involved in smuggling a wanted criminal (Stanley Baker) out of Italy. Includes footage from the Mille Miglia.
Corky; also called Lookin' Good (1971). Robert Blake gives an excellent performance in an otherwise forgettable film about a mechanic who sacrifices everything to pursue a career in stock car racing.
The Crowd Roars (1932). James Cagney is a star race car driver pointing toward the Indy 500. Romantic entanglements and track competition with his younger brother (Eric Linden), who is a member of his crew, complicate things. Also starring Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak. A number of drivers made cameo appearances, including Billy Arnold, Fred Frame, Ralph Hepburn, Wilbur Shaw, "Shorty" Cantlon, Mel Keneally, Stubby Stubblefield, Harry Hartz, Fred Guisso, Spider Matlock, Phil Pardee, Lou Schneider, Bryan Saulpaugh, and Frank Brisko.
Cry-Baby (1990). Off-beat musical comedy set in 1954 tells the story of juvenile delinquent “Crybaby” Walker (Johnny Depp), whose ability to shed a single tear drives the girls wild, and the convention-bound girl (Amy Locane), who is drawn to him. Inevitably there is the chicken run between the squares and the jd’s. Wild cast includes Polly Bergen, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, Troy Donahue, Joey Heatherton, David Nelson, and William Dafoe.
D
Danger on Wheels (1940). Dirt track racing is the setting as Richard Arlen plays a test driver who is named to drive in the big race. He secretly installs a banned oil burning engine in his car, and his victory proves its worth.
The Daredevil (1972). George Montgomery is the fearless stock car racer. Racing action at Golden Gate Speedway. Also starring Terry Moore.
Daredevil Drivers (1938). Race driver Bill Foster (Dick Purcell) is banned from racing for reckless driving. He becomes involved with the beautiful owner of a bus company (Beverly Roberts) and drives in an outlaw race to save her business.
Days of Thunder (1990). Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, and Nicole Kidman star in a cliched stock car racing story with characters based very loosely on Tim Richmond and Harry Hyde. Cruise plays Cole Trickle, a cocky young driver trying to break into Winston Cup racing. Duvall steals the show as his car builder and crew chief Harry Hogg. Lots of track action. A number of NASCAR drivers have cameo roles. (SCRC)
Death Race 2000 (1975). In this action packed, campy satire, a field including Frankenstein (David Carradine) and Machine Gun Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone) compete in a transcontinental road race that awards points for speed and hitting pedestrians. The Roger Corman film has become a minor cult classic.
The Devil on Wheels (1947). Teenagers drive recklessly and cause mayhem at every turn. A visual editorial on the dangers of hot rodding. Starring Darryl Hickman.
The Devil's Hairpin (1957). Cornel Wilde is an arrogant road racer who makes a comeback. Dull story line is saved by exciting racing scenes.
Drag Racer (1971). One of the better drag racing films, this is the story of a young man (Mark Slade) who gets a ride in a Top Fuel dragster (owned by Jeremy Slate and John Chandler). Deborah Walley plays the love interest. Race scenes were filmed at Irwindale Raceway, Lions Drag Strip, and Orange County International Raceway, and feature footage of drivers Gerry Glenn, John Peters, Dwight Salisbury, John Lombardo, Frank Graf, Bill Schultz, Larry Dixon, Norm Wilcox, Ray Alley, Sherm Gunn, Mike Snively, James Warren, Don Moody, and Bob Muravez. On-car cameras offer some interesting shots.
Drag Strip Girl (1957). Blonde bombshell Fay Spain likes hot rods and the guys who race them. There is the mechanic hero, played by Steve Terrell, and the playboy villain, played by John Ashley. Lots of street racing action.
Drag Strip Riot (1958). Corvette-driving delinquents come up against a motorcycle gang. Gary Clarke and Yvonne Lime lead the 'Vette racers into action.
Drive a Crooked Road (1954). Mickey Rooney is seduced by lovely Dianne Foster into driving the escape car in a bank hold-up. Rooney's performance as a lonely mechanic who dreams of becoming a top driver in European road racing is excellent.
Drive Hard, Drive Fast; TV movie (1969, telecast 1973). Race driver played by Brian Kelly gets involved with unsavory doings of co-stars Joan Collins and Joseph Campanella.
Driven (2001). Sylvester Stallone wrote and produced this disappointing story of CART racing. Casting himself in a supporting role, he features the story of a rookie driver (Kip Pardue) who competes against the veteran German (Til Schweiger) both on the track and in the bedroom. Co-starring Burt Reynolds. Lots of track action, including horrifying crash scenes in slow motion.
E
Eat My Dust! (1976). Ron Howard is the sheriff's son, but this isn't Mayberry and he isn't Opie. He steals a race car and takes off with his girlfriend, with his father and the race driver-owner of the car in pursuit.
Excuse My Dust (1920). This sequel to The Roaring Road reprises the character of auto salesman Toodles Walden (Wallace Reid). Toodles buys one of his father-in-law's race cars and wins the big race.
F
The Fast and the Furious (1954). John Ireland and Dorothy Malone star in this movie filmed against the backdrop of the Pebble Beach international sports car races. Ireland, who co-directed, did his own stunt work, driving his Jaguar 120 miles per hour. He liked the car so well that he bought it the last day of filming. This was Roger Corman’s second film.
The Fast and the Furious (2001). Vin Diesel (I kid you not) stars as the leader of a Los Angeles street racing group and Paul Walker plays the undercover cop who is investigating possible ties to truck hijacking.
Fast Company (1978). A champion drag racer (William Smith) and his motor oil company sponsor part ways when the company head (John Saxon) picks a younger driver. Our hero steals his car back and races it. Lots of drag strip action. Directed by Canadian David Cronenberg.
Fever Heat (1967). Nick Adams in his final film. Ace Jones, a former stock car racer who has been banned from the sport, befriends a woman and helps her get her garage business back on its feet. Jones races at the local tracks, much to the displeasure of the hometown drivers. Filmed at dirt tracks in Stuart, Oskaloosa, Des Moines, and Dexter, Iowa. The script was written by Henry Gregor Felsen, the author of a number of juvenile racing novels.
Fireball 500 (1966). The juvenile beach set hits the speedway. Frankie Avalon plays stock car racer "Fireball" Dave Owens. He comes to Spartanburg, South Carolina to race against the local champion (Fabian). Owens "races by day and foils moonshiners by night." The racing footage, filmed at Saugus Speedway in Saugus, California; and Ascot Park in Gardena, California; and the local color footage shot in Charlotte, North Carolina, are the highlights in this teen flick. Also starring Annette Funicello.
43: The Petty Story; also called Smash-Up Alley (1972). Stock car racing legend Richard Petty portrays himself and Darren McGavin plays his father Lee, also a racer, in a story that recounts the tension between the two. The poorly written film is salvaged by good racing action. (SCRC)
Fireball Jungle; also called Jungle Terror (1968). The mob tries to break into Southern stock car racing. Filmed in and around Tampa, Florida.
Fury on Wheels (1971). A young boy from the Appalachians becomes a stock car racer. Starring Judd Hirsch, Paul Sorvino, and Tom Ligon.
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Genevieve (1953). "Genevieve" is a 1904 Darracq roadster entered in the annual London-to-Brighton rally. Its owners, played by John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan, indulge in keen competition with their friendly rivals Kenneth More and Kay Kendall.
The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959). Hot rod gang with “cool kittens.” The film features a drag race on the Los Angeles River bottom. Stars include Jody Fair, Martin Braddock, and Russ Bender.
Girls Town (1959). The gals are beating the guys in this drag racing film featuring Mamie Van Doren, Gloria Talbott, Mel Torme, and Jim Mitchem. Music by Ray Anthony, the Platters, and Paul Anka.
Grand Prix (1966). Luscious cinematography and exciting racing highlight the story of four drivers competing for the World Championship. Starring James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Toshiro Mifune, Brian Bedford, and Jessica Walter. Garner trained with Bob Bondurant and did most of the driving himself, enjoying the experience so much that he competed in a number of events aferward. Filmed at tracks in England, Europe, and the U.S. (SCRC)
Greased Lightning (1919). The town blacksmith and inventor (Charles Ray) is inamored of automobiles and buys an old one that he converts into a race car he names "Greased Lightning." He abandons his lead in the county fair race to capture a bank robber.
Greased Lightning (1977). Based on the life of stock car driver Wendell Scott, the only black driver ever to win a race in NASCAR's top division. Richard Pryor stars, along with Beau Bridges, Pam Grier, and Cleavon Little.
The Great Race (1965). Wacky comedy about the 1908 New York to Paris race. Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood are the good guys, while Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk are delightful villains. Location scenes were filmed in Salzburg, Vienna, and Paris.
The Green Helmet (1961). Mediocre melodrama about an aging driver (Bill Travers). His younger brother (Sean Kelly) wants him to quit because he has promised their mother that he will not race until his brother retires. His girlfriend , played by Nancy Walters, is equally insistent. He wins the endurance race at Sebring and retires. Racing legend Jack Brabham plays himself. One of the few movies featuring Jaguars in road races. Racing sequences were filmed at Silverstone, Sebring, the Mille Miglia, and Le Mans. Based on the novel by Jon Cleary.
The Gumball Rally (1976). An unlikely group of people compete in a no-holds-barred auto race from New York to California. Based on the actual Cannonball Run. Starring Michael Sarrazin, Gary Busey, and Raul Julia.
H
Hard Charger. SEE Tiny Lund: Hard Charger
Hard Driver . SEE The Last American Hero
Hard Drivin'. SEE Thunder in Carolina
Harold Robbins' The Betsy . SEE The Betsy
Heart Like a Wheel (1983). An excellent film adaption of the life of drag racer Shirley Muldowny, who battled sex discrimination to become the NHRA champion. Bonnie Bedelia and Beau Bridges give outstanding performances as the feisty Muldowney and fellow racer (and husband) Connie Kallita. (SCRC)
Heights of Danger (1962). A man competes in an Alpine auto race in order to win the prize and save his family garage. Originally released in Great Britain in 1953.
Hell on Wheels (1967). Two brothers (John Ashley and Marty Robbins) are involved in moonshining and stock car racing. Robbins, who actually competed in a number of NASCAR events, also sings five songs.
High Explosive (1943). A daredevil midget racer takes a job driving for a friend's nitroglycerin shipping company. His carelessness costs a colleague his life, but in the end he sacrifices himself to save the company. Starring Chester Morris, Jean Parker, and Barry Sullivan.
High Gear (1933). Race driver "High Gear" Sherrod (James Murray) loses his nerve and quits racing when his mechanic is killed in a crash. He pays for the mechanic's son's education by working as a taxi driver. When the boy is seriously injured he overcomes his fear of speed and drives him to the hospital. He returns to the track and wins the big race. Includes dirt track racing action.
High School Caesar (1960). John Ashley as the quintessential high school punk. The film includes a ten car drag race between the brains and the gangsters. Also stars Judy Nugent and Steven Stevens.
High School Confidential; also called The Young Hellions (1958). A cult classic, this is the story of the new kid in high school (Russ Tamblyn) who gets into the drug scene in an attempt to be cool. Features drag races betwen Tamblyn and good guy Michael Landon. Also starring Mamie Van Doren, John Drew Barrymore, Jackie Coogan, and Jan Sterling. Jerry Lee Lewis sings the title song.
High Speed (1920). Driver Billy Brice (Edward Erle) has been wrongly banned from racing for accepting a bribe. He rescues wealthy Edith Rhoades (Gladys Hulette) and becomes the race driver for her father. He wins the race and Edith, and is cleared of the bribery charges. Some scenes were filmed at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in New York. Race car driver Ralph DePalma participated in some of the racing sequences. The film was based on the novel by Clinton H. Stagg.
High Speed (1932). Dirt track racing is the backdrop as the mob muscles in and gets rid of the opposition with lethal driving tactics. Cowboy star Buck Jones stars as the race driver turned policeman who cleans it all up.
Hips, Hips, Hooray! (1934). Musical comedy in which two friends (Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey) enter a cross country race and win.
Hot Rod (1950). Teens hold illegal drag races, but one of them finally convinces his father, a judge, of the need for a legal track to hold timing runs. "The film opens with footage of hot-rod time trials as an offscreen narrator describes legal hot-rod racing as 'educational as well as exciting,' and contrasts the sport with dangerous, illegal racing."
Hot Rod Action (1969). Keith Jackson narrates a documentary of all types of motor racing, including the Indianapolis 500, Motor Trend 500, Daytona 500, Southern 500, Winternational Drags, Indianapolis National Drags, and the World Championship Drags. Among the racing personalities appearing in the film are Craig Breedlove and Art Arfons.
Hot Rod Gang (1958). Racing scenes and music by Gene Vincent and the Bluecaps (“Be Bop A-Lula”
and Eddie Cochran are the highlights of this predictable film. John Ashley and Jody Fair star along with Vincent.
Hot Rod Girl (1950). June Kenney gets mixed up with Richard Bakalyan, who steals car parts. A cop is killed in a chicken race, and the young thief comes to a bad end.
Hot Rod Girl (1956). Policeman Churck Connors and his sidekick John Smith try to establish a drag strip to get teenage racing off the roads. Scenes were filmed at San Fernando Raceway. Also starring Lori Nelson, Mark Andrews, and Frank Gorshin.
Hot Rod Herman (1965). The Munsters go drag racing.
Hot Rod Hullabaloo (1966). A young student decides to enter the annual demolition derby. His rival tries to shoot him, but kills himself instead, and the student wins.
Hot Rod Rumble (1957). Big Arnie (Richard Hartunian) is accused of murder when a car like his Mercury forces his girlfriend (Leigh Snowden) and her current beau of the road and the boy dies. The film is highlighted by drag racing sequences from Pomona.
I
In Spite of Danger (1935). Dirt track champion Bob Crane (Wallace Ford) retires from racing after a serious crash and helps his friend start a trucking business. A business rival challenges our hero to a race to the top of Iron Mountain to determine who gets a trucking contract.
Indianapolis Speedway (1939). A remake of The Crowd Roars, starring Pat O'Brien as driver Joe Greer and John Payne as the kid brother who becomes his rival. Exciting track action. Drivers Billy Arnold, Elbert “Babe” Stapp, Louis Tomei, Fred Friday, Jimmy Miller, Fred Lecklider, Emory Collins, Bud Rose, and Art Klein appear in the film.
J
Jalopy (1953). The Bowery Boys are using a secret rocket fuel that makes their Model-T Ford unbeatable. Filmed at Culver Speedway, with real drivers George Dockstader, Fred Lamount, Harvey Perry, Louis Tomei, Dude Criswell, Dick Crockett, Pete Kellett, and Carey Loftin creating the action.
Johnny Dark (1954). Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie star in this romance of a young engineer who designs a car that wins a Canada-to-Mexico road race and also courts the boss’s granddaughter. Nice racing scenes; test track footage was filmed at the Packard proving grounds. The movie was made with the full cooperation of the SCCA. Remade in 1964 as The Lively Set.
Jump. SEE Fury on Wheels
Jungle Terror. SEE Fireball Jungle
K
The Killers (1964). Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager play two contract killers who are hired to kill race car driver John Cassavetes. Includes action at Riverside Raceway and Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles. Ronald Reagan appears as a gangster. Very loosely based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway.
L
The Last American Hero; also called Hard Driver (1973). Fictional biography of NASCAR great Junior Johnson. One of the best racing movies, with gripping racing scenes and excellent performances by Jeff Bridges as Johnson and a supporting cast that includes Gary Busey, Valerie Perrine, and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Based on articles by Tom Wolfe. (SCRC)
Le Mans (1971). Spectacular racing footage highlights the story of a driver (Steve McQueen) who returns to racing after being injured in a crash, and his relationship with the widow of a driver killed in the same wreck . (SCRC)
The Little Mademoiselle (1915). A mechanic (Arthur Ashley) takes a job as a race car driver in hopes of winning enough money to reunite a stranded French woman (Vivian Martin) with her family.
The Lively Set (1964). Juvenile heart throb James Darren quits college to design and race hot rods and his 1929 roadster with a Chevy 409 engine beats Dough McLure’s Thunderbird. Also starring Pamela Tiffin and Joanie Sommers.
Lookin' Good. SEE Corky
The Love Bug (1969). Lighthearted Disney romp starring Dean Jones as a down-and-out race driver who is adopted by Herbie, a Volkswagen Beetle that wants to race. Also starring Michelle Lee and Buddy Hackett. Andy Granatelli appears as himself.
Love in Las Vegas. SEE Viva Las Vegas
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A Man and a Woman (1966). French Oscar winning film starring Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Trintignant is a widowed race driver who meets Aimee when they are both visiting their children at school.
Mask of Dust. SEE A Race for Life
Monte Carlo or Bust. SEE Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies
Moonshine Highway (1996). Moonshiner, with the aid of his lover (the estranged wife of the sheriff), tries to decide whether to continue to haul illegal whiskey or go straight.
Munster, Go Home! (1966). The Munsters go to England when Herman Munster inherits an estate there. Herman is persuaded to compete in a race to uphold the family honor, and outwits his opponent while driving Dragula, a special coffin-shaped car. Based on the tv series. Starring Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, and Robert Pine.
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Naked Autumn (1963). A French film tells the story of a former sports car racer who returns to the sport as a solace for a thoroughly unhappy life in middle age. Starring Reginald Kernan and Simone Signoret. Based on Les Mauvais Coups by Roger Vailland.
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Pit Stop (also called The Winner) (1969). Stock car racing is featured in this story of a cocky young driver (Richard Davalos) looking to make the big time while leaping from bed to bed. Brian Donlevy co-stars, and pro driver George Washburn has a small role. Filmed at Ascot Park.
R
The Race (1916). A disinherited playboy works as a mechanic. To get the money to pay his debts he enters a transcontinental auto race.
A Race for Life; also called Mask of Dust (1954). Routine story highlighted by racing scenes from a number of European circuits. Richard Conte stars as an American driver attempting a comeback. His wife leaves him because he won't quit racing, then returns just as he is winning the Grand Prix in Piedmont, Italy.
The Racers; also called Such Men Are Dangerous (1955). Kirk Douglas stars as an ambitious driver in a story notable for excellent scenes of Italian sports cars and Grand Prix racing, which were captured at the Mille Miglia, Grand Prix de Napoli, LeMans, Nurbourgring, Spa, and the Grand Prix de Italia, among other races. Formula One racer Phil Hill coached Douglas and co-stars Gilbert Roland and Caesar Romero. Based on the 1953 novel by Hans Reusch.
Racing Hearts (1923). Light comedy drama stars Richard Dix, Theodore Roberts, and Agnes Ayres. Dix and Ayres are the offspring of rival automobile manufacturers. Dix infiltrates the opposition's plant as a worker and is given the task of designing a race car by Ayres. The climax is the big road race, sundry dirty dealings, and romance between Dix and Ayres. Filmed at Muroc Lake/Edwards Air Force Base. Several race drivers had cameo roles, including Edward Heffman, Jerry Wunderlich, Jimmy Murphy, Tommy Milton, and Ralph DePalma.
The Racing Strain (1932). A driver (Wallace Reid, Jr.) is banned from the track for drinking. His girlfriend convinces him to return to racing, but a rival drugs him and he is unable to drive. A teenaged friend takes over and wins the race.
Racing Youth (1932). Frank Albertson plays a young auto designer who fixes up a race car in order to win the race, save the company, and marry the girl. The race is set on the fourteen mile drive around the Monterey Peninsula.
Red Hot Tires (1935). A top driver (Lyle Talbot) is falsely convicted of causing the death of a rival. He escapes from prison and goes to South America, where he becomes a racing champion. Returning to the U.S. to help his girlfriend, he is pardoned by the judge because of new evidence. Mary Astor is the love interest. Packed with race footage, most of it from American Legion Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles. The climax was filmed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Red Hot Wheels. SEE To Please a Lady
Red Line 7000 (1965). The story of a trio of stock car drivers and the women in their lives. Great racing action bolsters a weak plot. Starring James Caan, John Robert Crawford, and James Ward as the drivers, with Laura Devon, Gail Hire, and Marianna Hill as the girlfriends. Racing sequences were filmed at Daytona, Darlington, Charlotte, Riverside, and Ascot (England).
Ride 'Em Cowboy (1936). A cowboy (Buck Jones) finds himself in a boxcar with a race car and a mechanic (George Cooper). The car owners need to win the big race to save their ranch. The mechanic convinces the cowboy to drive the car, using the nickname of "Speed." The good guys triumph over the villains as "Speed" wins the race and the girl.
Road Demon (1938). Dirt track champion Jimmy Blake (Henry Archer), who works as a truck driver, convinces his employer to back a race car. In the big race he is forced into the wall but his friend wins and sets a new speed record. Race sequences were filmed at the Indianapolis 500.
Road Racers (1959). SCCA racing in Southern California. A weird plot, but the action at Riverside Raceway, Willow Springs, and the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca is great. Starring Joel Lawrence.
Road Rebels (1963). Story of teen hot rodders.
The Roar of the Crowd (1953). Howard Duff stars as the driver whose dream is to win the Indianapolis 500. Lots of dirt track action, including the famous 14 car wreck and pit fire at Langhorne. Race drivers Duke Nalon, Johnnie Parsons, Henry Banks, and Bill Vukovich appear as themselves.
The Roaring Road (1919). Wallace Reid stars as an auto salesman who wants to break speed records and marry the boss's daughter. The climax is a race between a car and a train. Includes footage of the 1919 Santa Monica Road Race. The five short stories by Bryan Morgan on which the film was based were published in 1920 as a novel called The Roaring Road.
Roaring Roads (1935). A wealthy young man leaves home to find adventure and meets a girl who wants to drive a race car in place of her injured brother. The heir offers to drive in the big race and win the money the family needs.
S
Safari 3000 (1982). A writer is assigned to cover a three-day, 3,000 kilometer automobile race in Africa. Starring Stockard Channing and David Carradine.
The Seven Second Love Affair (1966). A documentary film about weekend drag racer Rick Stewart of Bakersfield, California, who wins a race but destroys his engine in the process. He and his partners rebuild it and set a new record in a qualifying run, but the engine explodes at the finish line. The record-219.65 in 7.30 seconds-stood for two months.
Six Pack (1982). Stock car racer Kenny Rogers, a ramblin' man, adopts six larcenous orphans and together they turn Rogers' career around and find a mother/wife in Erin Gray.
Smash-Up Alley SEE 43: The Petty Story.
Speed (1936). James Stewart plays test driver Terry Martin, who has designed a new carburetor. The company agrees to enter a car in the Indy 500 to test the new design. There is a malfunction and Terry crashes. Then, with the help of the love interest (Wendy Barrie), he tries to break the land speed record at Medoc dry lake. Parts of the movie were filmed at the Chrysler testing grounds in Detroit, the Indy race footage came from an actual 500 race, and the land speed record attempt was based on the 301.13 m.p.h. record set by Sir Malcolm Campbell in 1935 at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
The Speed Classic (1928). A wealthy young amateur driver is dumped by his girlfriend because he wants to race against professionals in The Speed Classic. Eventually she reconsiders, rescues him from a Tijuana jail, and helps him enter the Classic, which he wins. Based on "They're Off!" a short story by Arthur Hoerl.
Speed Crazed (1926). Repeated kidnappings don't prevent the hero from winning the race and the girl.
Speed Crazy (1959). After accidentally killing a garage mechanic during a holdup, an arrogant racing enthusiast hides out as a mechanic in a small town and beats the local drivers at the racetrack. The police eventually catch up with him. Racing scenes were filmed at Griffith Park.
The Speed Demon (1925). A mishmash of action including racing sequences as the story follows the exploits of Yankee race driver Speed Sherman, who loves a Kentucky colonel's daughter. Indy 500 champion Barney Oldfield appears in a cameo role.
Speed Devils (1935). Two friendly rivals crash during a race and decide to open a garage together.
The Speed Kings (1913). Race car driver Barney Oldfield portrays himself.
The Speed Limit (1926). A racing enthusiast has developed a new tire process. He drives in the big race to test the tires and wins the race, a manufacturer's contract, and the girl.
Speed Lovers (1968). Top NASCAR driver Fred Lorenzen plays himself in this story of a young man who wants to become a stock car driver. Filmed primarily around Atlanta, but includes racing action at Atlanta; Riverside; Hampton, Georgia; Asheville; Charlotte; North Wilkesboro; Rockingham; Daytona; Darlington; and Martinsville.
Speed Mad (1925). A young daredevil driver leaves home with only $5 after arguing with his father. He enters a race and foils the villains to win the $5000 prize.
Speed Maniac (1919). Rancher Billy Porter (Tom Mix) goes to San Francisco to promote an engine he has designed. Triumphing over various adversities, he enters a car with his motor in a race and wins. Some of the scenes were shot at Elysian Park in Los Angeles.
Speed to Spare (1937). Indy 500 winner Tommy Morton (Charles Quigley) visits the orphanage where he grew up and tracks down his younger brother Larry (Edward J. Nugent), who had left before him. Larry, now calling himself "Skids" Brannigan, is a daredevil midget auto racer. Tommy gets Larry a AAA card that allows him to work as a mechanic on Tommy's car. The brothers become racing rivals before all is forgiven in the big race. Scenes from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Ascot in Los Angeles.
Speed Zone (1989). Another cross-country road race, this time from Washington, DC to Santa Monica, CA. The entrants in the Cannonball Run include John Candy and Donna Dixon.
Speeding Venus (1926). A woman wins a cross-country race in a car prepared by her mechanic boyfriend.
Speedway (1929). An auto racer forgoes victory so that an aging competitor with heart problems can win the big race. This was the first feature film to focus on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Includes Indy 500 footage.
Speedway (1968). Elvis Presley and stock car racing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Driver Steve Grayson (Presley) owes back taxes due to the malfeasance of his manager. Aided by an IRS agent (Nancy Sinatra), he enters the Charlotte 600 and wins enough to pay the feds.
Speedway Junkie (1998). Teenager looking to become a stock-car driver gets derailed by the sleaze of Las Vegas and falls into a male prostitution ring. Produced by Gus Van Sant.
Spinout; also called California Holiday (1966). Elvis Presley is a road racer pursued by a bevy of beauties (Shelly Fabares, Diane McBain, Deborah Walley). Check out Elvis’ Cobra 427. Race scenes were filmed at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Stock Car (1955). An American driver (Paul Carpenter) helps an English woman (Rona Anderson) save the family garage after her father is killed in a race. He wins the race and the girl.
Straightaway (1933). Two racing brothers (Tim McCoy and William Bakewell) become rivals on and off the track. Plenty of action, including the Indy 500.
Stroker Ace (1983). Burt Reynolds is a stock car driver and Jim Nabors is his faithful mechanic. Thin material bolstered by some track action at Daytona and other top tracks. A bonus is seeing Reynolds in a chicken suit.
Such Men Are Dangerous. SEE The Racers
T
Teenage Rebel (1956). Ginger Rogers and Michael Rennie star in a light romance that features “drag racing, be-bop, and love.”
Teenage Thunder (1958). Robert Fuller, Charles Courtney, and Melinda Byron star in the familiar story of rebellious youth and hot rodding.
Ten Laps to Go (1938). Cocky top driver (Rex Lease) is seriously injured in a crash and loses his nerve. Later, in order to save a friend's business, he relieves a driver during a midget race and wins. This was probably the first film about midget auto racing. Some scenes were shot at Victor McLaglen's stadium.
Thirty a Week (1918). Barbara (Tallulah Bankhead) marries her father's chauffeur Dan (Tom Moore). Dan turns to racing to support his wife. Some scenes were shot at Sheepshead Bay Race Track, New York.
Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (also called Monte Carlo or Bust) (1969). An automotive version of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines . In slapstick style, heroes and villains compete in a 1920s Monte Carlo Rally. Tony Curtis and Terry Thomas head an international cast. Some nice racing sequences. Filmed in Italy, France, and Sweden.
Thunder Alley (1967). Stock car driver Fabian blacks out and causes the death of another driver. The thin plot follows his struggle to return to racing. Includes stock car racing scenes filmed at Ascot Raceway in Gardena, California and Darlington Raceway, SC. Stock car driver LeeRoy Yarbrough went to Hollywood to coach Fabian in handling the 426 Hemi-powered Dodge during close-ups. Yarborough, who actually won with the car at Daytona and Charlotte, did the high speed driving in the film. Co-stars Annette Funicello, Diane McBain, and Jan Murray.
Thunder in Carolina (1960). Stock car racer Rory Calhoun initially appears to be a manipulative, win-at-any-cost, womanizing driver, but soon reveals his better nature. This tribute to NASCAR centers on the Southern 500 race at Darlington and includes great footage from an actual Southern 500 race plus the parade through downtown Darlington, the Miss Southern 500 beauty pageant, etc. There are also some good scenes of driving along twisting South Carolina mountain roads.
Thunder in Dixie (1965). A stock car driver blames his former partner for the death of his fiancee, and plans to get revenge during the running of the Dixie 400. Things don't work out according to plan on the track, and the two settle their differences. Racing scenes were filmed at the Atlanta International Raceway.
Thunder Road (1958). Classic gritty black and white film of Harlan County, Kentucky moonshiners trying to elude the law. Robert Mitchum stars as the son who races along the back roads with the revenuers in full pursuit. Mitchum's rendition of the title song was a hit record. (SCRC)
Tiny Lund: Hard Charger; also called Hard Charger (1969). A documentary of the career of Tiny Lund, an independent stock car racer.
To Please a Lady; also called Red Hot Wheels (1950). Daredevil midget race car driver Clark Gable romances journalist Barbara Stanwyck. She gets him barred from the midget tracks after the death of another driver and he turns to stunt driving. He saves enough to buy a car and enters the Indianapolis 500. Lots of track action, primarily filmed at Indianapolis; Syracuse, New York; and Culver City Stadium in California. The dirt track sequences were filmed in Arlington Downs, Texas. Several racing personalities appeared as themselves in the film, including drivers Duane Carter, Johnnie Parsons, Henry Banks, and Walt Faulkner, and Indianapolis announcer Ted Husing. A television version starring John Hodiak and Donna Reed was broadcast on the Lux Video Theatre on November 26, 1951. (SCRC)
Track of Thunder (1967). Cliched tale of gangsters trying to muscle in on the stock car racing scene. Includes race footage from various Tennessee tracks. Tom Kirk stars.
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). This spare, documentary-like classic has singer/songwriter James Taylor and former Beach Boy Dennis Wilson drag racing across America. Warren Oates shines as an older drifter. (SCRC)
V
Viva Las Vegas; also called Love in Las Vegas (1964). Elvis Presley is trying to raise money to buy an engine that will help him win the Grand Prix race in Las Vegas. Typical Presley flick, but the climactic race is a good one. Co-starring Ann-Margret.
W
The Weekend Warriors (1966). A documentary of gas and fuel drag racing filmed at the 1965 Winternationals in Phoenix. Featured are Gordon Collett, Connie Kalitta, Bill Jenkins, and Don Garlits.
What's Your Hurry? (1920). Race driver Dusty Rhoades (Wallace Reid) makes a bargain with his girlfriend's father to win her hand in marriage if he can make the family truck business famous. He recruits race drivers to drive trucks loaded with supplies over near impassible roads to a collapsing dam and saves the valley. Marriage follows. Based on Bryan Morgan's short story "The Hippopotamus Parade."
The Wild Racers (1968). Forgettable story of a driver (Fabian) whose passion is racing and working his way through the local bevy of beauties. Liberally padded with racing footage. Location scenes were filmed in Spain and England.
The Winner. SEE Pit Stop
Winning (1969). Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward star in this examination of the relationship between an race driver and his wife. Filmed on location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Exciting Indy 500 footage, including the huge wreck on the first lap of the 1966 race that eliminated eleven cars.
Y
The Young Hellions SEE High School Confidential.
The Young Racers (1963). A Grand Prix champion, played by William Campbell, seems to be a win at any cost, girl in every port type, but underneath has a heart of gold. The predictable story is handicapped by poor dialog, but the footage of actual Grand Prix races in France, Belgium, England, and Monaco helps. Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren, and Trevor Taylor appear as themselves.
Anyone seen or got any thoughts on the following films?
Angel on Earth (1966). An airline stewardess falls in love with a race car driver. His guardian angel, taking the form of the stewardess, shepherds him through some difficult times and, after helping him win the Grand Prix de Monaco, arranges for the two to marry. Starring Romy Schneider and Henri Vidal.
Army Bound (1952). Stanley Clements, Gill Stratton Jr., Karen Sharpe, and Steve Brody star in the story of a midget driver who is drafted and tries to get leave to drive in the big race. Action from Saugus and Culver City speedways.
B
Back Street (1941). This melodrama starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullivan is notable for its scenes of the Vanderbilt Cup race. Barney Oldfield, winner of the 1907 Vanderbilt Cup, worked as a technical advisor in the film and two of his cars, a 1909 six-cylinder Stearns and a 1012 four-cylinder, sixteen-valve Prince Henry Benz, were used in the movie.
Baffled; TV movie (1972). Race driver Leonard Nimoy has visions of people in danger.
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913). Mack Sennett comedy starring Mabel Normand, with top driver Barney Oldfield as himself. Oldfield must race a train in his roadster to save Mabel, who is chained to the railroad tracks.
The Betsy; also called Harold Robbins' The Betsy (1978). In this heavy melodrama, Laurence Olivier hires race driver Tommy Lee Jones to design a new automobile model called "The Betsy" in honor of his granddaughter. A rather high class treatment of Robbins' enjoyable sleaze.
The Big Wheel (1949). Mickey Rooney races hot rods and midgets at California tracks. When he causes the death of another driver, he goes to the dirt tracks of the East to find a ride. The climax is the Indy 500. Lots of track footage from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Culver City (California) Speedway.
Bikini Beach (1964). Teen surfers get into drag racing. Starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
The Blonde Comet (1941). Driver Barney Oldfield appears in this story of a woman driver, played by Virginia Dale, who competes successfully against men in European races such as the Grand Prix series and the Corriere D'Italia. In the end she lets the boyfriend win and yields to his demands that when they marry only the man in the family will work. Features race footage of "big cars" at tracks including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Southern Ascot Speedway and Oakland Speedway in California.
Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus; TV movie (1978).
Bobby Deerfield (1977). A race car driver played by Al Pacino falls in love with an ailing socialite played by Marthe Keller. Based on the novel Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque.
Born to Race (1988). Kidnappers grab an engineer to get her revolutionary engine design. Starring Joseph Bottoms, George Kennedy, Marc Singer, and Maria Heasley.
Born to Speed (1947). Johnny Sands plays the son of a midget racer who was killed at the track. He rebuilds his father's race car and goes racing against his mother's wishes. Frank Orth co-stars as the faithful mechanic, Don Castle as the rival, and Terry Austin as the love interest. The foreword to the film states: "Out of man's mania for speed grew the midget racer...A BULLET ON WHEELS. Though tiny in size the midget racer is mighty in power. Today, on scores of speedways from Maine to California, daring drivers pilot these little buzz-bombs in thrill-packed contests that draw over forty-five million fans a year....Most midget pilots work their way up from the Bush-League Circuits. Many a country barn and smalltown shed shelters a car which a speed-loving youngster is building. And many a dawn finds him secretly training, preparing himself for the chance of a lifetime."
Buck Privates Come Home (1947). Abbott and Costello farce in which they become partners with a race car driver and designer and go through all manner of shenanigans to get the car out of hock and enter it in the Gold Cup race. Costello takes the wheel and quickly loses control, exiting the racetrack with the police in pursuit. An automobile manufacturer is so impressed with the speed of the car that he orders a number of them.
Burn 'Em Up Barnes (1921). A wealthy young man who likes to drive fast (Johnny Hines) is robbed and dumped into a box car, where he falls in with a band of hobos. The climax is an auto race in which he foils the thieves, who have robbed a bank and are using the race to escape.
Burn 'Em Up Barnes (1934). This twelve- part serial was spliced into a feature film. A young driver (Jack Mulhall) retires after a friend is killed during a race, and enters a business partnership with a friend (Marjorie Temple). He signs on as a test driver to make enough money to keep the business afloat and eventually saves it from unscrupulous profiteers. Dirt track racing.
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor (1938). Dennis O'Keefe plays an up-and-coming midget driver who hooks up with Harry Carey, a car builder who wants to break speed records, no matter the danger to his drivers. Track action includes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Roosevelt Field, New York. Based on the novel Salute to the Gods by Sir Malcolm Campbell.
C
California Holiday. SEE Spinout
Cannonball; also called Carquake (1976). David Carradine survives all the dirty tactics of rival drivers in this story of a road race from Los Angeles to New York. The film has a full complement of car crashes.
The Cannonball Run (1981). Another "screaming-wheels" film by Hal Needham follows Burt Reynolds in a wide-open cross country race.
The Cannonball Run II (1984). This sequel, a car crash extravaganza, follows Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise as they compete in a no-holds-barred coast to coast race.
Carquake. SEE Cannonball
The Challengers; TV movie (1969).
The Checkered Flag (1926). A mechanic designs a special carburetor and installs it in the car he intends to race against a field that also includes an entry from his prospective father-in-law. Unbeknownst to anyone, including the audience, his fiancee drives the car for him and wins.
The Checkered Flag (1963). Dark story of the alcoholic, unfaithful wife of a wealthy playboy driver who seduces a young driver to kill her husband. It all ends badly. Some scenes were shot at Sebring, Florida and the Twelve Hours of Sebring sports car endurance race.
Checkered Flag or Crash (1977).
Checkpoint (1956). British film about road racing in Europe. Anthony Steel is a race driver who becomes involved in smuggling a wanted criminal (Stanley Baker) out of Italy. Includes footage from the Mille Miglia.
Corky; also called Lookin' Good (1971). Robert Blake gives an excellent performance in an otherwise forgettable film about a mechanic who sacrifices everything to pursue a career in stock car racing.
The Crowd Roars (1932). James Cagney is a star race car driver pointing toward the Indy 500. Romantic entanglements and track competition with his younger brother (Eric Linden), who is a member of his crew, complicate things. Also starring Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak. A number of drivers made cameo appearances, including Billy Arnold, Fred Frame, Ralph Hepburn, Wilbur Shaw, "Shorty" Cantlon, Mel Keneally, Stubby Stubblefield, Harry Hartz, Fred Guisso, Spider Matlock, Phil Pardee, Lou Schneider, Bryan Saulpaugh, and Frank Brisko.
Cry-Baby (1990). Off-beat musical comedy set in 1954 tells the story of juvenile delinquent “Crybaby” Walker (Johnny Depp), whose ability to shed a single tear drives the girls wild, and the convention-bound girl (Amy Locane), who is drawn to him. Inevitably there is the chicken run between the squares and the jd’s. Wild cast includes Polly Bergen, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, Troy Donahue, Joey Heatherton, David Nelson, and William Dafoe.
D
Danger on Wheels (1940). Dirt track racing is the setting as Richard Arlen plays a test driver who is named to drive in the big race. He secretly installs a banned oil burning engine in his car, and his victory proves its worth.
The Daredevil (1972). George Montgomery is the fearless stock car racer. Racing action at Golden Gate Speedway. Also starring Terry Moore.
Daredevil Drivers (1938). Race driver Bill Foster (Dick Purcell) is banned from racing for reckless driving. He becomes involved with the beautiful owner of a bus company (Beverly Roberts) and drives in an outlaw race to save her business.
Days of Thunder (1990). Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, and Nicole Kidman star in a cliched stock car racing story with characters based very loosely on Tim Richmond and Harry Hyde. Cruise plays Cole Trickle, a cocky young driver trying to break into Winston Cup racing. Duvall steals the show as his car builder and crew chief Harry Hogg. Lots of track action. A number of NASCAR drivers have cameo roles. (SCRC)
Death Race 2000 (1975). In this action packed, campy satire, a field including Frankenstein (David Carradine) and Machine Gun Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone) compete in a transcontinental road race that awards points for speed and hitting pedestrians. The Roger Corman film has become a minor cult classic.
The Devil on Wheels (1947). Teenagers drive recklessly and cause mayhem at every turn. A visual editorial on the dangers of hot rodding. Starring Darryl Hickman.
The Devil's Hairpin (1957). Cornel Wilde is an arrogant road racer who makes a comeback. Dull story line is saved by exciting racing scenes.
Drag Racer (1971). One of the better drag racing films, this is the story of a young man (Mark Slade) who gets a ride in a Top Fuel dragster (owned by Jeremy Slate and John Chandler). Deborah Walley plays the love interest. Race scenes were filmed at Irwindale Raceway, Lions Drag Strip, and Orange County International Raceway, and feature footage of drivers Gerry Glenn, John Peters, Dwight Salisbury, John Lombardo, Frank Graf, Bill Schultz, Larry Dixon, Norm Wilcox, Ray Alley, Sherm Gunn, Mike Snively, James Warren, Don Moody, and Bob Muravez. On-car cameras offer some interesting shots.
Drag Strip Girl (1957). Blonde bombshell Fay Spain likes hot rods and the guys who race them. There is the mechanic hero, played by Steve Terrell, and the playboy villain, played by John Ashley. Lots of street racing action.
Drag Strip Riot (1958). Corvette-driving delinquents come up against a motorcycle gang. Gary Clarke and Yvonne Lime lead the 'Vette racers into action.
Drive a Crooked Road (1954). Mickey Rooney is seduced by lovely Dianne Foster into driving the escape car in a bank hold-up. Rooney's performance as a lonely mechanic who dreams of becoming a top driver in European road racing is excellent.
Drive Hard, Drive Fast; TV movie (1969, telecast 1973). Race driver played by Brian Kelly gets involved with unsavory doings of co-stars Joan Collins and Joseph Campanella.
Driven (2001). Sylvester Stallone wrote and produced this disappointing story of CART racing. Casting himself in a supporting role, he features the story of a rookie driver (Kip Pardue) who competes against the veteran German (Til Schweiger) both on the track and in the bedroom. Co-starring Burt Reynolds. Lots of track action, including horrifying crash scenes in slow motion.
E
Eat My Dust! (1976). Ron Howard is the sheriff's son, but this isn't Mayberry and he isn't Opie. He steals a race car and takes off with his girlfriend, with his father and the race driver-owner of the car in pursuit.
Excuse My Dust (1920). This sequel to The Roaring Road reprises the character of auto salesman Toodles Walden (Wallace Reid). Toodles buys one of his father-in-law's race cars and wins the big race.
F
The Fast and the Furious (1954). John Ireland and Dorothy Malone star in this movie filmed against the backdrop of the Pebble Beach international sports car races. Ireland, who co-directed, did his own stunt work, driving his Jaguar 120 miles per hour. He liked the car so well that he bought it the last day of filming. This was Roger Corman’s second film.
The Fast and the Furious (2001). Vin Diesel (I kid you not) stars as the leader of a Los Angeles street racing group and Paul Walker plays the undercover cop who is investigating possible ties to truck hijacking.
Fast Company (1978). A champion drag racer (William Smith) and his motor oil company sponsor part ways when the company head (John Saxon) picks a younger driver. Our hero steals his car back and races it. Lots of drag strip action. Directed by Canadian David Cronenberg.
Fever Heat (1967). Nick Adams in his final film. Ace Jones, a former stock car racer who has been banned from the sport, befriends a woman and helps her get her garage business back on its feet. Jones races at the local tracks, much to the displeasure of the hometown drivers. Filmed at dirt tracks in Stuart, Oskaloosa, Des Moines, and Dexter, Iowa. The script was written by Henry Gregor Felsen, the author of a number of juvenile racing novels.
Fireball 500 (1966). The juvenile beach set hits the speedway. Frankie Avalon plays stock car racer "Fireball" Dave Owens. He comes to Spartanburg, South Carolina to race against the local champion (Fabian). Owens "races by day and foils moonshiners by night." The racing footage, filmed at Saugus Speedway in Saugus, California; and Ascot Park in Gardena, California; and the local color footage shot in Charlotte, North Carolina, are the highlights in this teen flick. Also starring Annette Funicello.
43: The Petty Story; also called Smash-Up Alley (1972). Stock car racing legend Richard Petty portrays himself and Darren McGavin plays his father Lee, also a racer, in a story that recounts the tension between the two. The poorly written film is salvaged by good racing action. (SCRC)
Fireball Jungle; also called Jungle Terror (1968). The mob tries to break into Southern stock car racing. Filmed in and around Tampa, Florida.
Fury on Wheels (1971). A young boy from the Appalachians becomes a stock car racer. Starring Judd Hirsch, Paul Sorvino, and Tom Ligon.
G
Genevieve (1953). "Genevieve" is a 1904 Darracq roadster entered in the annual London-to-Brighton rally. Its owners, played by John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan, indulge in keen competition with their friendly rivals Kenneth More and Kay Kendall.
The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959). Hot rod gang with “cool kittens.” The film features a drag race on the Los Angeles River bottom. Stars include Jody Fair, Martin Braddock, and Russ Bender.
Girls Town (1959). The gals are beating the guys in this drag racing film featuring Mamie Van Doren, Gloria Talbott, Mel Torme, and Jim Mitchem. Music by Ray Anthony, the Platters, and Paul Anka.
Grand Prix (1966). Luscious cinematography and exciting racing highlight the story of four drivers competing for the World Championship. Starring James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Toshiro Mifune, Brian Bedford, and Jessica Walter. Garner trained with Bob Bondurant and did most of the driving himself, enjoying the experience so much that he competed in a number of events aferward. Filmed at tracks in England, Europe, and the U.S. (SCRC)
Greased Lightning (1919). The town blacksmith and inventor (Charles Ray) is inamored of automobiles and buys an old one that he converts into a race car he names "Greased Lightning." He abandons his lead in the county fair race to capture a bank robber.
Greased Lightning (1977). Based on the life of stock car driver Wendell Scott, the only black driver ever to win a race in NASCAR's top division. Richard Pryor stars, along with Beau Bridges, Pam Grier, and Cleavon Little.
The Great Race (1965). Wacky comedy about the 1908 New York to Paris race. Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood are the good guys, while Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk are delightful villains. Location scenes were filmed in Salzburg, Vienna, and Paris.
The Green Helmet (1961). Mediocre melodrama about an aging driver (Bill Travers). His younger brother (Sean Kelly) wants him to quit because he has promised their mother that he will not race until his brother retires. His girlfriend , played by Nancy Walters, is equally insistent. He wins the endurance race at Sebring and retires. Racing legend Jack Brabham plays himself. One of the few movies featuring Jaguars in road races. Racing sequences were filmed at Silverstone, Sebring, the Mille Miglia, and Le Mans. Based on the novel by Jon Cleary.
The Gumball Rally (1976). An unlikely group of people compete in a no-holds-barred auto race from New York to California. Based on the actual Cannonball Run. Starring Michael Sarrazin, Gary Busey, and Raul Julia.
H
Hard Charger. SEE Tiny Lund: Hard Charger
Hard Driver . SEE The Last American Hero
Hard Drivin'. SEE Thunder in Carolina
Harold Robbins' The Betsy . SEE The Betsy
Heart Like a Wheel (1983). An excellent film adaption of the life of drag racer Shirley Muldowny, who battled sex discrimination to become the NHRA champion. Bonnie Bedelia and Beau Bridges give outstanding performances as the feisty Muldowney and fellow racer (and husband) Connie Kallita. (SCRC)
Heights of Danger (1962). A man competes in an Alpine auto race in order to win the prize and save his family garage. Originally released in Great Britain in 1953.
Hell on Wheels (1967). Two brothers (John Ashley and Marty Robbins) are involved in moonshining and stock car racing. Robbins, who actually competed in a number of NASCAR events, also sings five songs.
High Explosive (1943). A daredevil midget racer takes a job driving for a friend's nitroglycerin shipping company. His carelessness costs a colleague his life, but in the end he sacrifices himself to save the company. Starring Chester Morris, Jean Parker, and Barry Sullivan.
High Gear (1933). Race driver "High Gear" Sherrod (James Murray) loses his nerve and quits racing when his mechanic is killed in a crash. He pays for the mechanic's son's education by working as a taxi driver. When the boy is seriously injured he overcomes his fear of speed and drives him to the hospital. He returns to the track and wins the big race. Includes dirt track racing action.
High School Caesar (1960). John Ashley as the quintessential high school punk. The film includes a ten car drag race between the brains and the gangsters. Also stars Judy Nugent and Steven Stevens.
High School Confidential; also called The Young Hellions (1958). A cult classic, this is the story of the new kid in high school (Russ Tamblyn) who gets into the drug scene in an attempt to be cool. Features drag races betwen Tamblyn and good guy Michael Landon. Also starring Mamie Van Doren, John Drew Barrymore, Jackie Coogan, and Jan Sterling. Jerry Lee Lewis sings the title song.
High Speed (1920). Driver Billy Brice (Edward Erle) has been wrongly banned from racing for accepting a bribe. He rescues wealthy Edith Rhoades (Gladys Hulette) and becomes the race driver for her father. He wins the race and Edith, and is cleared of the bribery charges. Some scenes were filmed at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in New York. Race car driver Ralph DePalma participated in some of the racing sequences. The film was based on the novel by Clinton H. Stagg.
High Speed (1932). Dirt track racing is the backdrop as the mob muscles in and gets rid of the opposition with lethal driving tactics. Cowboy star Buck Jones stars as the race driver turned policeman who cleans it all up.
Hips, Hips, Hooray! (1934). Musical comedy in which two friends (Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey) enter a cross country race and win.
Hot Rod (1950). Teens hold illegal drag races, but one of them finally convinces his father, a judge, of the need for a legal track to hold timing runs. "The film opens with footage of hot-rod time trials as an offscreen narrator describes legal hot-rod racing as 'educational as well as exciting,' and contrasts the sport with dangerous, illegal racing."
Hot Rod Action (1969). Keith Jackson narrates a documentary of all types of motor racing, including the Indianapolis 500, Motor Trend 500, Daytona 500, Southern 500, Winternational Drags, Indianapolis National Drags, and the World Championship Drags. Among the racing personalities appearing in the film are Craig Breedlove and Art Arfons.
Hot Rod Gang (1958). Racing scenes and music by Gene Vincent and the Bluecaps (“Be Bop A-Lula”
and Eddie Cochran are the highlights of this predictable film. John Ashley and Jody Fair star along with Vincent. Hot Rod Girl (1950). June Kenney gets mixed up with Richard Bakalyan, who steals car parts. A cop is killed in a chicken race, and the young thief comes to a bad end.
Hot Rod Girl (1956). Policeman Churck Connors and his sidekick John Smith try to establish a drag strip to get teenage racing off the roads. Scenes were filmed at San Fernando Raceway. Also starring Lori Nelson, Mark Andrews, and Frank Gorshin.
Hot Rod Herman (1965). The Munsters go drag racing.
Hot Rod Hullabaloo (1966). A young student decides to enter the annual demolition derby. His rival tries to shoot him, but kills himself instead, and the student wins.
Hot Rod Rumble (1957). Big Arnie (Richard Hartunian) is accused of murder when a car like his Mercury forces his girlfriend (Leigh Snowden) and her current beau of the road and the boy dies. The film is highlighted by drag racing sequences from Pomona.
I
In Spite of Danger (1935). Dirt track champion Bob Crane (Wallace Ford) retires from racing after a serious crash and helps his friend start a trucking business. A business rival challenges our hero to a race to the top of Iron Mountain to determine who gets a trucking contract.
Indianapolis Speedway (1939). A remake of The Crowd Roars, starring Pat O'Brien as driver Joe Greer and John Payne as the kid brother who becomes his rival. Exciting track action. Drivers Billy Arnold, Elbert “Babe” Stapp, Louis Tomei, Fred Friday, Jimmy Miller, Fred Lecklider, Emory Collins, Bud Rose, and Art Klein appear in the film.
J
Jalopy (1953). The Bowery Boys are using a secret rocket fuel that makes their Model-T Ford unbeatable. Filmed at Culver Speedway, with real drivers George Dockstader, Fred Lamount, Harvey Perry, Louis Tomei, Dude Criswell, Dick Crockett, Pete Kellett, and Carey Loftin creating the action.
Johnny Dark (1954). Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie star in this romance of a young engineer who designs a car that wins a Canada-to-Mexico road race and also courts the boss’s granddaughter. Nice racing scenes; test track footage was filmed at the Packard proving grounds. The movie was made with the full cooperation of the SCCA. Remade in 1964 as The Lively Set.
Jump. SEE Fury on Wheels
Jungle Terror. SEE Fireball Jungle
K
The Killers (1964). Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager play two contract killers who are hired to kill race car driver John Cassavetes. Includes action at Riverside Raceway and Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles. Ronald Reagan appears as a gangster. Very loosely based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway.
L
The Last American Hero; also called Hard Driver (1973). Fictional biography of NASCAR great Junior Johnson. One of the best racing movies, with gripping racing scenes and excellent performances by Jeff Bridges as Johnson and a supporting cast that includes Gary Busey, Valerie Perrine, and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Based on articles by Tom Wolfe. (SCRC)
Le Mans (1971). Spectacular racing footage highlights the story of a driver (Steve McQueen) who returns to racing after being injured in a crash, and his relationship with the widow of a driver killed in the same wreck . (SCRC)
The Little Mademoiselle (1915). A mechanic (Arthur Ashley) takes a job as a race car driver in hopes of winning enough money to reunite a stranded French woman (Vivian Martin) with her family.
The Lively Set (1964). Juvenile heart throb James Darren quits college to design and race hot rods and his 1929 roadster with a Chevy 409 engine beats Dough McLure’s Thunderbird. Also starring Pamela Tiffin and Joanie Sommers.
Lookin' Good. SEE Corky
The Love Bug (1969). Lighthearted Disney romp starring Dean Jones as a down-and-out race driver who is adopted by Herbie, a Volkswagen Beetle that wants to race. Also starring Michelle Lee and Buddy Hackett. Andy Granatelli appears as himself.
Love in Las Vegas. SEE Viva Las Vegas
M
A Man and a Woman (1966). French Oscar winning film starring Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Trintignant is a widowed race driver who meets Aimee when they are both visiting their children at school.
Mask of Dust. SEE A Race for Life
Monte Carlo or Bust. SEE Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies
Moonshine Highway (1996). Moonshiner, with the aid of his lover (the estranged wife of the sheriff), tries to decide whether to continue to haul illegal whiskey or go straight.
Munster, Go Home! (1966). The Munsters go to England when Herman Munster inherits an estate there. Herman is persuaded to compete in a race to uphold the family honor, and outwits his opponent while driving Dragula, a special coffin-shaped car. Based on the tv series. Starring Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, and Robert Pine.
N
Naked Autumn (1963). A French film tells the story of a former sports car racer who returns to the sport as a solace for a thoroughly unhappy life in middle age. Starring Reginald Kernan and Simone Signoret. Based on Les Mauvais Coups by Roger Vailland.
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Pit Stop (also called The Winner) (1969). Stock car racing is featured in this story of a cocky young driver (Richard Davalos) looking to make the big time while leaping from bed to bed. Brian Donlevy co-stars, and pro driver George Washburn has a small role. Filmed at Ascot Park.
R
The Race (1916). A disinherited playboy works as a mechanic. To get the money to pay his debts he enters a transcontinental auto race.
A Race for Life; also called Mask of Dust (1954). Routine story highlighted by racing scenes from a number of European circuits. Richard Conte stars as an American driver attempting a comeback. His wife leaves him because he won't quit racing, then returns just as he is winning the Grand Prix in Piedmont, Italy.
The Racers; also called Such Men Are Dangerous (1955). Kirk Douglas stars as an ambitious driver in a story notable for excellent scenes of Italian sports cars and Grand Prix racing, which were captured at the Mille Miglia, Grand Prix de Napoli, LeMans, Nurbourgring, Spa, and the Grand Prix de Italia, among other races. Formula One racer Phil Hill coached Douglas and co-stars Gilbert Roland and Caesar Romero. Based on the 1953 novel by Hans Reusch.
Racing Hearts (1923). Light comedy drama stars Richard Dix, Theodore Roberts, and Agnes Ayres. Dix and Ayres are the offspring of rival automobile manufacturers. Dix infiltrates the opposition's plant as a worker and is given the task of designing a race car by Ayres. The climax is the big road race, sundry dirty dealings, and romance between Dix and Ayres. Filmed at Muroc Lake/Edwards Air Force Base. Several race drivers had cameo roles, including Edward Heffman, Jerry Wunderlich, Jimmy Murphy, Tommy Milton, and Ralph DePalma.
The Racing Strain (1932). A driver (Wallace Reid, Jr.) is banned from the track for drinking. His girlfriend convinces him to return to racing, but a rival drugs him and he is unable to drive. A teenaged friend takes over and wins the race.
Racing Youth (1932). Frank Albertson plays a young auto designer who fixes up a race car in order to win the race, save the company, and marry the girl. The race is set on the fourteen mile drive around the Monterey Peninsula.
Red Hot Tires (1935). A top driver (Lyle Talbot) is falsely convicted of causing the death of a rival. He escapes from prison and goes to South America, where he becomes a racing champion. Returning to the U.S. to help his girlfriend, he is pardoned by the judge because of new evidence. Mary Astor is the love interest. Packed with race footage, most of it from American Legion Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles. The climax was filmed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Red Hot Wheels. SEE To Please a Lady
Red Line 7000 (1965). The story of a trio of stock car drivers and the women in their lives. Great racing action bolsters a weak plot. Starring James Caan, John Robert Crawford, and James Ward as the drivers, with Laura Devon, Gail Hire, and Marianna Hill as the girlfriends. Racing sequences were filmed at Daytona, Darlington, Charlotte, Riverside, and Ascot (England).
Ride 'Em Cowboy (1936). A cowboy (Buck Jones) finds himself in a boxcar with a race car and a mechanic (George Cooper). The car owners need to win the big race to save their ranch. The mechanic convinces the cowboy to drive the car, using the nickname of "Speed." The good guys triumph over the villains as "Speed" wins the race and the girl.
Road Demon (1938). Dirt track champion Jimmy Blake (Henry Archer), who works as a truck driver, convinces his employer to back a race car. In the big race he is forced into the wall but his friend wins and sets a new speed record. Race sequences were filmed at the Indianapolis 500.
Road Racers (1959). SCCA racing in Southern California. A weird plot, but the action at Riverside Raceway, Willow Springs, and the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca is great. Starring Joel Lawrence.
Road Rebels (1963). Story of teen hot rodders.
The Roar of the Crowd (1953). Howard Duff stars as the driver whose dream is to win the Indianapolis 500. Lots of dirt track action, including the famous 14 car wreck and pit fire at Langhorne. Race drivers Duke Nalon, Johnnie Parsons, Henry Banks, and Bill Vukovich appear as themselves.
The Roaring Road (1919). Wallace Reid stars as an auto salesman who wants to break speed records and marry the boss's daughter. The climax is a race between a car and a train. Includes footage of the 1919 Santa Monica Road Race. The five short stories by Bryan Morgan on which the film was based were published in 1920 as a novel called The Roaring Road.
Roaring Roads (1935). A wealthy young man leaves home to find adventure and meets a girl who wants to drive a race car in place of her injured brother. The heir offers to drive in the big race and win the money the family needs.
S
Safari 3000 (1982). A writer is assigned to cover a three-day, 3,000 kilometer automobile race in Africa. Starring Stockard Channing and David Carradine.
The Seven Second Love Affair (1966). A documentary film about weekend drag racer Rick Stewart of Bakersfield, California, who wins a race but destroys his engine in the process. He and his partners rebuild it and set a new record in a qualifying run, but the engine explodes at the finish line. The record-219.65 in 7.30 seconds-stood for two months.
Six Pack (1982). Stock car racer Kenny Rogers, a ramblin' man, adopts six larcenous orphans and together they turn Rogers' career around and find a mother/wife in Erin Gray.
Smash-Up Alley SEE 43: The Petty Story.
Speed (1936). James Stewart plays test driver Terry Martin, who has designed a new carburetor. The company agrees to enter a car in the Indy 500 to test the new design. There is a malfunction and Terry crashes. Then, with the help of the love interest (Wendy Barrie), he tries to break the land speed record at Medoc dry lake. Parts of the movie were filmed at the Chrysler testing grounds in Detroit, the Indy race footage came from an actual 500 race, and the land speed record attempt was based on the 301.13 m.p.h. record set by Sir Malcolm Campbell in 1935 at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
The Speed Classic (1928). A wealthy young amateur driver is dumped by his girlfriend because he wants to race against professionals in The Speed Classic. Eventually she reconsiders, rescues him from a Tijuana jail, and helps him enter the Classic, which he wins. Based on "They're Off!" a short story by Arthur Hoerl.
Speed Crazed (1926). Repeated kidnappings don't prevent the hero from winning the race and the girl.
Speed Crazy (1959). After accidentally killing a garage mechanic during a holdup, an arrogant racing enthusiast hides out as a mechanic in a small town and beats the local drivers at the racetrack. The police eventually catch up with him. Racing scenes were filmed at Griffith Park.
The Speed Demon (1925). A mishmash of action including racing sequences as the story follows the exploits of Yankee race driver Speed Sherman, who loves a Kentucky colonel's daughter. Indy 500 champion Barney Oldfield appears in a cameo role.
Speed Devils (1935). Two friendly rivals crash during a race and decide to open a garage together.
The Speed Kings (1913). Race car driver Barney Oldfield portrays himself.
The Speed Limit (1926). A racing enthusiast has developed a new tire process. He drives in the big race to test the tires and wins the race, a manufacturer's contract, and the girl.
Speed Lovers (1968). Top NASCAR driver Fred Lorenzen plays himself in this story of a young man who wants to become a stock car driver. Filmed primarily around Atlanta, but includes racing action at Atlanta; Riverside; Hampton, Georgia; Asheville; Charlotte; North Wilkesboro; Rockingham; Daytona; Darlington; and Martinsville.
Speed Mad (1925). A young daredevil driver leaves home with only $5 after arguing with his father. He enters a race and foils the villains to win the $5000 prize.
Speed Maniac (1919). Rancher Billy Porter (Tom Mix) goes to San Francisco to promote an engine he has designed. Triumphing over various adversities, he enters a car with his motor in a race and wins. Some of the scenes were shot at Elysian Park in Los Angeles.
Speed to Spare (1937). Indy 500 winner Tommy Morton (Charles Quigley) visits the orphanage where he grew up and tracks down his younger brother Larry (Edward J. Nugent), who had left before him. Larry, now calling himself "Skids" Brannigan, is a daredevil midget auto racer. Tommy gets Larry a AAA card that allows him to work as a mechanic on Tommy's car. The brothers become racing rivals before all is forgiven in the big race. Scenes from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Ascot in Los Angeles.
Speed Zone (1989). Another cross-country road race, this time from Washington, DC to Santa Monica, CA. The entrants in the Cannonball Run include John Candy and Donna Dixon.
Speeding Venus (1926). A woman wins a cross-country race in a car prepared by her mechanic boyfriend.
Speedway (1929). An auto racer forgoes victory so that an aging competitor with heart problems can win the big race. This was the first feature film to focus on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Includes Indy 500 footage.
Speedway (1968). Elvis Presley and stock car racing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Driver Steve Grayson (Presley) owes back taxes due to the malfeasance of his manager. Aided by an IRS agent (Nancy Sinatra), he enters the Charlotte 600 and wins enough to pay the feds.
Speedway Junkie (1998). Teenager looking to become a stock-car driver gets derailed by the sleaze of Las Vegas and falls into a male prostitution ring. Produced by Gus Van Sant.
Spinout; also called California Holiday (1966). Elvis Presley is a road racer pursued by a bevy of beauties (Shelly Fabares, Diane McBain, Deborah Walley). Check out Elvis’ Cobra 427. Race scenes were filmed at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Stock Car (1955). An American driver (Paul Carpenter) helps an English woman (Rona Anderson) save the family garage after her father is killed in a race. He wins the race and the girl.
Straightaway (1933). Two racing brothers (Tim McCoy and William Bakewell) become rivals on and off the track. Plenty of action, including the Indy 500.
Stroker Ace (1983). Burt Reynolds is a stock car driver and Jim Nabors is his faithful mechanic. Thin material bolstered by some track action at Daytona and other top tracks. A bonus is seeing Reynolds in a chicken suit.
Such Men Are Dangerous. SEE The Racers
T
Teenage Rebel (1956). Ginger Rogers and Michael Rennie star in a light romance that features “drag racing, be-bop, and love.”
Teenage Thunder (1958). Robert Fuller, Charles Courtney, and Melinda Byron star in the familiar story of rebellious youth and hot rodding.
Ten Laps to Go (1938). Cocky top driver (Rex Lease) is seriously injured in a crash and loses his nerve. Later, in order to save a friend's business, he relieves a driver during a midget race and wins. This was probably the first film about midget auto racing. Some scenes were shot at Victor McLaglen's stadium.
Thirty a Week (1918). Barbara (Tallulah Bankhead) marries her father's chauffeur Dan (Tom Moore). Dan turns to racing to support his wife. Some scenes were shot at Sheepshead Bay Race Track, New York.
Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (also called Monte Carlo or Bust) (1969). An automotive version of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines . In slapstick style, heroes and villains compete in a 1920s Monte Carlo Rally. Tony Curtis and Terry Thomas head an international cast. Some nice racing sequences. Filmed in Italy, France, and Sweden.
Thunder Alley (1967). Stock car driver Fabian blacks out and causes the death of another driver. The thin plot follows his struggle to return to racing. Includes stock car racing scenes filmed at Ascot Raceway in Gardena, California and Darlington Raceway, SC. Stock car driver LeeRoy Yarbrough went to Hollywood to coach Fabian in handling the 426 Hemi-powered Dodge during close-ups. Yarborough, who actually won with the car at Daytona and Charlotte, did the high speed driving in the film. Co-stars Annette Funicello, Diane McBain, and Jan Murray.
Thunder in Carolina (1960). Stock car racer Rory Calhoun initially appears to be a manipulative, win-at-any-cost, womanizing driver, but soon reveals his better nature. This tribute to NASCAR centers on the Southern 500 race at Darlington and includes great footage from an actual Southern 500 race plus the parade through downtown Darlington, the Miss Southern 500 beauty pageant, etc. There are also some good scenes of driving along twisting South Carolina mountain roads.
Thunder in Dixie (1965). A stock car driver blames his former partner for the death of his fiancee, and plans to get revenge during the running of the Dixie 400. Things don't work out according to plan on the track, and the two settle their differences. Racing scenes were filmed at the Atlanta International Raceway.
Thunder Road (1958). Classic gritty black and white film of Harlan County, Kentucky moonshiners trying to elude the law. Robert Mitchum stars as the son who races along the back roads with the revenuers in full pursuit. Mitchum's rendition of the title song was a hit record. (SCRC)
Tiny Lund: Hard Charger; also called Hard Charger (1969). A documentary of the career of Tiny Lund, an independent stock car racer.
To Please a Lady; also called Red Hot Wheels (1950). Daredevil midget race car driver Clark Gable romances journalist Barbara Stanwyck. She gets him barred from the midget tracks after the death of another driver and he turns to stunt driving. He saves enough to buy a car and enters the Indianapolis 500. Lots of track action, primarily filmed at Indianapolis; Syracuse, New York; and Culver City Stadium in California. The dirt track sequences were filmed in Arlington Downs, Texas. Several racing personalities appeared as themselves in the film, including drivers Duane Carter, Johnnie Parsons, Henry Banks, and Walt Faulkner, and Indianapolis announcer Ted Husing. A television version starring John Hodiak and Donna Reed was broadcast on the Lux Video Theatre on November 26, 1951. (SCRC)
Track of Thunder (1967). Cliched tale of gangsters trying to muscle in on the stock car racing scene. Includes race footage from various Tennessee tracks. Tom Kirk stars.
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). This spare, documentary-like classic has singer/songwriter James Taylor and former Beach Boy Dennis Wilson drag racing across America. Warren Oates shines as an older drifter. (SCRC)
V
Viva Las Vegas; also called Love in Las Vegas (1964). Elvis Presley is trying to raise money to buy an engine that will help him win the Grand Prix race in Las Vegas. Typical Presley flick, but the climactic race is a good one. Co-starring Ann-Margret.
W
The Weekend Warriors (1966). A documentary of gas and fuel drag racing filmed at the 1965 Winternationals in Phoenix. Featured are Gordon Collett, Connie Kalitta, Bill Jenkins, and Don Garlits.
What's Your Hurry? (1920). Race driver Dusty Rhoades (Wallace Reid) makes a bargain with his girlfriend's father to win her hand in marriage if he can make the family truck business famous. He recruits race drivers to drive trucks loaded with supplies over near impassible roads to a collapsing dam and saves the valley. Marriage follows. Based on Bryan Morgan's short story "The Hippopotamus Parade."
The Wild Racers (1968). Forgettable story of a driver (Fabian) whose passion is racing and working his way through the local bevy of beauties. Liberally padded with racing footage. Location scenes were filmed in Spain and England.
The Winner. SEE Pit Stop
Winning (1969). Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward star in this examination of the relationship between an race driver and his wife. Filmed on location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Exciting Indy 500 footage, including the huge wreck on the first lap of the 1966 race that eliminated eleven cars.
Y
The Young Hellions SEE High School Confidential.
The Young Racers (1963). A Grand Prix champion, played by William Campbell, seems to be a win at any cost, girl in every port type, but underneath has a heart of gold. The predictable story is handicapped by poor dialog, but the footage of actual Grand Prix races in France, Belgium, England, and Monaco helps. Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren, and Trevor Taylor appear as themselves.
Anyone seen or got any thoughts on the following films?
molehusband said:
Genevieve (1953). "Genevieve" is a 1904 Darracq roadster entered in the annual London-to-Brighton rally. Its owners, played by John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan, indulge in keen competition with their friendly rivals Kenneth More and Kay Kendall.
Heart Like a Wheel (1983). An excellent film adaption of the life of drag racer Shirley Muldowny, who battled sex discrimination to become the NHRA champion. Bonnie Bedelia and Beau Bridges give outstanding performances as the feisty Muldowney and fellow racer (and husband) Connie Kallita. (SCRC)
Anyone seen or got any thoughts on the following films?
Genevieve is a classic and I still end up watching it whenever its on.
Heart like a wheel is really good with some great racing shots, one im trying to find on DVD
Le Mans is fantastic
Seen a lot of the rest, didnt realise there were so many race films out there.
I suppose you could include Vanishing Point as it is technically a race
favourite film has to be
Grand Prix 1967
,,,,,,,I guess i'm biased as i have a Lotus 20 and they used these type of cars in the film ( james garners Lotus has just been sold )
interestingly I found a copy of Grand Prix on DVD recently only its in Russian !!!!
Le mans
great movie ; Porsche 917 v Ferrari 512 , Forget the storyline sit back listen to those flat/ v12 engines !! ( david piper lost a leg during the filming ) !!
you have to buy the book of the film A french kiss with death ( michael keyser )great anicdote of a mechanic who borrowed one of the Ferrari 512s and drove it into town to impress his girlfriend !!
The speed merchants 1970 ( documentry Michael Keyser )
Bullitt
great soundtrack , great cars , great driving from Bill Hickman ( Dodge Charger )
bud Ekins / Steve McQueen ( Mustang )
The italien job
; just an all round great british movie and those mimis, ""hold on lads ive got a great idea''.oh did i mention the Muria !!
just realised all these movies late 60s early 70s
cheers
DBS
"Grand Prix" was filmed in 1966 (although released in 1967) and was shot during the 1966 GP season. It is worthwhile watching just to see how much the world of F1 has changed in the intervening 40 years - no sponsorship, no safety, fantastic circuits, open face helmets, Francoise Hardy 
Up to now it has not yet been released by MGM in DVD which is a real pity as it was shot in supoer wide-screen Cinerama and made for spectacular viewing in a proper Cinerama cinema. The director, the late John Frankenheimer, also used the then trendy idea of splitting the screen up into picture boxes showing different aspects of the story unfolding at the same time. This technique is enjoying a vogue again mainly because of the possibilities offered by wide screen TV. This means that the film actually looks very "modern" in style.
There has been a petition running for a couple of years to try and persuade MGM to release it and it now looks that a date has been set in September this year. Guess who'll be first in line to order?
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Sunday 26th March 12:11
Up to now it has not yet been released by MGM in DVD which is a real pity as it was shot in supoer wide-screen Cinerama and made for spectacular viewing in a proper Cinerama cinema. The director, the late John Frankenheimer, also used the then trendy idea of splitting the screen up into picture boxes showing different aspects of the story unfolding at the same time. This technique is enjoying a vogue again mainly because of the possibilities offered by wide screen TV. This means that the film actually looks very "modern" in style.
There has been a petition running for a couple of years to try and persuade MGM to release it and it now looks that a date has been set in September this year. Guess who'll be first in line to order?
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Sunday 26th March 12:11
Cotty said:
Genevieve (1953). "Genevieve" is a 1904 Darracq roadster entered in the annual London-to-Brighton rally.
Genevieve is a classic and I still end up watching it whenever its on.
Although Darracq is long gone G raced against a Spyker who are now back at Le Mans.
Eric Mc said:
"Grand Prix" was filmed in 1966 (although released in 1967) and was shot during the 1966 GP season. It is worthwhile watching just to see how much the world of F1 has changed in the intervening 40 years - no sponsorship, no safety, fantastic circuits, open face helmets, Francoise Hardy
Up to now it has not yet been released by MGM in DVD which is a real pity as it was shot in supoer wide-screen Cinerama and made for spectacular viewing in a proper Cinerama cinema. The director, the late John Frankenheimer, also used the then trendy idea of splitting the screen up into picture boxes showing different aspects of the story unfolding at the same time. This technique is enjoying a vogue again mainly because of the possibilities offered by wide screen TV. This means that the film actually looks very "modern" in style.
There has been a petition running for a couple of years to try and persuade MGM to release it and it now looks that a date has been set in September this year. Guess who'll be first in line to order?
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Sunday 26th March 12:11
I have been searching for this film on DVD for some time
It has been released in Russia ( probably pirate ) its packed together with Chequered flag
I could nt read if the film is in English or dubbed in Russian , however I will get an opertunity to check , needless to say if its in English . I will buy it .
dont understand why this hasnt been releaded ,in the UK ,
if it does turn out to be in English ...........I will get an extra copy for you Eric
your not far from me in Dorset
see what i can do
cheers
DBS
>> Edited by DBSV8 on Sunday 26th March 12:40
Cannonball; also called Carquake (1976). David Carradine survives all the dirty tactics of rival drivers in this story of a road race from Los Angeles to New York.
One of my favourite films. Acting generally is third rate but the ideas are superb - an officer somehow stops him in the middle of the desert doing about 150mph "why so fast?" "just trying to keep up with the flow of traffic." Also stars Sylvester Stallone and the lawyer woman o/o Hill Street Blues.
One of my favourite films. Acting generally is third rate but the ideas are superb - an officer somehow stops him in the middle of the desert doing about 150mph "why so fast?" "just trying to keep up with the flow of traffic." Also stars Sylvester Stallone and the lawyer woman o/o Hill Street Blues.
Death Race 2000 (1975). In this action packed, campy satire, a field including Frankenstein (David Carradine) and Machine Gun Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone) compete in a transcontinental road race that awards points for speed and hitting pedestrians. The Roger Corman film has become a minor cult classic.
Caused a big fuss at the time but would struggle to rate above a U now. Sports cars have 4x4 capability. Very interesting pit stops.
Caused a big fuss at the time but would struggle to rate above a U now. Sports cars have 4x4 capability. Very interesting pit stops.
Eric Mc said:
...it was shot in supoer wide-screen Cinerama and made for spectacular viewing in a proper Cinerama cinema.
I saw it, with my father, at the Cinerama in Boston when it was first released. For years after I would stay up late to watch it whenever it was shown on TV. I'd turn up the volume for that starting sequence with the split screen shots...
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