LeMans (1971)

[AB195]

LeMans (1971), the movie starring Steve McQueen is on TCM Station now, saw it at the drive-in theatre when I was a kid. Almost a 40 year old movie, it's still a classic.
In the first 45 minutes or so, barely a word is spoken, hardly any dialogue whatsoever, just filming of the scenes before and the very beginnings of the race. No boogety-boogety BS here, or any announcers for that matter, the first 45 minutes or so of this flick are probably better than any 4 1/2 hours of Cup racing I've ever witnessed, in my opinion. The style in which it was filmed is very unique.

[Gary J]

Yea I just saw the 2nd half, but saw it when it premiered too. I was able to see those same cars in 1970 Sebring 12 hour race one of the 1st races I ever saw. Mcqueen finished 2 nd that day but in one of the slower 908 Porsches .

[Edm]

Just finished watching it myself. Much better then any race these Nascar idiots put on tv. I think I might go put Strokers Ace on now.

[Gary J]

It's not racing but it is real car stunts not computer produced junk. DEATH PROOF by Quentin Taranto!!!!

[AB195]

Stroker Ace, Cole Trickle, and Ricky Bobby.......
Steve McQueen still has the high marks, even in The Great Escape, he could wheel a motorcycle bada$$.

[Edm]

Steve McQueen still has the high marks.

Without a doubt. He was before my time but he still made great movies. I think I was 8 or 9 when Strokers Ace came out, so you can imagine from Smokey and the Bandit that I was already a Burt Reynolds fan. For a 15 year old kid, Days of Thunder was awesome, not so much now. Ricky Bobby was horrible, it was a complete waste of the 20 minutes that I was able to watch.

[ancrdave]

"Le Mans" was a great movie... Even James Garner's "Grand Prix," although a bit sappy at times, had a lot of great footage and gave you a pretty good feel of what F-1 racing was like back in the late '60s - much different than today...
There are some really good old movies (very hard to find) about short track racing:
"Fever Heat" (1967) was one of the last films Nick Adams made before he committed suicide (He also starred as Johhny Yuma in the TV show "The Rebel" and as Andy Griffith's sidekick Benjamin in "No Time for Seargents")...
This movie was filmed at a short track in Iowa and in the town near there and contained some great racing footage...
"Hell on Wheels" (1967) starred Marty Robbins as himself and featured awesome footage from the old Nashville Fairgrounds and plenty of good Marty Robbins country tunes...
"Six Pack" (1982) starred Kenny Rogers and a very young Diane Lane... Sort of a dumb movie but the dirt track footage was actually pretty good stuff...
There was also a flick shot partially at Golden Gate Speedway around 1970 that was really pretty good... I believe the lead actor was Rory Calhoun... Even Gordon Solie had a bit part in it...
Another neat movie, although it had to deal with Motorcycles was "On Any Sunday" (1971)... This was also produced and starred Steve McQueen along with noted motorcycle stars of the late '60s and early '70s like Malcolm Smith, Mert Lawwill and Bengt Aberg... Had footage from Motorcycle Grand Prix, Flat Track, Skill Trials, Off Road... about everything you could do on a motorcycle... This is an awesome film even if you aren't into bikes... The opening scene shows kids racing their bicycles on a dirt track and is thought to have actually spurred the original intrest in the formation of BMX...
Also, here is one I have never found or seen: "Tiny Lund - Hard Charger"... This was an 89 min. documentary where the crew followed Lund around from short tracks to Grand National races... Would be a blast to watch if you could find it... It was released in 1969...

[Rick Anges]

Found this.........

TINY LUND: HARD CHARGER!

A documentary that showcased the stock car driving career of Dewayne
"Tiny"Lund featuring some of the racing greats, Curtis Turner, Darel Dieringer, Jim Hurtibuise, Dick Hutcherson, James Hylton, Bobby Isaac, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson, Sam McQuagg, Marvin Panch, David Pearson, Richard Petty, and Cale Yarborough.
Most of the major tracks were featured.

Poster info: The movie was released in 1969, but the artwork
was assigned from the National Screen Service in 1967, an unusual difference in dates. This film is a very rare find.

[BOB KRUPA]

LeMans ( 1971 )

Does anybody remember Mickey Rooney in "In The Big Wheel" 1949.
and Clark Gable in "To Please a Lady" 1950.
Both Mickey and Clark started in Midgets and ended up in Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Both movies was good.

[AJ14]

The " Big Wheel " was one of the better open wheel movies made . Some great cars and racing scenes . Still , no movie has ever beaten " Grand Prix " for racing footage and oh the engine sounds . I also like " Greased Lightning " for the story and because of the old race cars .

[Todd McCreary]

Yea I just saw the 2nd half

i didn't catch it until the back 1/3, right as McQueen was wrecking out. seemed fairly decent.

[Dana Barlow]

Does anybody remember Mickey Rooney in "In The Big Wheel" 1949.
and Clark Gable in "To Please a Lady" 1950.
Both Mickey and Clark started in Midgets and ended up in Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Both movies was good.

Yes,they were great shots of old cars doing it,very enjoyible.
Many star's found racing to be great fun and took it up, after doing a little in movies,after all this was a sport that don't matter how big a star ya are some were other then at a race then and now,plus the fact that it is something that can be done ,in a closed pit/so fans were not so over powering ,making them feel more like just another racer and a nice brake from fan over load..
I was lucky and did some F5000 racing and some Seabring 12hr and Daytona 24hr racing,were I got to meet Garner's,Smothers,McQueen,Newman and many others just being there self and having a great time.

[Joe]

"To Please a Lady" is a great flick. Clark Gable kicked ass.

I don't get why everyone seems to hate Days of Thunder. So what if it's completely unrealistic and Tom Cruise loves himself some scientology? It captures the glory of stock car racing rather well.

[Gary J]

Some of the incidents in that movie really happened like the racing of hospital beds and the pit crew eating ice cream when the car came into the pits. the late Bobby Hamilton got his start in Nascar because he drove a car for the movie.