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(racing car revving)
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(upbeat music)
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(racing car revving)
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(trumpet music)
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[Narrator] This is the untold story
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of the greatest movie, never made.
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A movie that would have been the world's
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first authentic motion
picture about Formula 1,
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and starring the coolest man
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to ever get behind the
wheel, Steve McQueen.
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- As far as reality is concerned
my education was very good.
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- We spent half our time
keeping him out of jail.
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- It was Steve McQueen driving this movie
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and he was a racer.
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- [Narrator] Of course, we
can't show you that film,
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but by piecing together
never before seen rushes,
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along with original on-set photos,
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letters, scripts and interviews,
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we aim to give you a sense
of what might have been,
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for the audience and McQueen.
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- He embraced me; said
"You can have anything."
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- He is impossible to
take your eyes off of.
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Completely magnetic.
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- A terrible window of death.
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- I think it's a very pure
thing; I'd like to learn more.
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(racing car revving)
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- [Narrator] This wasn't
just a race on the track.
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It was a race between two
massive Hollywood studios,
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determined to do whatever it took to win.
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- You have to have the skill
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to create something people think is real.
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- [Christina] He was determined
to make the definitive film
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about Formula 1.
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- It would have been bigger than "Jaws".
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- [Narrator] This is the story
of "Day of the Champion".
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(racing car revving)
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♪ People see me but they just don't know ♪
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♪ What's in my heart,
and why I love you so ♪
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♪ I love you baby like
a miner loves gold ♪
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♪ So come on baby, let
the good times roll ♪
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♪ (instrumental music) ♪
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[Narrator] The 1960s gave
birth to a new America.
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The country hoped for a new
direction with the election
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of John F. Kennedy, only to
see him shot down in Dallas.
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It sought harmony through
the civil rights movement,
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while protests over Vietnam
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and the Cuban Missile crisis
dominated the headlines.
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America's cultural impact
on the world during
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that decade is undeniable.
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Bob Dylan, Aretha
Franklin, Andy Warhol Elvis
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and a movie industry in transition.
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Old men who could not
relate to the explosion
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of youth culture were swiftly moved aside.
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Films became brasher
and more socially aware.
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The inmates were allowed
to take over the asylum,
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so long as their movies made sense
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and more importantly, dollars.
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- Hollywood in the early 60s
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is essentially the wheels
are starting to come
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off basically since the
end of the Second World War
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the breaking apart of the studio system
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is happening slowly across that period.
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And by the early '60s, 1963ish,
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you have the lowest domestic
output of movies ever
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in American history.
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TV was the enemy to
Hollywood for a long time
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but as they started to
syndicate their movies
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into TV and realized
how profitable it was,
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that barrier started to come down a bit.
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And so you had actors like Clint Eastwood
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who started out in "Rawhide"
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and with Steve McQueen with
"Wanted: Dead Or Alive",
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it was a very popular show.
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- [Narrator] From '58
to '61 McQueen starred
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in a western TV show called
"Wanted: Dead or Alive".
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His detached and mysterious
acting style made this stand out
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from the average western serial.
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It not only made him a household name
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but helped to create his antihero persona,
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which characterized so
many of his future roles.
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His big break in the movies came thanks
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to another man with piercing blue eyes
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when Frank Sinatra
sacked Sammy Davis Junior
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from "Never So Few" after an argument.
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Sinatra and director
John Sturges gave McQueen
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the role of Bill Ringa,
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with Sinatra insisting that
McQueen got plenty of close ups
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and screen time after seeing
something special in the,
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then 29-year-old.
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- [Actor] Josh!
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- I think everyone agrees, John Sturges,
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one of his great strengths
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was he could cast what he
called the gut of the picture.
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Don't worry about who's starring in it,
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that'll take care of
itself but cast that gut.
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- Intuitively, a very good actor
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and exuberant about his work, he enjoyed,
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a warrior, like most good actors are.
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- It was kind of a Pack
picture, kind of Sinatra's Pack,
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but with this one, young outsider.
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Frank kind of saw to it
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that Steve was at the right
place at the right time.
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I'm talking about on the
playing field, turning a scene,
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and off the playing field.
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Frank was careful that he got
the help when he needed it,
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he got the angle when he needed it
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and he got the brothering,
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if you will, actor's
coaching when he needed it.
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- Certainly not an intellectual,
he didn't read much.
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He didn't know very much
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about what was happening in the world,
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but he enjoyed life and we
became very good friends.
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- [Narrator] McQueen would
be the first to admit he
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was no intellectual.
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His difficult and abusive
childhood giving no clues as
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to the global stardom that would follow.
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Born into poverty and raised
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with a great deal of insecurity,
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he was abandoned by his stunt
pilot father at six months,
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then sent by his alcoholic
mother to live on his great,
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uncle's farm aged just three,
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he drifted through childhood
committing petty crimes
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and later admitting; "I was
looking for a little love,
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but there wasn't much of it around."
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- I think the stepdad relationship
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wasn't a good one, he
used to beat on Steve.
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His mother didn't really
do anything about it
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and he never forgave her for that.
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- [Narrator] After several
arrests for shoplifting
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and stealing hub caps,
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in his mid-teens McQueen
ended up in a reform school
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for 'delinquent' children
just outside of Los Angeles.
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- Steve ended up in Boy's Republic,
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Chino and Steve hated it at first
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and resented his mother for it greatly
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but in later life he used to go back there
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and meet the kids there
and he would take items
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from his movie sets there
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and I think although he
maybe didn't appreciate it
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at the time, he came to
appreciate it in later life
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just what it did for him.
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- His name was Mr Panter and
he was the superintendent,
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I guess, of the place.
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And Steve was getting into
all sorts of trouble at
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that time and the guy
eventually took him aside
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after he tried to run away,
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and of course they
caught him, and he said,
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"You better adjust to some regimentation
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or you'll just be a
very unhappy young man,
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in this place anyway."
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So with that, I guess he was able to learn
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that maybe a little adapting
to society would be okay.
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(laughs)
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- You have a choice in life
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and he made a choice that
this is not the life I want
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to go down, I don't want
to end up in prison,
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I don't want to be just another statistic,
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I want to use this as a springboard.
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Let me use my anger, let me
use my pain and my poverty
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and make it into something amazing,
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which the fact that we're
talking about him now,
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so many years later, is
actually what he did.
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- [Narrator] In 1947,
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and already branded as
one of life's "Outsiders",
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the 17-year-old McQueen
enlisted in the US Marines.
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He served as a tank driver,
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an experience that fueled his obsession
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for anything with an engine.
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Although there were occasional rebellions,
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he eventually embraced the rigor
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and discipline of military life
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and was honorably discharged in 1950.
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- He was on duty with the
Navy in the Aleutian Islands,
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just above the Arctic Circle.
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He was cold and he was
out somewhere in his jeep
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and he was heating a can of
beans in the exhaust pipe
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of the jeep, a McQueen manoeuvre.
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And a General on inspection showed up
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and Steve's standing there to attention
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and the General is saying,
"What's going on soldier."
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So the beans exploded and
wiped out the General!
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So who but Steve McQueen
could be court martialled
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for firing beans on a General, you know.
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These things just happened to him."
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- [Narrator] He was clearly aware
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of his educational disadvantage,
but his extreme focus
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and life experience allowed him
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to tackle any fresh
conflict he encountered.
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- Well, my scholastic
standards weren't very good.
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I went as far as the eighth grade but
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as far as reality is concerned,
by education was very good.
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And perhaps a man that
kicks around quite a bit
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is a little stronger in quarters
he needs to be stronger in
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as far as dignity is concerned,
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and a little lenient
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in quarters about
sensitivity and so forth.
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I think if you've been kicked around,
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you don't want to be kicked again.
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- With the G.I. Bill of Rights behind him,
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McQueen had money to learn a trade
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and settled on trying
to make it a profession
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in which he would meet the most girls.
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- I hitchhiked to New
York and I studied there
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00:09:11,101 --> 00:09:13,261
and got a scholarship
to a dramatic school.
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Then I did a couple very
small parts on television,
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and then my first Broadway show,
which is a legitimate play,
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and I did two of those.
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Then I came West, I
hitchhiked to California,
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I was broke again.
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Then when I got to California,
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I guess they were hunting for a cowboy
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because they wanted me
for a series and I did it
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and it lasted for 3 years
in the United States
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and fortunately for me
it was very popular.
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(hopeful music)
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- I think McQueen starts
to get good notices with
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"The Magnificent Seven" and
he does everything he can,
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he pulls out all the stops to
get the audience's attention
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00:09:50,301 --> 00:09:51,241
in this ensemble piece,
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where Yul Brynner is really the big star.
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And stories abound about
their relationship on set
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and how much he was
kind of fiddling around
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in the background, and
messing with his hat.
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00:10:01,021 --> 00:10:03,001
Always doing something to
draw the audience's eye
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00:10:03,101 --> 00:10:04,281
to himself.
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00:10:04,381 --> 00:10:08,121
John Sturges was a good bit
older than Steve McQueen.
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He'd come up in Hollywood
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in the 1930s as a jobbing Director.
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Really found his niche in
the '50s with westerns,
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with action-oriented westerns.
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So, in 1955 he makes "Bad
Day At Black Rock" which
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is sort of a contemporary
western starring "Spencer Tracy".
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00:10:23,381 --> 00:10:24,481
McQueen really was lucky
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00:10:24,581 --> 00:10:26,921
in that Sturges was equally interested
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in cars as he was, he
was kind of a man's man.
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00:10:30,741 --> 00:10:32,681
And he had McQueen's respect
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because even at that point in his career,
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McQueen was known for being stubborn
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and sort of temperamental.
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- I think what John Sturges
and Steve McQueen had in common
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00:10:41,901 --> 00:10:46,321
was just an attitude of;
"Let's get on with it!"
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There was a sort of workman-like
charm about both of them.
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00:10:49,621 --> 00:10:52,401
And that's not to say that
they didn't create amazing,
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00:10:52,501 --> 00:10:55,121
artistic and poetic
moments on film together.
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00:10:55,221 --> 00:10:57,121
And I think they both really appreciated
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that trait in one another.
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- Well, Sturges also
grew up without a father
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00:11:00,701 --> 00:11:04,681
so maybe there was a link
there between them in that way.
249
00:11:04,781 --> 00:11:06,601
- [Narrator] So the
street-kid had made it.
250
00:11:06,701 --> 00:11:09,521
By the age of 30, he was earning big money
251
00:11:09,621 --> 00:11:11,921
and was now a family
man with a wife, Neile,
252
00:11:12,021 --> 00:11:14,441
and two children, Chad and Terry.
253
00:11:14,541 --> 00:11:16,841
- A lot of actors nowadays,
you know, are making it,
254
00:11:16,941 --> 00:11:18,941
they are successful see?
255
00:11:19,661 --> 00:11:21,121
And they're very angry.
256
00:11:21,221 --> 00:11:23,321
Now what have they got to be angry about?
257
00:11:23,421 --> 00:11:25,881
If they were really broke
and they had a hassle,
258
00:11:25,981 --> 00:11:27,721
But if they are successful,
they should be very happy.
259
00:11:27,821 --> 00:11:29,561
I'm happy, I've got a
beautiful wife, two kids,
260
00:11:29,661 --> 00:11:32,201
two houses, a couple of cars
and my own film company.
261
00:11:32,301 --> 00:11:33,521
I'm not buggin' nothing!
262
00:11:33,621 --> 00:11:34,361
(laughs)
263
00:11:34,461 --> 00:11:35,161
- Steve, why are you here?
264
00:11:35,261 --> 00:11:36,001
To make a picture?
265
00:11:36,101 --> 00:11:39,201
- We are doing "The War
Lover", John Hersey's novel.
266
00:11:39,301 --> 00:11:40,921
It's the story of daylight
bombing in World War Two
267
00:11:41,021 --> 00:11:43,841
and the American flyers
who fought here in London.
268
00:11:43,941 --> 00:11:45,241
There's only two things
that mean anything to me,
269
00:11:45,341 --> 00:11:47,041
flying and women.
270
00:11:47,141 --> 00:11:48,401
- In that order?
271
00:11:48,501 --> 00:11:50,681
- In any order, or both together.
272
00:11:50,781 --> 00:11:52,161
(engine plane revving)
273
00:11:52,261 --> 00:11:53,441
- [Narrator] With his newfound fame
274
00:11:53,541 --> 00:11:56,601
and wealth came the opportunity
to indulge his passion
275
00:11:56,701 --> 00:11:58,281
for motorcycles and cars.
276
00:11:58,381 --> 00:12:00,641
So, as well as starring
opposite Robert Wagner
277
00:12:00,741 --> 00:12:02,161
and Shirley Anne Field,
278
00:12:02,261 --> 00:12:03,641
McQueen's main motivation
279
00:12:03,741 --> 00:12:05,601
for spending three months in rural Norfolk
280
00:12:05,701 --> 00:12:10,401
in 1962 was the film unit's
proximity to Snetterton Circuit,
281
00:12:10,501 --> 00:12:12,801
at that time, the world's foremost school
282
00:12:12,901 --> 00:12:15,841
for people who wanted to
learn to how to race cars.
283
00:12:15,941 --> 00:12:18,441
(trumpet music)
284
00:12:18,541 --> 00:12:20,521
- Yeah, when McQueen first came over here
285
00:12:20,621 --> 00:12:22,041
to film "The War Lover",
286
00:12:22,141 --> 00:12:26,641
he was really keen to drive racing cars
287
00:12:26,741 --> 00:12:28,081
and learn to drive racing cars, well,
288
00:12:28,181 --> 00:12:31,401
I think Jim Russell was an American driver
289
00:12:31,501 --> 00:12:32,681
who was actually pretty good
290
00:12:32,781 --> 00:12:34,321
and he started this new concept
291
00:12:34,421 --> 00:12:36,961
of a race driver school
based at Snetterton
292
00:12:37,061 --> 00:12:39,081
and because it was the only
one of its type at the time,
293
00:12:39,181 --> 00:12:42,481
it was like, "Wow what a great thing!
294
00:12:42,581 --> 00:12:43,921
You know, we can go
and sit in a racing car
295
00:12:44,021 --> 00:12:45,081
and learn how to be race drivers."
296
00:12:45,181 --> 00:12:46,561
And that hadn't happened before
297
00:12:46,661 --> 00:12:47,881
and I think it's quite interesting
298
00:12:47,981 --> 00:12:49,881
that Steve McQueen knew about that
299
00:12:49,981 --> 00:12:52,281
and was attracted by that, it says a lot.
300
00:12:52,381 --> 00:12:57,161
It speaks a lot to the purity
of Steve's love of racing,
301
00:12:57,261 --> 00:12:59,601
I think that he thought, "Wow, Snetterton.
302
00:12:59,701 --> 00:13:01,601
Bleak, cold, rainy,
303
00:13:01,701 --> 00:13:03,961
but it's the Jim Russell
School I wanna be there!"
304
00:13:04,061 --> 00:13:05,881
- Steve, talking about cars.
305
00:13:05,981 --> 00:13:08,241
You race them and you race them very fast.
306
00:13:08,341 --> 00:13:10,281
Now I don't know any
other actor who does this
307
00:13:10,381 --> 00:13:12,721
sort of activity the way you do.
308
00:13:12,821 --> 00:13:13,521
Why do you do it?
309
00:13:13,621 --> 00:13:15,201
Why are you in such a hurry?
310
00:13:15,301 --> 00:13:17,881
- I think perhaps a lot
of it has to do with fear.
311
00:13:17,981 --> 00:13:19,481
I think that race driving is an art,
312
00:13:19,581 --> 00:13:21,401
and I don't put myself in the class
313
00:13:21,501 --> 00:13:24,601
of Stirling Moss or
Dan Gurney or Phil Hill
314
00:13:24,701 --> 00:13:25,781
or some of the people who are driving here
315
00:13:25,861 --> 00:13:27,921
in your Formula 1 or
your international races,
316
00:13:28,021 --> 00:13:30,561
but I remember the first time
I raced I was very frightened,
317
00:13:30,661 --> 00:13:32,361
it scared me and I didn't like
the idea of being frightened
318
00:13:32,461 --> 00:13:33,221
and I wanted to overcome it.
319
00:13:33,301 --> 00:13:34,481
That was one element.
320
00:13:34,581 --> 00:13:36,241
The other elements is
it's a very pure thing.
321
00:13:36,341 --> 00:13:39,201
It's one of the few things
in life you can't fix.
322
00:13:39,301 --> 00:13:40,081
You can't fix this.
323
00:13:40,181 --> 00:13:41,041
You can go to somebody and say;
324
00:13:41,141 --> 00:13:43,001
"I'm going to buy my way out of this."
325
00:13:43,101 --> 00:13:44,601
When you are out there by
yourself you are very much
326
00:13:44,701 --> 00:13:45,841
by yourself.
327
00:13:45,941 --> 00:13:46,701
I think it's a very pure thing,
328
00:13:46,781 --> 00:13:49,841
I'd like to learn more and I
plan on doing a little racing
329
00:13:49,941 --> 00:13:51,801
while I'm in your county, I like to learn.
330
00:13:51,901 --> 00:13:53,001
Yes, I would.
331
00:13:53,101 --> 00:13:54,161
I think your courses are very fast
332
00:13:54,261 --> 00:13:55,561
and I could learn quite
a bit from your drivers
333
00:13:55,661 --> 00:13:57,601
so I'd like to learn as much as I can.
334
00:13:57,701 --> 00:13:58,801
- The United States really
335
00:13:58,901 --> 00:14:02,561
only became aware of
European-style racing,
336
00:14:02,661 --> 00:14:04,401
sports car racing,
337
00:14:04,501 --> 00:14:09,161
Formula 1 single-seater racing
through the rich young men
338
00:14:09,261 --> 00:14:11,201
in California just after the war
339
00:14:11,301 --> 00:14:15,281
who started off racing
hot-rod type cars on circuits
340
00:14:15,381 --> 00:14:18,841
but then found that if you
had the money to buy a Ferrari
341
00:14:18,941 --> 00:14:23,041
or a Maserati from Europe,
they could then win races.
342
00:14:23,141 --> 00:14:25,081
Steve McQueen, certainly,
343
00:14:25,181 --> 00:14:27,721
was much more interested
in European-style racing
344
00:14:27,821 --> 00:14:30,121
and he picked up on the glamor
345
00:14:30,221 --> 00:14:33,441
and romanticism of Formula 1 racing.
346
00:14:33,541 --> 00:14:35,441
- [Narrator] One driver
seemingly fitted the bill
347
00:14:35,541 --> 00:14:37,521
as McQueen's "UK racing mentor".
348
00:14:37,621 --> 00:14:40,881
A tall, slim aristocrat by
the name of John Whitmore.
349
00:14:40,981 --> 00:14:43,201
His background and lifestyle
could not have been
350
00:14:43,301 --> 00:14:47,041
more different from rural
Indiana or indeed Hollywood.
351
00:14:47,141 --> 00:14:50,201
- We grew up knowing each other very well.
352
00:14:50,301 --> 00:14:55,301
And he had a lovely house
that he had in Balfour Place
353
00:14:56,421 --> 00:15:00,201
just one back from Park Lane.
354
00:15:00,301 --> 00:15:03,761
He was one of Jimmy Clark's best friends
355
00:15:03,861 --> 00:15:05,281
and one of my best friends.
356
00:15:05,381 --> 00:15:08,561
But John, he wasn't a
gentleman racing driver.
357
00:15:08,661 --> 00:15:13,561
He was a racing driver
er no gentlemanly manners
358
00:15:13,661 --> 00:15:14,401
or anything like that.
359
00:15:14,501 --> 00:15:15,561
Of course, he was well-mannered,
360
00:15:15,661 --> 00:15:17,641
of course he was so well, educated,
361
00:15:17,741 --> 00:15:20,561
but he just wanted to be one of the boys.
362
00:15:20,661 --> 00:15:24,601
- Steve was over here making a black
363
00:15:24,701 --> 00:15:28,221
and white film actually.
364
00:15:29,341 --> 00:15:34,341
And he and I just happened
to meet and we got talking
365
00:15:34,861 --> 00:15:36,281
and we talked for about two hours
366
00:15:36,381 --> 00:15:38,921
and found that we had a
lot of common interests.
367
00:15:39,021 --> 00:15:41,161
Steve was riding motorcycles,
368
00:15:41,261 --> 00:15:42,841
he was a very good motorcyclist
369
00:15:42,941 --> 00:15:45,081
and also was interested in cars.
370
00:15:45,181 --> 00:15:48,601
- And y then, Steve had
done his Jim Russell course
371
00:15:48,701 --> 00:15:52,401
and John Whitmore was a
massive hot shot in Minis
372
00:15:52,501 --> 00:15:54,001
and it was a perfect thing.
373
00:15:54,101 --> 00:15:59,161
It says a lot about Steve
that he wanted to race Minis.
374
00:15:59,261 --> 00:16:01,841
I think that shows that
he'd thought it through
375
00:16:01,941 --> 00:16:04,281
and it was exactly the
right sort of category
376
00:16:04,381 --> 00:16:06,001
of racing for him.
377
00:16:06,101 --> 00:16:08,561
- McQueen was very
competitive at that level
378
00:16:08,661 --> 00:16:11,241
and there was that great
race at Brands Hatch
379
00:16:11,341 --> 00:16:13,081
when Whitmore and Carlisle
380
00:16:13,181 --> 00:16:15,081
and McQueen were backing together
381
00:16:15,181 --> 00:16:18,101
and McQueen very nearly
beat Carlisle to the flag.
382
00:16:19,301 --> 00:16:22,561
- John Whitmore, I knew from early days
383
00:16:22,661 --> 00:16:26,161
because in fact we both
raced at Sebring together
384
00:16:26,261 --> 00:16:27,761
in the same car.
385
00:16:27,861 --> 00:16:30,921
But he was a great
friend of Steve McQueen's
386
00:16:31,021 --> 00:16:33,281
and he was keen to race in England
387
00:16:33,381 --> 00:16:37,601
and John Whitmore had already
won a saloon car championship.
388
00:16:37,701 --> 00:16:41,161
So he lent Steve McQueen his Mini
389
00:16:41,261 --> 00:16:45,641
to race at the beginning
of October at Brands Hatch.
390
00:16:45,741 --> 00:16:48,921
The race was amazing.
391
00:16:49,021 --> 00:16:54,021
There were five of us Minis
who were continually passing
392
00:16:54,421 --> 00:16:56,281
and re-passing each other.
393
00:16:56,381 --> 00:16:57,401
(guitar music)
394
00:16:57,501 --> 00:16:58,641
I was told we were the three
395
00:16:58,741 --> 00:17:00,521
of us together going round a corner.
396
00:17:00,621 --> 00:17:05,161
Anyhow the race ended with
Vic Alford winning, me behind,
397
00:17:05,261 --> 00:17:07,541
just in front of Steve McQueen.
398
00:17:08,701 --> 00:17:11,801
And the commentator
had gone absolutely mad
399
00:17:11,901 --> 00:17:13,881
and demanded that we, us three,
400
00:17:13,981 --> 00:17:15,841
should go up onto the podium.
401
00:17:15,941 --> 00:17:17,921
It was very exciting.
402
00:17:18,021 --> 00:17:20,001
Oh, you can't ask him now but
I don't know what he thought
403
00:17:20,101 --> 00:17:21,601
about that!
404
00:17:21,701 --> 00:17:23,921
But he was a good sport.
405
00:17:24,021 --> 00:17:27,561
He did drive me back to
London on one occasion
406
00:17:27,661 --> 00:17:29,241
and he was charming.
407
00:17:29,341 --> 00:17:33,161
Chatty, talkative, wonderful blue eyes.
408
00:17:33,261 --> 00:17:35,441
He behaved extremely well!
409
00:17:35,541 --> 00:17:36,961
(laughs)
410
00:17:37,061 --> 00:17:40,721
- There was a Mini, a small car,
411
00:17:40,821 --> 00:17:43,721
on the side of the M1 and I was going down
412
00:17:43,821 --> 00:17:46,441
in my bigger car going a bit faster
413
00:17:46,541 --> 00:17:49,361
and as we went passed the Mini,
414
00:17:49,461 --> 00:17:53,521
there were two girls
and Steve said, "Stop."
415
00:17:53,621 --> 00:17:55,561
And I said, "You can't stop on the M1,
416
00:17:55,661 --> 00:17:56,581
you know, you're not allowed to do that."
417
00:17:56,661 --> 00:17:58,281
And he said "Oh yes,
418
00:17:58,381 --> 00:18:00,801
you know, you ran out of
petrol or something like that,
419
00:18:00,901 --> 00:18:01,881
you can stop."
420
00:18:01,981 --> 00:18:05,241
He jumped out of my car,
took a bag with him,
421
00:18:05,341 --> 00:18:07,041
and jumped into the Mini.
422
00:18:07,141 --> 00:18:11,601
And he stayed in the
car with these two girls
423
00:18:11,701 --> 00:18:14,481
and nobody saw him for two days.
424
00:18:14,581 --> 00:18:17,181
(upbeat music)
425
00:18:22,661 --> 00:18:24,081
- [Narrator] The result of racing Minis
426
00:18:24,181 --> 00:18:26,441
and his Jim Russell course
was the addition of a
427
00:18:26,541 --> 00:18:29,681
so-called Asphalt Rider
in his future contracts.
428
00:18:29,781 --> 00:18:31,281
Nothing was to get in the way
429
00:18:31,381 --> 00:18:33,201
of his love for cars and bikes.
430
00:18:33,301 --> 00:18:36,161
So, in 1963, with "The War Lover"
431
00:18:36,261 --> 00:18:38,481
and many laps of English
racetracks behind him,
432
00:18:38,581 --> 00:18:40,081
Steve McQueen once again teamed up
433
00:18:40,181 --> 00:18:42,321
with director John Sturges for what was
434
00:18:42,421 --> 00:18:46,041
to become one of the most iconic
movies of the 20th Century.
435
00:18:46,141 --> 00:18:47,641
And with the character of Captain Hilts
436
00:18:47,741 --> 00:18:48,561
in "The Great Escape",
437
00:18:48,661 --> 00:18:52,601
he cemented his status as a
bonafide "Hollywood Superstar".
438
00:18:52,701 --> 00:18:57,701
- He looked at James Garner,
who was "The Scrounger",
439
00:18:58,021 --> 00:19:00,441
he looked at Charles Bronson with his pick
440
00:19:00,541 --> 00:19:05,601
and he knew I'm the star of this movie
441
00:19:05,701 --> 00:19:06,841
and I've got nothing here.
442
00:19:06,941 --> 00:19:09,481
Sturges was big enough to give Steve
443
00:19:09,581 --> 00:19:11,601
that opportunity to go away and come back
444
00:19:11,701 --> 00:19:13,041
with his own ideas and that was
445
00:19:13,141 --> 00:19:16,561
where the motorcycling across the Alps
446
00:19:16,661 --> 00:19:19,281
and all that kind of thing,
447
00:19:19,381 --> 00:19:23,401
really took off and made Steve
the huge star after that.
448
00:19:23,501 --> 00:19:25,761
- We spent half our time
keeping him out of jail.
449
00:19:25,861 --> 00:19:28,641
Every time he'd show up at
work there'd be this collection
450
00:19:28,741 --> 00:19:32,961
of police who would come in
and they'd all come over to me
451
00:19:33,061 --> 00:19:36,161
and we'd have a consultation
with Steve over,
452
00:19:36,261 --> 00:19:39,601
"You cannot drive through
flocks of chickens
453
00:19:39,701 --> 00:19:42,441
and you cannot go off into the woods
454
00:19:42,541 --> 00:19:45,521
and back onto the road to
pass somebody," and so on.
455
00:19:45,621 --> 00:19:46,601
- Wasn't it a while ago
456
00:19:46,701 --> 00:19:49,241
that the studios prohibited
you doing any racing
457
00:19:49,341 --> 00:19:51,681
while you were actually in production?
458
00:19:51,781 --> 00:19:52,521
- Ssssh!
459
00:19:52,621 --> 00:19:53,441
- I mean I see all
460
00:19:53,541 --> 00:19:55,401
kinds of executive-looking
people standing around
461
00:19:55,501 --> 00:19:56,561
with their fingers crossed!
462
00:19:56,661 --> 00:19:59,281
- Well, they're being real
nice to me on this film.
463
00:19:59,381 --> 00:20:03,001
- Steve drove faster than made sense
464
00:20:03,101 --> 00:20:05,761
and Steve's emotional outlet
465
00:20:05,861 --> 00:20:08,121
when he was troubled was drive a car.
466
00:20:08,221 --> 00:20:12,361
- So one of the amazing things
about McQueen was really
467
00:20:12,461 --> 00:20:15,561
for the first time since silent
cinema and the "Daredevils"
468
00:20:15,661 --> 00:20:18,161
of silent cinema like Harold
Lloyd and Buster Keaton,
469
00:20:18,261 --> 00:20:21,681
he was someone who made it
very clear that he did a lot
470
00:20:21,781 --> 00:20:25,321
of his own stunt work, and was
celebrated because of that.
471
00:20:25,421 --> 00:20:28,121
People loved to see him do actions scenes
472
00:20:28,221 --> 00:20:29,721
because they knew it was for real.
473
00:20:29,821 --> 00:20:33,201
But Steve McQueen really
started that in the modern era.
474
00:20:33,301 --> 00:20:35,081
- You've got to remember about Steve,
475
00:20:35,181 --> 00:20:37,361
he not only loved cars
476
00:20:37,461 --> 00:20:41,961
and loved everything to
do with mechanical things,
477
00:20:42,061 --> 00:20:44,361
but he was also very good at it.
478
00:20:44,461 --> 00:20:48,361
Steve was very good at
handling automobiles,
479
00:20:48,461 --> 00:20:50,521
that's why he could race competitively.
480
00:20:50,621 --> 00:20:51,361
There's another issue,
481
00:20:51,461 --> 00:20:54,401
too, that people have mentioned
and it's absolutely true.
482
00:20:54,501 --> 00:20:58,001
There is the, I don't
like the term "macho",
483
00:20:58,101 --> 00:21:00,721
but he had that thing about,
484
00:21:00,821 --> 00:21:02,601
I don't want people doubling me
485
00:21:02,701 --> 00:21:07,701
and then I have to face my peers
saying, "Here comes candy."
486
00:21:08,101 --> 00:21:09,241
- [Narrator] The cavalier leading man
487
00:21:09,341 --> 00:21:11,521
might seem like a
director's worst nightmare.
488
00:21:11,621 --> 00:21:14,401
Let alone the studio's insurance company.
489
00:21:14,501 --> 00:21:18,041
But it showed Sturges that
McQueen was the real deal
490
00:21:18,141 --> 00:21:20,121
and his love of blurring
the lines between acting,
491
00:21:20,221 --> 00:21:23,061
action and reality brought
them even closer together.
492
00:21:25,701 --> 00:21:27,521
With McQueen's insistence on doing most
493
00:21:27,621 --> 00:21:30,081
of his own motorbike stunts
in "The Great Escape",
494
00:21:30,181 --> 00:21:33,721
only an insurance clause kept
him from doing that jump,
495
00:21:33,821 --> 00:21:36,481
which whetted his appetite
for more onscreen action.
496
00:21:36,581 --> 00:21:39,201
And what better subject than
the machinery with which he was
497
00:21:39,301 --> 00:21:41,301
so in love.
498
00:21:42,741 --> 00:21:44,401
- [Steve] I don't like acting
when it's "Playing house"?
499
00:21:44,501 --> 00:21:47,281
You know, I believe that
I try to extract out
500
00:21:47,381 --> 00:21:49,601
of my life the same reality
501
00:21:49,701 --> 00:21:51,701
that I am existing in if I'm working.
502
00:21:52,421 --> 00:21:55,561
- Anyone watching films in 2020
probably doesn't appreciate
503
00:21:55,661 --> 00:21:58,121
the difference between an
actor and a movie star.
504
00:21:58,221 --> 00:22:02,161
But in the 1960s and 1970s,
there was a huge difference.
505
00:22:02,261 --> 00:22:05,001
It was a choice of getting
a script and turning up
506
00:22:05,101 --> 00:22:07,401
and doing your job, which an actor did.
507
00:22:07,501 --> 00:22:10,161
A movie star had control;
they could change scenes.
508
00:22:10,261 --> 00:22:12,121
- [James] Well there were lots of actors.
509
00:22:12,221 --> 00:22:14,561
Movie stars are much rarer.
510
00:22:14,661 --> 00:22:19,161
- As a movie star, he's impossible
to take your eyes off of.
511
00:22:19,261 --> 00:22:24,081
Completely magnetic, I think
attractive to men and women
512
00:22:24,181 --> 00:22:27,521
because he has a salt of the earth energy.
513
00:22:27,621 --> 00:22:29,841
He doesn't put on airs and graces.
514
00:22:29,941 --> 00:22:32,481
He feels like he has
the hands of a mechanic,
515
00:22:32,581 --> 00:22:35,041
he has the face of somebody who has lived.
516
00:22:35,141 --> 00:22:36,281
- After "The Great Escape",
517
00:22:36,381 --> 00:22:40,001
it took his movie star
capabilities to another level.
518
00:22:40,101 --> 00:22:42,921
So for him it was very
important to make a film
519
00:22:43,021 --> 00:22:44,441
that he was passionate about.
520
00:22:44,541 --> 00:22:47,721
- So we move into Warner Bros,
we have a six-picture deal.
521
00:22:47,821 --> 00:22:50,281
When we had our moving in party
522
00:22:50,381 --> 00:22:52,481
with all the William Morris people there,
523
00:22:52,581 --> 00:22:54,761
trying to make a joke I said,
524
00:22:54,861 --> 00:22:57,361
"We're going to make a
picture about racing.
525
00:22:57,461 --> 00:22:59,841
That'll be the end of this
company and our relationship!"
526
00:22:59,941 --> 00:23:01,241
And we all had a big laugh.
527
00:23:01,341 --> 00:23:03,281
Turned out not to be that funny.
528
00:23:03,381 --> 00:23:06,561
- What McQueen and Sturges wanted to do
529
00:23:06,661 --> 00:23:10,601
was to exploit highly charged writing,
530
00:23:10,701 --> 00:23:13,121
intelligent writing about sport.
531
00:23:13,221 --> 00:23:15,561
It hadn't really happened before
532
00:23:15,661 --> 00:23:18,561
and a lot of it came
consciously or subconsciously
533
00:23:18,661 --> 00:23:21,561
from the style of
writing that one had seen
534
00:23:21,661 --> 00:23:24,241
with Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon".
535
00:23:24,341 --> 00:23:26,361
It was dramatizing death.
536
00:23:26,461 --> 00:23:29,481
It was acknowledging that
it was a central part
537
00:23:29,581 --> 00:23:30,281
of what was going on.
538
00:23:30,381 --> 00:23:33,601
- Well, it was Hemingway's
great statement about
539
00:23:33,701 --> 00:23:35,401
there are only three sports; bullfighting,
540
00:23:35,501 --> 00:23:37,041
mountaineering and motor racing.
541
00:23:37,141 --> 00:23:39,141
All the others are just games.
542
00:23:39,861 --> 00:23:42,801
- [Narrator] So motor racing
was maybe the next logical step
543
00:23:42,901 --> 00:23:47,241
and in 1963 a book by American
photojournalist Robert Daley,
544
00:23:47,341 --> 00:23:49,361
shed new light onto Grand Prix racing,
545
00:23:49,461 --> 00:23:50,961
exposing the sometimes,
546
00:23:51,061 --> 00:23:53,481
uncomfortable truth
about the less glamorous
547
00:23:53,581 --> 00:23:55,721
and often deadly nature of the sport.
548
00:23:55,821 --> 00:24:00,201
- "The Cruel Sport" came
out with a lot of fanfare
549
00:24:00,301 --> 00:24:04,121
and being a nerd of motor racing,
550
00:24:04,221 --> 00:24:07,121
I was very nervous
about "The Cruel Sport",
551
00:24:07,221 --> 00:24:09,521
but we all had to be because we knew
552
00:24:09,621 --> 00:24:12,961
it was gonna have things in
there that you aren't supposed
553
00:24:13,061 --> 00:24:14,881
to be talking about or showing.
554
00:24:14,981 --> 00:24:16,321
- [Nigel] Well, the more I read the book,
555
00:24:16,421 --> 00:24:21,421
the more I realized how different
it was from most writing
556
00:24:21,781 --> 00:24:23,161
about the sport at that time.
557
00:24:23,261 --> 00:24:25,261
It was unflinching.
558
00:24:26,941 --> 00:24:30,161
- The sport at that
time was poorly managed
559
00:24:30,261 --> 00:24:35,261
and in those days, the drivers
were sitting in a fuel tank.
560
00:24:35,701 --> 00:24:38,201
It was all wrapping around you.
561
00:24:38,301 --> 00:24:40,281
And when you had an impact,
562
00:24:40,381 --> 00:24:42,201
they usually caught fire in a big way
563
00:24:42,301 --> 00:24:43,761
and they never got it out.
564
00:24:43,861 --> 00:24:44,641
They never got it out.
565
00:24:44,741 --> 00:24:49,281
So it was a colorful,
glamorous and exciting window,
566
00:24:49,381 --> 00:24:52,081
but a terrible window of death.
567
00:24:52,181 --> 00:24:55,801
- Daley was facing the
fact that motor racing was
568
00:24:55,901 --> 00:24:57,641
so dangerous in those days.
569
00:24:57,741 --> 00:25:00,521
OK he was making that
the theme of his books;
570
00:25:00,621 --> 00:25:03,081
maybe he was glorifying it.
571
00:25:03,181 --> 00:25:06,921
But he was writing about it
intelligently and openly.
572
00:25:07,021 --> 00:25:10,521
- Helen and I counted 57 people
573
00:25:10,621 --> 00:25:12,561
who died who were our friends.
574
00:25:12,661 --> 00:25:14,721
We traveled with them,
we holidayed with them,
575
00:25:14,821 --> 00:25:17,081
we raced with them, we dined with them,
576
00:25:17,181 --> 00:25:21,441
it was just one big happy family.
577
00:25:21,541 --> 00:25:26,081
- "The Cruel Sport" highlighted
the number of accidents
578
00:25:26,181 --> 00:25:28,521
and the number of deaths
and various serious injuries
579
00:25:28,621 --> 00:25:33,201
that were taking place in
motor sport to the shock,
580
00:25:33,301 --> 00:25:36,521
I think, of the people
involved in motor sport.
581
00:25:36,621 --> 00:25:38,361
But the Americans got
hold of that in a way
582
00:25:38,461 --> 00:25:41,481
that you could touch and feel
and you could smell the blood.
583
00:25:41,581 --> 00:25:44,681
And I think this was the
role of "The Cruel Sport",
584
00:25:44,781 --> 00:25:48,041
it opened the doors to a Steve McQueen
585
00:25:48,141 --> 00:25:50,681
to be able to go to a Warner Bros and say;
586
00:25:50,781 --> 00:25:52,001
"This is Formula 1,
587
00:25:52,101 --> 00:25:54,881
and this is what I want
to make a movie about."
588
00:25:54,981 --> 00:25:56,721
(dramatic music)
589
00:25:56,821 --> 00:25:59,281
- [Craig] "John secured the
rights to 'The Cruel Sport'
590
00:25:59,381 --> 00:26:01,321
and we started developing a script.
591
00:26:01,421 --> 00:26:03,841
In Sturges' mind, there was only one actor
592
00:26:03,941 --> 00:26:05,641
who had the skills to play the lead
593
00:26:05,741 --> 00:26:08,301
in a realistic film about car racing."
594
00:26:09,381 --> 00:26:11,201
- [Narrator] The
ingredients were all there.
595
00:26:11,301 --> 00:26:13,041
Dangerous and dramatic source material
596
00:26:13,141 --> 00:26:15,441
would give the film legitimacy.
597
00:26:15,541 --> 00:26:17,521
The glamor and excitement
of the swinging '60s
598
00:26:17,621 --> 00:26:19,441
would provide the perfect backdrop.
599
00:26:19,541 --> 00:26:22,441
Surely this would be a
guaranteed Hollywood hit?
600
00:26:22,541 --> 00:26:26,601
It was to be called,
"Day of The Champion".
601
00:26:26,701 --> 00:26:31,641
- Somehow or other there
was a magic about the '60s.
602
00:26:31,741 --> 00:26:35,641
Carnaby Street was there, sex was safe,
603
00:26:35,741 --> 00:26:39,241
motor racing was dangerous,
it was glamorous,
604
00:26:39,341 --> 00:26:41,341
it was colorful, it was exciting,
605
00:26:42,381 --> 00:26:46,641
and everybody would come
to Monaco every year.
606
00:26:46,741 --> 00:26:49,641
It was a special time
because Princess Grace was
607
00:26:49,741 --> 00:26:51,881
like a magnet to Hollywood
608
00:26:51,981 --> 00:26:54,841
so all the big stars would come as well.
609
00:26:54,941 --> 00:26:57,121
It's just a different culture altogether
610
00:26:57,221 --> 00:27:00,001
and I just feel so fortunate
611
00:27:00,101 --> 00:27:01,801
that I was living in that window.
612
00:27:01,901 --> 00:27:03,921
- [Richard] Well, Steve
always had this concept
613
00:27:04,021 --> 00:27:05,921
that he wanted his racing movie
614
00:27:06,021 --> 00:27:09,801
that he would eventually
make to be authentic.
615
00:27:09,901 --> 00:27:12,241
It had to be a film
that his racing buddies
616
00:27:12,341 --> 00:27:13,561
would appreciate.
617
00:27:13,661 --> 00:27:15,521
- So, the script of "Day of the Champion"
618
00:27:15,621 --> 00:27:20,161
certainly has more of a
traditional narrative to it.
619
00:27:20,261 --> 00:27:22,681
There is a romance
620
00:27:22,781 --> 00:27:26,201
with a posh British
girl called Kyla Bonham.
621
00:27:26,301 --> 00:27:28,401
(laughs)
622
00:27:28,501 --> 00:27:31,481
I think she crashes her Jaguar in a field.
623
00:27:31,581 --> 00:27:33,581
And that's how the romance starts.
624
00:27:34,821 --> 00:27:36,801
But even when you look at the script now,
625
00:27:36,901 --> 00:27:40,161
it's certainly more about
the racing than it is
626
00:27:40,261 --> 00:27:41,521
about the characters.
627
00:27:41,621 --> 00:27:42,881
- [Narrator] The mark of the film was
628
00:27:42,981 --> 00:27:44,841
to be absolute authenticity.
629
00:27:44,941 --> 00:27:47,041
No compromise when it came to accuracy
630
00:27:47,141 --> 00:27:48,561
and attention to detail.
631
00:27:48,661 --> 00:27:51,361
Stirling Moss, who had
retired from full-time racing
632
00:27:51,461 --> 00:27:54,041
after his crash at Goodwood in 1962,
633
00:27:54,141 --> 00:27:57,361
was hired by McQueen and Sturges
as a technical consultant
634
00:27:57,461 --> 00:27:59,401
for the "Day of the Champion" team.
635
00:27:59,501 --> 00:28:01,761
- You know, there was a
time when Grand Prix drivers
636
00:28:01,861 --> 00:28:03,281
were household names in America.
637
00:28:03,381 --> 00:28:04,921
In the days of when there were two races,
638
00:28:05,021 --> 00:28:06,081
one at Long Beach at the start
639
00:28:06,181 --> 00:28:10,201
of the year and one at Watkins
Glen at the end of the year.
640
00:28:10,301 --> 00:28:12,001
Used to have huge crowds at those races
641
00:28:12,101 --> 00:28:15,561
and knowledgeable crowds who
really knew who Jim Clark was
642
00:28:15,661 --> 00:28:16,601
and what he had done.
643
00:28:16,701 --> 00:28:19,041
And Stirling Moss, periodically,
644
00:28:19,141 --> 00:28:21,681
raced in America in the late '50s
645
00:28:21,781 --> 00:28:24,001
on so he was the kind
of pioneer if you like,
646
00:28:24,101 --> 00:28:26,121
in that respect.
647
00:28:26,221 --> 00:28:29,801
And that was where the
drivers began to know,
648
00:28:29,901 --> 00:28:31,201
the James Garner's and so on,
649
00:28:31,301 --> 00:28:36,241
who were American US film
stars who liked racing.
650
00:28:36,341 --> 00:28:39,601
- Stirling Moss was way ahead of his time
651
00:28:39,701 --> 00:28:42,161
as an ambassador of the sport
652
00:28:42,261 --> 00:28:44,561
and as an ambassador of his own brand.
653
00:28:44,661 --> 00:28:45,721
He had a great name.
654
00:28:45,821 --> 00:28:47,601
He always said, "If I'd
have been christened Hamish,
655
00:28:47,701 --> 00:28:50,121
I wouldn't be as well-known as I was."
656
00:28:50,221 --> 00:28:52,161
But he worked really hard
I mean he'd win a race
657
00:28:52,261 --> 00:28:53,921
and that night he would
always make a point
658
00:28:54,021 --> 00:28:56,241
of going out into the
town and meeting people
659
00:28:56,341 --> 00:28:57,921
and going to the movies, wherever he was.
660
00:28:58,021 --> 00:28:59,681
And then he'd go to Hong
Kong and order a new suit.
661
00:28:59,781 --> 00:29:01,361
But it was all in the newspapers.
662
00:29:01,461 --> 00:29:02,521
The press loved him.
663
00:29:02,621 --> 00:29:04,001
Stirling was a big,
664
00:29:04,101 --> 00:29:08,681
big name and it was interesting
that Stirling was involved
665
00:29:08,781 --> 00:29:10,761
with "The Day of the Champion"
666
00:29:10,861 --> 00:29:14,761
because he was a team owner by the time
667
00:29:14,861 --> 00:29:17,921
that happened and one of his
drivers was Sir John Whitmore.
668
00:29:18,021 --> 00:29:20,961
And Whitmore would have
said to Steve McQueen;
669
00:29:21,061 --> 00:29:22,481
"You've got to get Stirling Moss involved,
670
00:29:22,581 --> 00:29:24,681
I know Stirling very
well, I drive for him."
671
00:29:24,781 --> 00:29:27,301
And that's how that
would've all come together.
672
00:29:28,341 --> 00:29:30,121
- [Craig] There was a benefit
dinner in Hollywood the Night
673
00:29:30,221 --> 00:29:33,121
before our film was to be
announced to the trade newspapers
674
00:29:33,221 --> 00:29:35,481
and by chance John Sturges was seated next
675
00:29:35,581 --> 00:29:36,441
to fellow director,
676
00:29:36,541 --> 00:29:39,281
John Frankenheimer who had
just directed "The Train"
677
00:29:39,381 --> 00:29:40,201
with Burt Lancaster
678
00:29:40,301 --> 00:29:43,041
and "The Manchurian
Candidate" prior to that.
679
00:29:43,141 --> 00:29:45,801
Frankenheimer was a
long-time admirer of Sturges
680
00:29:45,901 --> 00:29:49,401
and he gushed to his idol about
this film he was preparing.
681
00:29:49,501 --> 00:29:50,881
"It's about car racing!"
682
00:29:50,981 --> 00:29:52,561
Frankenheimer claimed.
683
00:29:52,661 --> 00:29:55,721
Sturges just kept picking at his meal.
684
00:29:55,821 --> 00:29:58,281
"Car racing, really?"
685
00:29:58,381 --> 00:30:01,361
"We're calling it, 'Grand
Prix,'" Frankenheimer added.
686
00:30:01,461 --> 00:30:03,241
"I'm basing it on this fantastic booked
687
00:30:03,341 --> 00:30:06,361
I've discovered called 'The Cruel Sport'."
688
00:30:06,461 --> 00:30:09,201
Sturges just kept picking at his food.
689
00:30:09,301 --> 00:30:11,441
As it turned out, while
Sturges was making a deal
690
00:30:11,541 --> 00:30:13,521
for the book with the author's agent,
691
00:30:13,621 --> 00:30:15,961
Frankenheimer was making
the same deal with
692
00:30:16,061 --> 00:30:17,801
the author himself, Robert Daley.
693
00:30:17,901 --> 00:30:18,641
Apparently, Daley
694
00:30:18,741 --> 00:30:21,361
and his agent didn't communicate
very well, or very often.
695
00:30:21,461 --> 00:30:23,761
So, the day after that dinner,
696
00:30:23,861 --> 00:30:26,201
both movies based on the
same book were announced
697
00:30:26,301 --> 00:30:29,081
to the trade papers, and
the real race was on.
698
00:30:29,181 --> 00:30:31,441
Both sides were determined to do whatever
699
00:30:31,541 --> 00:30:34,681
and spend whatever it took to win.
700
00:30:34,781 --> 00:30:36,801
- Frankenheimer was really
from a generation of directors
701
00:30:36,901 --> 00:30:39,681
that had cut their teeth
on literally hundreds
702
00:30:39,781 --> 00:30:41,241
of television dramas.
703
00:30:41,341 --> 00:30:44,681
He had a string of really popular films
704
00:30:44,781 --> 00:30:47,361
that borrowed from the realism
705
00:30:47,461 --> 00:30:50,721
and the low budget black
and white of television,
706
00:30:50,821 --> 00:30:53,161
with some more highbrow influences
707
00:30:53,261 --> 00:30:55,761
and progressive politics
often were involved.
708
00:30:55,861 --> 00:30:58,521
So Frankenheimer belonged
more to the late '60s than
709
00:30:58,621 --> 00:31:01,281
the early '60s in terms
of his subject matter.
710
00:31:01,381 --> 00:31:03,081
- It seemed to me at the time
711
00:31:03,181 --> 00:31:05,481
that we could do two kinds of movies.
712
00:31:05,581 --> 00:31:08,421
We could either do "Test Pilot" ?
713
00:31:09,541 --> 00:31:12,481
Which is one driver
with his mechanic going
714
00:31:12,581 --> 00:31:14,921
through the whole thing and
finally getting up to Formula 1.
715
00:31:15,021 --> 00:31:17,041
Or we could do "Grand Hotel",
716
00:31:17,141 --> 00:31:19,161
which is to take a group of people
717
00:31:19,261 --> 00:31:22,561
and put them in one situation
and see what happens.
718
00:31:22,661 --> 00:31:25,121
Which is basically what "Grand Hotel" was.
719
00:31:25,221 --> 00:31:27,121
So we chose to do "Grand Hotel".
720
00:31:27,221 --> 00:31:30,081
- Steve was originally
slated to do that movie
721
00:31:30,181 --> 00:31:32,321
but he couldn't get
along with Frankenheimer
722
00:31:32,421 --> 00:31:35,161
and so that lasted about 30
minutes and Steve was out
723
00:31:35,261 --> 00:31:37,261
and I was in.
724
00:31:37,701 --> 00:31:40,401
- Well, it's never
really been totally clear
725
00:31:40,501 --> 00:31:41,241
to me what happened.
726
00:31:41,341 --> 00:31:43,441
He had this disastrous meeting
727
00:31:43,541 --> 00:31:46,001
with my partner, Edward Lewis.
728
00:31:46,101 --> 00:31:48,401
It's a meeting that I should've been at
729
00:31:48,501 --> 00:31:51,761
and for professional reasons
I was doing something else,
730
00:31:51,861 --> 00:31:55,281
so I said to my partner; "You
take the meeting with Steve."
731
00:31:55,381 --> 00:31:58,521
Well, it just was a
disaster and what happened
732
00:31:58,621 --> 00:32:00,921
was Steve walked out of the movie
733
00:32:01,021 --> 00:32:04,321
and we were without Steve McQueen.
734
00:32:04,421 --> 00:32:07,361
I still think if we'd had
Steve McQueen in that movie,
735
00:32:07,461 --> 00:32:10,761
it would have been bigger than "Jaws".
736
00:32:10,861 --> 00:32:11,601
- [Interviewer] Really?
737
00:32:11,701 --> 00:32:12,441
I mean, yeah.
738
00:32:12,541 --> 00:32:14,361
I mean that's my contention.
739
00:32:14,461 --> 00:32:18,361
- He was definitely number
one choice for "Grand Prix".
740
00:32:18,461 --> 00:32:21,881
I think in hindsight,
MGM got off lightly there
741
00:32:21,981 --> 00:32:24,881
because Steve would not have been an actor
742
00:32:24,981 --> 00:32:28,401
that would have just executed
a script as they wanted.
743
00:32:28,501 --> 00:32:31,481
He was so passionate about
racing that he would have wanted
744
00:32:31,581 --> 00:32:34,041
to have brought his own
ideas to that movie.
745
00:32:34,141 --> 00:32:36,761
What they got with James
Garner would have been an actor
746
00:32:36,861 --> 00:32:39,721
who was a lot easier to handle let's say,
747
00:32:39,821 --> 00:32:43,601
in terms of executing
a proper movie script,
748
00:32:43,701 --> 00:32:48,521
as opposed to wanting to create
the definitive racing movie.
749
00:32:48,621 --> 00:32:52,441
- So, when I got the part in "Grand Prix",
750
00:32:52,541 --> 00:32:55,681
I called him and I said,
"Steve I want to tell you
751
00:32:55,781 --> 00:32:56,541
before you hear it from somebody else,
752
00:32:56,621 --> 00:32:58,481
that I'm gonna do 'Grand Prix'."
753
00:32:58,581 --> 00:33:00,481
Well, there was about
a twenty-dollar silence
754
00:33:00,581 --> 00:33:01,921
there on the telephone!
755
00:33:02,021 --> 00:33:02,761
(laughs)
756
00:33:02,861 --> 00:33:04,961
He didn't know what to
say and finally he said,
757
00:33:05,061 --> 00:33:07,721
"Oh that's great, great,
I'm glad to hear it."
758
00:33:07,821 --> 00:33:09,081
He didn't talk to me for about a year
759
00:33:09,181 --> 00:33:11,761
and a half and we were
next-door neighbors!
760
00:33:11,861 --> 00:33:12,601
(laughs)
761
00:33:12,701 --> 00:33:14,401
- One of the things that
really disappointed McQueen
762
00:33:14,501 --> 00:33:17,481
was Garner didn't have the
love for cars that he had.
763
00:33:17,581 --> 00:33:21,441
It wasn't a personal
obsession with cars or racing
764
00:33:21,541 --> 00:33:23,401
to Garner, it was another job.
765
00:33:23,501 --> 00:33:24,721
- So when you look at the script,
766
00:33:24,821 --> 00:33:28,041
it does seem like McQueen
wanted to show off
767
00:33:28,141 --> 00:33:32,321
a little bit some of his racing
skills with Formula 1 cars,
768
00:33:32,421 --> 00:33:35,601
Formula 2 cars, sports
cars, a Mini-Cooper,
769
00:33:35,701 --> 00:33:39,161
which could be a little nod
back to his years racing
770
00:33:39,261 --> 00:33:41,161
with John Whitmore in a Mini.
771
00:33:41,261 --> 00:33:44,281
It's definitely all
about McQueen's prowess
772
00:33:44,381 --> 00:33:45,281
behind the wheel.
773
00:33:45,381 --> 00:33:47,881
- With the arguments and
egos seemingly smoothed
774
00:33:47,981 --> 00:33:50,001
and top billing for
each movie established,
775
00:33:50,101 --> 00:33:53,561
Warner Bros released this
memo proudly declaring
776
00:33:53,661 --> 00:33:55,161
that "Day of the Champion" was up
777
00:33:55,261 --> 00:33:58,601
and running with an all-star
crew and technical line up.
778
00:33:58,701 --> 00:34:00,721
- [Announcer] "From Warner
Bros Studios, Burbank,
779
00:34:00,821 --> 00:34:03,481
California, Jack L. Warner announced today
780
00:34:03,581 --> 00:34:06,121
that photography on a
multi-million-dollar picture
781
00:34:06,221 --> 00:34:09,601
"Day of the Champion" will
commence in Europe this summer.
782
00:34:09,701 --> 00:34:11,921
Filming will include the
"Grand Prix" of Germany
783
00:34:12,021 --> 00:34:15,121
at the famed Nurburgring
Circuit on August 1st.
784
00:34:15,221 --> 00:34:16,641
John Sturges will produce
785
00:34:16,741 --> 00:34:19,681
and direct and Steve McQueen
will star in the Technicolor
786
00:34:19,781 --> 00:34:22,521
and Panavision production
which is being financed
787
00:34:22,621 --> 00:34:25,361
and distributed worldwide by Warner Bros.
788
00:34:25,461 --> 00:34:27,321
Stirling Moss, one of
the legendary figures
789
00:34:27,421 --> 00:34:28,881
in the world of motor racing,
790
00:34:28,981 --> 00:34:32,001
is serving as production
consultant and Sir John Whitmore,
791
00:34:32,101 --> 00:34:33,881
noted English sports car racer,
792
00:34:33,981 --> 00:34:35,721
is acting as technical advisor.
793
00:34:35,821 --> 00:34:38,321
Sturges and cinematographer John Wilcox
794
00:34:38,421 --> 00:34:41,281
will utilize four Panavision
cameras to capture
795
00:34:41,381 --> 00:34:42,481
the exciting action.
796
00:34:42,581 --> 00:34:44,281
- [Geoff] I'd been working with
797
00:34:44,381 --> 00:34:47,241
the Director of Photography John Wilcox
798
00:34:47,341 --> 00:34:50,401
for a number of years as his
First Assistant Cameraman.
799
00:34:50,501 --> 00:34:54,081
John Sturges was a great name
and it sounds a great film
800
00:34:54,181 --> 00:34:56,441
and Steve McQueen and motor racing.
801
00:34:56,541 --> 00:34:57,761
Yes, why not?
802
00:34:57,861 --> 00:35:01,921
- [Simon] We all expected that
a motor racing film directed
803
00:35:02,021 --> 00:35:05,001
by Sturges and starring
Steve McQueen was going
804
00:35:05,101 --> 00:35:06,161
to be wonderful.
805
00:35:06,261 --> 00:35:09,561
We didn't really have very
much view about Frankenheimer
806
00:35:09,661 --> 00:35:12,041
and "Grand Prix" and James Garner.
807
00:35:12,141 --> 00:35:14,721
- The McQueen movie looked
like the serious one,
808
00:35:14,821 --> 00:35:15,641
if you like.
809
00:35:15,741 --> 00:35:18,041
- [Narrator] So the warring
films were literally off
810
00:35:18,141 --> 00:35:19,921
to the races as both Warner
811
00:35:20,021 --> 00:35:25,081
and MGM sent recce crews to
the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix.
812
00:35:25,181 --> 00:35:28,401
The first race in that year's
Formula 1 World Championship.
813
00:35:28,501 --> 00:35:30,641
(racing car revving)
814
00:35:30,741 --> 00:35:34,641
- So '65 Monaco was an
interesting race altogether
815
00:35:34,741 --> 00:35:36,241
because well for a number of reasons.
816
00:35:36,341 --> 00:35:37,441
One, Jim Clark wasn't there
817
00:35:37,541 --> 00:35:40,241
'cause he was away winning the Indy 500.
818
00:35:40,341 --> 00:35:43,641
Two, Graham Hill won the
race having spun early on,
819
00:35:43,741 --> 00:35:45,521
climbed out of his car,
820
00:35:45,621 --> 00:35:47,281
got back into his car and then continued
821
00:35:47,381 --> 00:35:48,121
and went on to win the race.
822
00:35:48,221 --> 00:35:51,761
And three, you had the crews from MGM
823
00:35:51,861 --> 00:35:55,921
and Warner Bros there in Monaco
in this tiny principality,
824
00:35:56,021 --> 00:35:59,481
both receiving for the
movies they we're gonna make.
825
00:35:59,581 --> 00:36:02,081
And you can only imagine what
that would have been like,
826
00:36:02,181 --> 00:36:03,681
in terms of a vying for position,
827
00:36:03,781 --> 00:36:06,081
there aren't many great
positions at Monaco
828
00:36:06,181 --> 00:36:08,081
because the marshals had
to be standing somewhere
829
00:36:08,181 --> 00:36:10,321
and there isn't a lot of space anyway.
830
00:36:10,421 --> 00:36:13,121
There definitely would have
been some serious discussions
831
00:36:13,221 --> 00:36:14,681
between the two groups.
832
00:36:14,781 --> 00:36:16,281
You can imagine, I guess,
833
00:36:16,381 --> 00:36:20,201
the impact it would have made
to have had Jim Clark winning
834
00:36:20,301 --> 00:36:24,521
the Indy 500 the same weekend
and for the movie crews
835
00:36:24,621 --> 00:36:26,161
at Monaco this was like "Wow!
836
00:36:26,261 --> 00:36:28,081
What a world this is."
837
00:36:28,181 --> 00:36:31,421
(upbeat trumpet music)
838
00:36:34,901 --> 00:36:37,981
(racing car revving)
839
00:36:42,261 --> 00:36:45,401
♪ I said can't explain it ♪
840
00:36:45,501 --> 00:36:49,121
♪ Yeah, down in my soul ♪
841
00:36:49,221 --> 00:36:52,681
♪ I feel hot and cold ♪
842
00:36:52,781 --> 00:36:55,081
♪ I said can't explain it ♪
843
00:36:55,181 --> 00:36:57,521
(congregation applauds)
844
00:36:57,621 --> 00:37:00,381
(dramatic music)
845
00:37:04,101 --> 00:37:06,081
- [Narrator] As well as the
thrill of being in Monaco
846
00:37:06,181 --> 00:37:08,801
and hanging around with his
new racing driver chums,
847
00:37:08,901 --> 00:37:10,201
McQueen, along with Sturges,
848
00:37:10,301 --> 00:37:13,521
Bob Relyea and their racing
consultant Stirling Moss,
849
00:37:13,621 --> 00:37:15,001
had used the trip to pay a visit
850
00:37:15,101 --> 00:37:17,461
to an unassuming garage in Woking, Surrey.
851
00:37:18,781 --> 00:37:20,361
The Alan Mann Racing Company not
852
00:37:20,461 --> 00:37:22,761
only modified and raced Ford road cars
853
00:37:22,861 --> 00:37:25,081
in the British Touring Car Championship
854
00:37:25,181 --> 00:37:27,161
but they had also
developed a handy sideline
855
00:37:27,261 --> 00:37:29,561
in adapting cars for the Silver Screen.
856
00:37:29,661 --> 00:37:33,441
Bond's DB5 Aston Martin and
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" being
857
00:37:33,541 --> 00:37:34,641
the most iconic.
858
00:37:34,741 --> 00:37:37,201
So, it was no surprise
when they were instructed
859
00:37:37,301 --> 00:37:42,001
to acquire and develop cars to
use in "Day of the Champion".
860
00:37:42,101 --> 00:37:44,161
- My father's background in motor racing
861
00:37:44,261 --> 00:37:45,961
was really it was all tied up with Ford
862
00:37:46,061 --> 00:37:47,041
from the very beginning.
863
00:37:47,141 --> 00:37:49,801
He met Steve McQueen through
John Whitmore who I think
864
00:37:49,901 --> 00:37:52,441
was a friend of Steve's
early on in the '60s
865
00:37:52,541 --> 00:37:55,281
and they'd shared Mini driving together
866
00:37:55,381 --> 00:37:58,681
and been motorcycle racing in California
867
00:37:58,781 --> 00:38:02,761
and all part of that
group of friends I think
868
00:38:02,861 --> 00:38:03,961
that they met each other
869
00:38:04,061 --> 00:38:06,041
and Steve was obviously
a big fan of racing
870
00:38:06,141 --> 00:38:08,081
and so they had a bit in common.
871
00:38:08,181 --> 00:38:11,281
He was asked to prepare
the cars for the film
872
00:38:11,381 --> 00:38:16,161
and manage the racing scenes
of he film and also build one
873
00:38:16,261 --> 00:38:20,481
of the camera cars, which
was a modified Lola T70.
874
00:38:20,581 --> 00:38:22,841
The cars had been prepared
to a certain extent
875
00:38:22,941 --> 00:38:26,481
and they came to review
some of the pictures
876
00:38:26,581 --> 00:38:28,721
that they needed to shoot and the angles
877
00:38:28,821 --> 00:38:32,121
and how they were practically
going to make the film.
878
00:38:32,221 --> 00:38:35,321
And presumably make some
requests about engineering
879
00:38:35,421 --> 00:38:37,481
on the cars to allow them to do so.
880
00:38:37,581 --> 00:38:41,481
My dad said McQueen was quite absorbed
881
00:38:41,581 --> 00:38:45,921
by all the racing detail
and the car preparation,
882
00:38:46,021 --> 00:38:48,801
and all the mechanics of the operation
883
00:38:48,901 --> 00:38:50,081
and yeah was very friendly
884
00:38:50,181 --> 00:38:53,081
with all the team members and everything.
885
00:38:53,181 --> 00:38:57,321
But he also was obviously
quite a colorful character
886
00:38:57,421 --> 00:39:02,321
and after hours was quite good company.
887
00:39:02,421 --> 00:39:04,401
But I think he was kicked
out of The Dorchester Hotel
888
00:39:04,501 --> 00:39:08,041
when he decided in his
suite to cook up some chili
889
00:39:08,141 --> 00:39:10,841
or beans or something and fell asleep,
890
00:39:10,941 --> 00:39:14,561
naked on the bed and it
dried out and caught fire.
891
00:39:14,661 --> 00:39:17,081
Ran down the corridor to try
and find a fire extinguisher
892
00:39:17,181 --> 00:39:18,841
and the next morning at breakfast,
893
00:39:18,941 --> 00:39:20,841
he saw all his bags in the lobby area,
894
00:39:20,941 --> 00:39:22,521
all having been packed up
895
00:39:22,621 --> 00:39:25,681
and asked Sturges where
they were going that day
896
00:39:25,781 --> 00:39:27,041
and he said, "Well we're
not going anywhere,
897
00:39:27,141 --> 00:39:30,081
I think that's just a polite
way of kicking you out."
898
00:39:30,181 --> 00:39:33,181
(suspenseful music)
899
00:39:34,581 --> 00:39:38,201
♪ It's so too beautiful ♪
900
00:39:38,301 --> 00:39:42,001
♪ It's so too beautiful ♪
901
00:39:42,101 --> 00:39:42,841
♪ It's so too beautiful ♪
902
00:39:42,941 --> 00:39:44,921
- [Narrator] The claims of
the Warner Bros memo were,
903
00:39:45,021 --> 00:39:46,681
so far, proving true.
904
00:39:46,781 --> 00:39:48,521
McQueen and "Day of the Champion" seemed
905
00:39:48,621 --> 00:39:50,361
to be several steps ahead of Frankenheimer
906
00:39:50,461 --> 00:39:53,641
and MGM in the battle to the silver screen
907
00:39:53,741 --> 00:39:55,521
and had everything in place to capture
908
00:39:55,621 --> 00:39:58,841
the 1965 German Grand
Prix at the Nurburgring
909
00:39:58,941 --> 00:40:01,401
in true technicolor glory.
910
00:40:01,501 --> 00:40:05,021
What they captured that day
has never been publicly seen.
911
00:40:07,621 --> 00:40:11,261
(helicopter engine revving)
912
00:40:12,421 --> 00:40:15,821
(congregations applauds)
913
00:40:17,221 --> 00:40:20,381
(slow dramatic music)
914
00:40:25,341 --> 00:40:28,461
(racing car revving)
915
00:40:49,341 --> 00:40:50,101
- [Peter] I mean the thing about
916
00:40:50,181 --> 00:40:52,641
this is we never saw any footage.
917
00:40:52,741 --> 00:40:53,641
We saw a little bit of black
918
00:40:53,741 --> 00:40:55,741
and white Movietone News perhaps.
919
00:40:57,101 --> 00:40:57,841
It was in color.
920
00:40:57,941 --> 00:40:59,941
It actually happened in color!
921
00:41:00,901 --> 00:41:03,981
(racing car revving)
922
00:41:09,701 --> 00:41:11,781
- It's amazing, very relaxed.
923
00:41:14,341 --> 00:41:16,201
Great footage though.
924
00:41:16,301 --> 00:41:19,061
(dramatic music)
925
00:41:20,381 --> 00:41:23,461
(racing car revving)
926
00:41:33,741 --> 00:41:37,921
- [Windsor] And there's
Stirl in the camera car.
927
00:41:38,021 --> 00:41:41,041
- [Samuelson] You had a
400-foot roll of film,
928
00:41:41,141 --> 00:41:44,561
so you had about our minutes in each go
929
00:41:44,661 --> 00:41:46,801
and then you had to reload because this
930
00:41:46,901 --> 00:41:51,521
was obviously decades
before there was digital,
931
00:41:51,621 --> 00:41:54,621
so we were on 35 millimeter Eastman Color.
932
00:41:55,901 --> 00:42:00,761
Samuelson Film Service
was run by four brothers,
933
00:42:00,861 --> 00:42:03,321
three of whom were my uncles,
934
00:42:03,421 --> 00:42:08,421
and one was my dad and David
was the technical partner
935
00:42:10,581 --> 00:42:12,761
and he was responsible for all manner
936
00:42:12,861 --> 00:42:15,321
of extraordinary bits of brand new,
937
00:42:15,421 --> 00:42:18,241
never-been-thought-of-before technology
938
00:42:18,341 --> 00:42:21,241
and a number of his things are still used.
939
00:42:21,341 --> 00:42:24,161
He built some of it for
"Day of the Champion".
940
00:42:24,261 --> 00:42:26,921
(upbeat music)
941
00:42:27,021 --> 00:42:28,201
(racing car revving)
942
00:42:28,301 --> 00:42:30,001
- There is a racing car flat out
943
00:42:30,101 --> 00:42:32,241
and all you can see around it is green.
944
00:42:32,341 --> 00:42:34,341
Nothing else.
945
00:42:35,141 --> 00:42:37,141
- The Carousel.
946
00:42:38,261 --> 00:42:39,921
I mean it was a wonderful racetrack,
947
00:42:40,021 --> 00:42:42,581
it was a terrific racetrack, but crazy.
948
00:42:46,781 --> 00:42:51,441
You know, 14.7 miles, 187 corners per lap.
949
00:42:51,541 --> 00:42:53,241
- You know, it was a great
race in so many ways.
950
00:42:53,341 --> 00:42:54,081
This is the race
951
00:42:54,181 --> 00:42:56,801
in which Jim Clark clinched
the '65 World Championship.
952
00:42:56,901 --> 00:42:59,401
It's just amazing footage to have seen it
953
00:42:59,501 --> 00:43:01,441
after all this time.
954
00:43:01,541 --> 00:43:05,441
There's Jimmy after the race
and the mechanics running,
955
00:43:05,541 --> 00:43:06,281
that's real film.
956
00:43:06,381 --> 00:43:09,761
It's just amazing.
957
00:43:09,861 --> 00:43:12,281
And what a trio on the podium.
958
00:43:12,381 --> 00:43:16,321
Jim Clark in the middle,
Dan Guerney, Graham Hill,
959
00:43:16,421 --> 00:43:18,521
doesn't get much better
than that in terms of
960
00:43:18,621 --> 00:43:19,601
the drivers you had to beat.
961
00:43:19,701 --> 00:43:21,841
And then for Jim Clark at
that moment he's driving off
962
00:43:21,941 --> 00:43:24,801
in the Merc and he's just won
his second World Championship,
963
00:43:24,901 --> 00:43:27,721
in the same year he's won the Indy 500.
964
00:43:27,821 --> 00:43:29,821
No driver will ever do that.
965
00:43:31,821 --> 00:43:36,561
- One of the guy's around us
I knew, and he was a driver,
966
00:43:36,661 --> 00:43:39,161
he used to drive camera cars and he said,
967
00:43:39,261 --> 00:43:42,521
"Well, I brought some American guys up."
968
00:43:42,621 --> 00:43:43,361
"Oh, yeah?
969
00:43:43,461 --> 00:43:44,201
Where are they?"
970
00:43:44,301 --> 00:43:45,041
"In the Ferrari pit."
971
00:43:45,141 --> 00:43:47,141
I said, "Oh that's interesting."
972
00:43:47,621 --> 00:43:49,621
So, I said to John Sturges,
973
00:43:50,221 --> 00:43:54,001
"You've got some Americans
in the Ferrari pit.
974
00:43:54,101 --> 00:43:56,201
It probably might be the director."
975
00:43:56,301 --> 00:43:59,921
And I remember Sturges being
very, very upset about it.
976
00:44:00,021 --> 00:44:03,081
There was obviously a
bit of animosity going on
977
00:44:03,181 --> 00:44:05,181
between the two.
978
00:44:06,061 --> 00:44:09,001
- [Samuelson] We very
explicitly used Panavision,
979
00:44:09,101 --> 00:44:10,961
not just any old Panavision,
980
00:44:11,061 --> 00:44:15,481
but we shot it in a 2.35
ratio meaning the screen,
981
00:44:15,581 --> 00:44:20,401
the shape of the frame is 2.35
times as wide as it is tall.
982
00:44:20,501 --> 00:44:22,801
It's called Panavision Anamorphic
983
00:44:22,901 --> 00:44:25,721
and that gives you the shape you want
984
00:44:25,821 --> 00:44:27,801
for a motor racing film
985
00:44:27,901 --> 00:44:30,801
because you are certainly wider than
986
00:44:30,901 --> 00:44:35,901
a regular 1.85 television
kind of shape of frame.
987
00:44:37,181 --> 00:44:37,941
- It's interesting to remember
988
00:44:38,021 --> 00:44:39,641
that they then stayed at the Nurburgring
989
00:44:39,741 --> 00:44:42,761
and filmed the week after that race,
990
00:44:42,861 --> 00:44:45,321
ostensibly to test the camera
mounts they were gonna put
991
00:44:45,421 --> 00:44:47,601
on the cars and that's
where Alan Mann came
992
00:44:47,701 --> 00:44:50,761
in as obviously camera
mounts were gonna be
993
00:44:50,861 --> 00:44:53,121
part of his brief.
994
00:44:53,221 --> 00:44:58,221
And this has to be seen
against the '62 accident
995
00:44:58,701 --> 00:44:59,521
at the Nurburgring.
996
00:44:59,621 --> 00:45:02,601
In practice, Graham Hill
had a camera on the BRM
997
00:45:02,701 --> 00:45:06,161
and it came off and he had
a big shunt, very big shunt.
998
00:45:06,261 --> 00:45:09,201
Very lucky to get away with
his life in that accident.
999
00:45:09,301 --> 00:45:10,041
So here we are,
1000
00:45:10,141 --> 00:45:13,521
long before on board cameras
even became a phrase,
1001
00:45:13,621 --> 00:45:16,561
we have Warner Bros with Alan Mann,
1002
00:45:16,661 --> 00:45:21,001
with John Whitmore and Stirling
Moss hiring the Nurburgring,
1003
00:45:21,101 --> 00:45:23,241
the 14-mile circuit.
1004
00:45:23,341 --> 00:45:25,761
Some of the footage we
see is an indication of
1005
00:45:25,861 --> 00:45:28,381
how good that was and how
good it would have been.
1006
00:45:29,581 --> 00:45:31,521
- [Robert] When you start
to deal with cameras
1007
00:45:31,621 --> 00:45:34,961
on cars at very high speed,
1008
00:45:35,061 --> 00:45:36,921
you have a number of built-in problems.
1009
00:45:37,021 --> 00:45:38,801
If the track is wet,
1010
00:45:38,901 --> 00:45:40,841
there is water flying around the lenses.
1011
00:45:40,941 --> 00:45:43,881
There has to be design
the cameras so they become
1012
00:45:43,981 --> 00:45:45,561
as aerodynamic as the car is
1013
00:45:45,661 --> 00:45:47,661
to avoid getting water all over them.
1014
00:45:48,581 --> 00:45:53,081
It requires mounts that do
not disturb the aerodynamics
1015
00:45:53,181 --> 00:45:56,001
of the car too much and can be balanced in
1016
00:45:56,101 --> 00:45:57,201
some other way so the car can
1017
00:45:57,301 --> 00:45:59,881
still handle at competitive speeds.
1018
00:45:59,981 --> 00:46:02,561
This requires some trial and error,
1019
00:46:02,661 --> 00:46:04,921
it requires the drivers to
take the cars out and see
1020
00:46:05,021 --> 00:46:06,561
when camera's in certain position,
1021
00:46:06,661 --> 00:46:09,761
how the car stills handles so
they can adjust accordingly.
1022
00:46:09,861 --> 00:46:12,321
It requires the cars that
are around them to sense
1023
00:46:12,421 --> 00:46:14,421
what problems that driver has
1024
00:46:15,061 --> 00:46:17,401
and about 10 or 12 of our drivers
1025
00:46:17,501 --> 00:46:19,281
have been in this same situation,
1026
00:46:19,381 --> 00:46:22,241
including Steve, to deal with a car
1027
00:46:22,341 --> 00:46:26,201
that has a new set up
aerodynamically because of camera
1028
00:46:26,301 --> 00:46:29,001
or cameras placed on it.
1029
00:46:29,101 --> 00:46:33,681
- [Samuelson] So we had to
build mounts that were able
1030
00:46:33,781 --> 00:46:35,881
to cope with that, not fall off.
1031
00:46:35,981 --> 00:46:38,961
So not only did the mount
have to not fall off,
1032
00:46:39,061 --> 00:46:42,921
but the consequences of it
falling off would have been dire
1033
00:46:43,021 --> 00:46:48,021
for whoever was in the car
behind and got a 40-pound piece
1034
00:46:48,901 --> 00:46:51,481
of filming equipment into their head.
1035
00:46:51,581 --> 00:46:52,561
That wouldn't have been good.
1036
00:46:52,661 --> 00:46:55,721
So it was all done very very carefully.
1037
00:46:55,821 --> 00:46:56,921
- [John] You have to have the skill
1038
00:46:57,021 --> 00:47:00,241
to create something people think is real.
1039
00:47:00,341 --> 00:47:01,921
Now we were in a good area to do that.
1040
00:47:02,021 --> 00:47:04,961
Steve is a race driver and
he looks like a race driver
1041
00:47:05,061 --> 00:47:07,401
and he understands race
drivers, he knows them all.
1042
00:47:07,501 --> 00:47:09,281
He can drive a car.
1043
00:47:09,381 --> 00:47:11,681
We had the real cars,
we had the real circuit.
1044
00:47:11,781 --> 00:47:14,121
So that part was alright.
1045
00:47:14,221 --> 00:47:17,681
- [Geoff] MGM claimed they
had the shooting rights
1046
00:47:17,781 --> 00:47:19,561
with all the "Grand Prix" circuits.
1047
00:47:19,661 --> 00:47:21,561
The Nurburgring was under question
1048
00:47:21,661 --> 00:47:23,881
because Warner Bros claim they had it
1049
00:47:23,981 --> 00:47:25,281
and there was going to be a court case
1050
00:47:25,381 --> 00:47:28,181
and they'd be looking for
evidence to sue each other.
1051
00:47:29,181 --> 00:47:31,361
I was also told that there
1052
00:47:31,461 --> 00:47:34,921
was a 16 millimeter
crew filming us filming.
1053
00:47:35,021 --> 00:47:37,921
We never saw anybody,
it may have been true,
1054
00:47:38,021 --> 00:47:40,921
it may not have been true,
but we also slipped into
1055
00:47:41,021 --> 00:47:44,321
some film cans with the
dummy labels and put sand
1056
00:47:44,421 --> 00:47:46,321
in them.
1057
00:47:46,421 --> 00:47:48,401
If somebody's going to steal our rushes,
1058
00:47:48,501 --> 00:47:50,081
they might steal the wrong rushes
1059
00:47:50,181 --> 00:47:52,461
and they'd find they'd
got a can full of sand.
1060
00:47:54,021 --> 00:47:55,841
- Stirling always remembered that day
1061
00:47:55,941 --> 00:47:57,481
and made the point of saying
1062
00:47:57,581 --> 00:48:01,041
that when he drove at the Nurburgring,
1063
00:48:01,141 --> 00:48:04,281
doing some filming for
"Day of the Champion",
1064
00:48:04,381 --> 00:48:06,961
he just said, "That day
boy I just felt like I had
1065
00:48:07,061 --> 00:48:09,161
when I won there in '61."
1066
00:48:09,261 --> 00:48:11,521
(car racing revving)
1067
00:48:11,621 --> 00:48:13,001
- [Narrator] "Day of the Champion" was off
1068
00:48:13,101 --> 00:48:14,481
to a flying start.
1069
00:48:14,581 --> 00:48:16,841
This truly breathtaking footage
1070
00:48:16,941 --> 00:48:18,961
was just what McQueen
and Sturges had hoped for
1071
00:48:19,061 --> 00:48:20,441
and put them substantially ahead
1072
00:48:20,541 --> 00:48:22,761
of Frankenheimer and MGM.
1073
00:48:22,861 --> 00:48:24,761
Warner Bros even cheekily released
1074
00:48:24,861 --> 00:48:27,521
this poster to further
rub salt into the wounds,
1075
00:48:27,621 --> 00:48:29,161
knowing full well that Frankenheimer
1076
00:48:29,261 --> 00:48:30,241
and Garner would not be up
1077
00:48:30,341 --> 00:48:31,961
and running with principal photography
1078
00:48:32,061 --> 00:48:35,841
for another nine months at the
start of the '66 F1 season.
1079
00:48:35,941 --> 00:48:38,481
- And I think it's also
interesting to think about
1080
00:48:38,581 --> 00:48:41,881
why Jim Clark and Jackie
Stewart originally signed
1081
00:48:41,981 --> 00:48:44,961
with Steve McQueen and
not with Frankenheimer
1082
00:48:45,061 --> 00:48:45,761
and "Grand Prix".
1083
00:48:45,861 --> 00:48:49,241
In my opinion it's because
it was Steve McQueen driving
1084
00:48:49,341 --> 00:48:51,361
this movie and he was a racer,
1085
00:48:51,461 --> 00:48:53,121
as well as he was an actor and a star.
1086
00:48:53,221 --> 00:48:58,161
Whereas "Grand Prix" was
driven by a movie director
1087
00:48:58,261 --> 00:49:01,321
like Frankenheimer, and in
the minds of Jimmy and Jackie,
1088
00:49:01,421 --> 00:49:03,681
probably more Jimmy than Jackie,
1089
00:49:03,781 --> 00:49:06,161
"Grand Prix" was going
to be all about crashes
1090
00:49:06,261 --> 00:49:08,801
and spectacular this and lots of things
1091
00:49:08,901 --> 00:49:11,001
that weren't true to life.
1092
00:49:11,101 --> 00:49:14,881
Whereas Steve McQueen, with
this closely knit group,
1093
00:49:14,981 --> 00:49:18,001
could produce a film
that was gonna be more
1094
00:49:18,101 --> 00:49:22,681
about racing drivers and
who racing drivers are
1095
00:49:22,781 --> 00:49:25,641
and the craft that they create.
1096
00:49:25,741 --> 00:49:29,801
- I think Jimmy and I thought
1097
00:49:29,901 --> 00:49:32,361
that everybody was going
with Frankenheimer,
1098
00:49:32,461 --> 00:49:34,921
why don't we go with McQueen?
1099
00:49:35,021 --> 00:49:37,021
And Steve McQueen,
1100
00:49:37,421 --> 00:49:41,441
in those days was bigger
than Frankenheimer.
1101
00:49:41,541 --> 00:49:42,921
- Well, who wants to get married?
1102
00:49:43,021 --> 00:49:45,121
- And I think that was one of the things.
1103
00:49:45,221 --> 00:49:47,741
And he was making great movies.
1104
00:49:49,141 --> 00:49:52,001
- [Man] Steve McQueen
works by instinct, reflex,
1105
00:49:52,101 --> 00:49:54,281
unconsciously concealed know-how.
1106
00:49:54,381 --> 00:49:57,721
Above all is his
reverence to authenticity.
1107
00:49:57,821 --> 00:50:00,961
- And Jimmy and I didn't
talk an awful lot about it.
1108
00:50:01,061 --> 00:50:02,961
We just decided it was a good idea.
1109
00:50:03,061 --> 00:50:07,601
Everybody else was going to "Grand Prix"
1110
00:50:07,701 --> 00:50:10,081
and we decided to go with Steve.
1111
00:50:10,181 --> 00:50:13,441
- [Narrator] In a memo from
September 1965 John Sturges,
1112
00:50:13,541 --> 00:50:15,441
states that principal filming with McQueen
1113
00:50:15,541 --> 00:50:17,241
will start the following spring
1114
00:50:17,341 --> 00:50:19,921
after he has finished
directing "Ice Station Zebra",
1115
00:50:20,021 --> 00:50:24,161
ironically for MGM, and McQueen
has completed his next film,
1116
00:50:24,261 --> 00:50:25,761
"The Sand Pebbles".
1117
00:50:25,861 --> 00:50:27,641
- He took on "The Sand Pebbles" knowing
1118
00:50:27,741 --> 00:50:30,001
that the book had been a hit.
1119
00:50:30,101 --> 00:50:34,161
The book was about the Chinese
Civil War in the 1920s.
1120
00:50:34,261 --> 00:50:36,721
- [Richard] He of course
respected Robert Wise greatly,
1121
00:50:36,821 --> 00:50:38,761
who'd directed "West Side Story",
1122
00:50:38,861 --> 00:50:40,121
"The Sound of Music",
1123
00:50:40,221 --> 00:50:42,781
so I think he saw a lot of
potential in that movie.
1124
00:50:43,781 --> 00:50:46,201
- [Narrator] Back in
Europe, John Frankenheimer,
1125
00:50:46,301 --> 00:50:48,401
realizing he would have
a big task on his hands
1126
00:50:48,501 --> 00:50:51,241
to get his racing epic
released ahead of Warner's,
1127
00:50:51,341 --> 00:50:55,161
had stayed with the traveling
F1 circus throughout 1965.
1128
00:50:55,261 --> 00:50:56,881
Embedding himself in the lifestyle
1129
00:50:56,981 --> 00:50:59,881
and the culture of "The Cruel Sport".
1130
00:50:59,981 --> 00:51:00,721
- In the meantime,
1131
00:51:00,821 --> 00:51:04,721
I had been going to all the
races and they all knew me
1132
00:51:04,821 --> 00:51:06,681
as somebody who was going to make a movie.
1133
00:51:06,781 --> 00:51:08,201
And they knew nothing about movies,
1134
00:51:08,301 --> 00:51:10,281
I mean they knew nothing about
the movies I'd ever made,
1135
00:51:10,381 --> 00:51:13,201
I don't think they'd
ever seen most of them.
1136
00:51:13,301 --> 00:51:15,961
Those cameras, turn them
on as soon as you get up
1137
00:51:16,061 --> 00:51:17,321
to speed here.
1138
00:51:17,421 --> 00:51:19,481
But they did know that I was
really very very interested
1139
00:51:19,581 --> 00:51:23,481
in cars and they did know that
I raced on an amateur basis,
1140
00:51:23,581 --> 00:51:27,441
so at least I knew something
about what they did.
1141
00:51:27,541 --> 00:51:28,281
Come on!
1142
00:51:28,381 --> 00:51:29,321
Get somebody to push here!
1143
00:51:29,421 --> 00:51:30,561
Push!
1144
00:51:30,661 --> 00:51:33,281
And I became friendly with some of them,
1145
00:51:33,381 --> 00:51:37,281
like Graham Hill and Phil
Hill and Richie Ginther.
1146
00:51:37,381 --> 00:51:38,161
Everyone was very,
1147
00:51:38,261 --> 00:51:41,441
very sceptical of another
film being made about racing.
1148
00:51:41,541 --> 00:51:42,641
In fact to the point where Ferrari said
1149
00:51:42,741 --> 00:51:44,741
they didn't want anything to do with it.
1150
00:51:46,701 --> 00:51:49,681
He just said "You go make your movie,
1151
00:51:49,781 --> 00:51:51,561
it has nothing to do with what we do
1152
00:51:51,661 --> 00:51:54,721
and you can't use the word
Ferrari in this picture
1153
00:51:54,821 --> 00:51:57,801
or have any of my cars
or anything like that."
1154
00:51:57,901 --> 00:51:59,161
- [Announcer] They get you like-
1155
00:51:59,261 --> 00:52:01,481
- Oh my God get out!
1156
00:52:01,581 --> 00:52:04,361
Oh Jesus look, give his
guy hell this driver.
1157
00:52:04,461 --> 00:52:05,321
He's coming out.
1158
00:52:05,421 --> 00:52:06,521
Get out of here!
1159
00:52:06,621 --> 00:52:07,961
Come on get out!
1160
00:52:08,061 --> 00:52:10,681
So, we were lucky
enough, not lucky enough,
1161
00:52:10,781 --> 00:52:14,201
if you'll forgive me, smart
enough to go to Carrol Shelby
1162
00:52:14,301 --> 00:52:16,681
who had great credentials.
1163
00:52:16,781 --> 00:52:19,441
And Carrol Shelby kind of embraced us
1164
00:52:19,541 --> 00:52:23,761
and he kind of opened up a lot of doors,
1165
00:52:23,861 --> 00:52:27,601
including arranging to have the replicas
1166
00:52:27,701 --> 00:52:29,521
of all the cars made.
1167
00:52:29,621 --> 00:52:32,681
And he took charge of that.
1168
00:52:32,781 --> 00:52:33,881
And through Carrol Shelby,
1169
00:52:33,981 --> 00:52:36,681
I got to Dan Gurney who was a great friend
1170
00:52:36,781 --> 00:52:40,001
of Shelby's and also to Phil Hill.
1171
00:52:40,101 --> 00:52:42,101
Yeah, but this doesn't work.
1172
00:52:42,581 --> 00:52:45,401
And I signed these guys up.
1173
00:52:45,501 --> 00:52:47,841
And I actually I paid them money,
1174
00:52:47,941 --> 00:52:49,801
which also helped,
1175
00:52:49,901 --> 00:52:50,841
convince them that maybe
1176
00:52:50,941 --> 00:52:52,241
this was a good idea!
1177
00:52:52,341 --> 00:52:57,441
And for 2 years exclusivity
to movies, to me.
1178
00:52:57,541 --> 00:53:01,321
(congregation chatting)
1179
00:53:01,421 --> 00:53:03,081
Cut!
1180
00:53:03,181 --> 00:53:06,701
Cut!
1181
00:53:07,701 --> 00:53:09,701
Get everybody in here again.
1182
00:53:10,221 --> 00:53:11,161
- For John Frankenheimer,
1183
00:53:11,261 --> 00:53:14,481
Phil Hill was manor from heaven
because he still was very,
1184
00:53:14,581 --> 00:53:16,321
very quick but he was kind of available,
1185
00:53:16,421 --> 00:53:18,361
and he was American,
and he was intelligent,
1186
00:53:18,461 --> 00:53:20,281
and he loved photography.
1187
00:53:20,381 --> 00:53:24,321
This was the perfect
man to drive that side
1188
00:53:24,421 --> 00:53:25,801
of things for "Grand Prix".
1189
00:53:25,901 --> 00:53:28,041
- [Alan] I've just seen the
most terrible skid there.
1190
00:53:28,141 --> 00:53:29,401
What happened to Yves Montand?
1191
00:53:29,501 --> 00:53:31,881
- Well, that's what he was supposed to do!
1192
00:53:31,981 --> 00:53:33,401
- [Alan] He wasn't supposed
to go all over the pavement?
1193
00:53:33,501 --> 00:53:34,321
- Oh yeah!
1194
00:53:34,421 --> 00:53:36,041
Up all over the kerb and
swing around backwards!
1195
00:53:36,141 --> 00:53:37,921
Wasn't that a beautiful job though?
1196
00:53:38,021 --> 00:53:39,041
He's like a stunt driver!
1197
00:53:39,141 --> 00:53:40,801
- Are you serious?
- Ha!
1198
00:53:40,901 --> 00:53:42,681
No.
(laughs)
1199
00:53:42,781 --> 00:53:44,881
- Well, he was a wonderful guy.
1200
00:53:44,981 --> 00:53:49,201
He was a great driver, but
also the most delightful guy,
1201
00:53:49,301 --> 00:53:50,121
the most delightful bloke.
1202
00:53:50,221 --> 00:53:52,481
Very, very dry sense of humor,
1203
00:53:52,581 --> 00:53:55,281
one of the funniest people I've ever met.
1204
00:53:55,381 --> 00:53:59,121
And also, probably as
intelligent as anybody
1205
00:53:59,221 --> 00:54:00,641
who ever drove a racing car.
1206
00:54:00,741 --> 00:54:03,881
He must have been enormously
helpful to Frankenheimer.
1207
00:54:03,981 --> 00:54:05,601
Just because he was such a bright man.
1208
00:54:05,701 --> 00:54:07,601
Daley had written extensively, of course,
1209
00:54:07,701 --> 00:54:08,641
about Phil Hill because he
1210
00:54:08,741 --> 00:54:11,201
was America's first World Champion.
1211
00:54:11,301 --> 00:54:12,921
- [Narrator] With
Frankenheimer buying friends up
1212
00:54:13,021 --> 00:54:14,641
and down the grid, he was now starting
1213
00:54:14,741 --> 00:54:17,121
to close the gap to "Day of the Champion".
1214
00:54:17,221 --> 00:54:18,961
Garner and the other stars were learning
1215
00:54:19,061 --> 00:54:21,881
what Grand Prix racing was all about,
1216
00:54:21,981 --> 00:54:24,881
but McQueen was still in
Taiwan and "The Sand Pebbles"
1217
00:54:24,981 --> 00:54:27,521
was starting to spiral out of control.
1218
00:54:27,621 --> 00:54:30,221
(upbeat music)
1219
00:54:37,621 --> 00:54:40,001
- The plan was to go and
shoot "The Sand Pebbles"
1220
00:54:40,101 --> 00:54:42,601
and ideally they'd be back to
shoot "Day of the Champion"
1221
00:54:42,701 --> 00:54:46,201
in '66 at the end of "The Sand Pebbles".
1222
00:54:46,301 --> 00:54:49,001
- The shoot in some ways is as memorable
1223
00:54:49,101 --> 00:54:51,761
as the film because it was
supposed to be a nine-week shoot
1224
00:54:51,861 --> 00:54:54,441
and it ended up taking
something like seven months.
1225
00:54:54,541 --> 00:54:55,881
- [Richard] The conditions over there
1226
00:54:55,981 --> 00:54:58,401
in Taiwan were horrendous.
1227
00:54:58,501 --> 00:55:01,361
Everyone got ill, Steve included.
1228
00:55:01,461 --> 00:55:04,161
(upbeat music)
1229
00:55:04,261 --> 00:55:05,281
- [Craig] We knew that the first team
1230
00:55:05,381 --> 00:55:06,841
to get their picture shot,
1231
00:55:06,941 --> 00:55:10,201
edited, scored and into
theaters before the other guy
1232
00:55:10,301 --> 00:55:11,601
would be the winner.
1233
00:55:11,701 --> 00:55:12,481
Neither side wanted
1234
00:55:12,581 --> 00:55:15,241
to be the second racing
picture out that year.
1235
00:55:15,341 --> 00:55:18,401
(racing car revving)
1236
00:55:18,501 --> 00:55:20,681
- [Narrator] Sturges and his
crew could still continue
1237
00:55:20,781 --> 00:55:22,641
to capture stunning race footage
1238
00:55:22,741 --> 00:55:25,961
while they waited for McQueen
to return from the Far East.
1239
00:55:26,061 --> 00:55:29,841
They regrouped and in late
April '66 headed to Oulton Park
1240
00:55:29,941 --> 00:55:33,561
in Cheshire to shoot a round
of the British GT Championship,
1241
00:55:33,661 --> 00:55:36,121
which would double for a
sports car race described
1242
00:55:36,221 --> 00:55:38,941
in the loose "Day of the Champion" script.
1243
00:55:39,981 --> 00:55:41,241
- There was The Steering Wheel Club
1244
00:55:41,341 --> 00:55:44,081
in the south of Park Lane
1245
00:55:44,181 --> 00:55:46,641
where all the motor racing
enthusiasts used to go.
1246
00:55:46,741 --> 00:55:48,321
And Stirling had started
1247
00:55:48,421 --> 00:55:50,361
The Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team
1248
00:55:50,461 --> 00:55:53,401
and so I drove his Elan which was his car
1249
00:55:53,501 --> 00:55:56,401
and then I entered my
own cars under his name.
1250
00:55:56,501 --> 00:55:59,641
(racing car revving)
1251
00:55:59,741 --> 00:56:03,921
There was agreement that
this car should be repainted
1252
00:56:04,021 --> 00:56:08,601
in the colors that Steve
McQueen planned to have
1253
00:56:08,701 --> 00:56:13,201
in his film, so it was
repainted to a green
1254
00:56:13,301 --> 00:56:16,241
and I drove the car in
this race and was filmed.
1255
00:56:16,341 --> 00:56:19,641
Well, we had the name "PEARCE" on the car
1256
00:56:19,741 --> 00:56:22,281
because that was the
name that Steve McQueen
1257
00:56:22,381 --> 00:56:23,641
was being given in the film.
1258
00:56:23,741 --> 00:56:26,441
- Of course, what you have to
remember is that in the '50s
1259
00:56:26,541 --> 00:56:29,961
and '60s, a top driver
wouldn't just drive Formula 1
1260
00:56:30,061 --> 00:56:32,601
as happens today, they
would drive sports cars,
1261
00:56:32,701 --> 00:56:34,281
he would do the Le Mans 24 hours,
1262
00:56:34,381 --> 00:56:36,681
he would probably race
in touring cars as well
1263
00:56:36,781 --> 00:56:39,081
and that's why it was
completely appropriate
1264
00:56:39,181 --> 00:56:43,961
that McQueen's character in
the film drives single-seaters,
1265
00:56:44,061 --> 00:56:45,801
but also drives sports cars.
1266
00:56:45,901 --> 00:56:47,901
That's how it was in those days.
1267
00:56:49,301 --> 00:56:51,361
- Bloody hell was I in the front row?
1268
00:56:51,461 --> 00:56:53,601
Six, well, I just fucked up the start.
1269
00:56:53,701 --> 00:56:56,781
(racing car revving)
1270
00:56:59,141 --> 00:57:02,081
Part of the deal was that
I should wear a helmet
1271
00:57:02,181 --> 00:57:04,521
which was approved by Steve McQueen
1272
00:57:04,621 --> 00:57:08,641
and then the production
team sent me the photograph
1273
00:57:08,741 --> 00:57:10,521
with the words which said;
1274
00:57:10,621 --> 00:57:13,521
"If this is what Dunlop overalls achieve,
1275
00:57:13,621 --> 00:57:16,081
then I think we'll go with Firestone."
1276
00:57:16,181 --> 00:57:19,621
So, I was in fact Steve McQueen's double.
1277
00:57:21,781 --> 00:57:23,361
- [Narrator] The pieces
of the puzzle were falling
1278
00:57:23,461 --> 00:57:25,481
into place for "Day of the Champion".
1279
00:57:25,581 --> 00:57:28,361
But with the start of
the 1966 Formula 1 season
1280
00:57:28,461 --> 00:57:31,561
in Monaco just a month away
they needed their Hollywood icon
1281
00:57:31,661 --> 00:57:34,121
back from Taiwan and ready to race.
1282
00:57:34,221 --> 00:57:36,721
Frankenheimer and MGM
were about to descend
1283
00:57:36,821 --> 00:57:40,561
on the principality to get their
movie underway with a bang!
1284
00:57:40,661 --> 00:57:43,581
(racing car bangs)
1285
00:57:46,461 --> 00:57:49,761
(trumpet music)
1286
00:57:49,861 --> 00:57:51,801
Late May 1966.
1287
00:57:51,901 --> 00:57:53,681
Steve McQueen is in Taiwan,
1288
00:57:53,781 --> 00:57:55,761
behind schedule on "The Sand Pebbles"
1289
00:57:55,861 --> 00:57:57,001
and desperate to get back
1290
00:57:57,101 --> 00:58:00,321
to Europe to star in his
dream Formula 1 movie project
1291
00:58:00,421 --> 00:58:02,281
"Day of the Champion".
1292
00:58:02,381 --> 00:58:06,121
In Monaco, MGM and John
Frankenheimer are underway
1293
00:58:06,221 --> 00:58:08,361
with their rival picture, "Grand Prix".
1294
00:58:08,461 --> 00:58:10,641
Nine months behind "Day of the Champion"
1295
00:58:10,741 --> 00:58:14,281
but now shooting real race
scenes, with real actors,
1296
00:58:14,381 --> 00:58:15,481
in real race cars.
1297
00:58:15,581 --> 00:58:18,741
(racing cars revving)
1298
00:58:22,501 --> 00:58:24,001
- [Announcer] These are
the Cinerama cameras
1299
00:58:24,101 --> 00:58:25,801
of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
1300
00:58:25,901 --> 00:58:28,281
about to attempt one of
the most challenging feats
1301
00:58:28,381 --> 00:58:31,881
in motion picture history
with these exciting,
1302
00:58:31,981 --> 00:58:34,681
international stars from America,
1303
00:58:34,781 --> 00:58:37,881
James Garner; the celebrated French star,
1304
00:58:37,981 --> 00:58:40,961
Yves Montand; Italy's
sensational young talent,
1305
00:58:41,061 --> 00:58:44,761
Antonio Sabato; and
England's Brian Bedford.
1306
00:58:44,861 --> 00:58:47,081
For Frankenheimer, for any film maker,
1307
00:58:47,181 --> 00:58:49,181
this is a monumental challenge.
1308
00:58:50,621 --> 00:58:52,561
Less than an hour before the actual race,
1309
00:58:52,661 --> 00:58:54,881
he is staging his own start.
1310
00:58:54,981 --> 00:58:56,301
- [Frankenheimer] Well, what
we hope to be able to do is
1311
00:58:56,381 --> 00:58:57,181
to show them what a real race
1312
00:58:57,261 --> 00:58:59,341
is really like from the driver's viewpoint
1313
00:59:00,701 --> 00:59:03,961
- [Announcer] The crowds are
real, so is the excitement.
1314
00:59:04,061 --> 00:59:07,081
And for Frankenheimer,
the suspense is very real.
1315
00:59:07,181 --> 00:59:10,161
This is not a studio;
these are not stuntmen.
1316
00:59:10,261 --> 00:59:11,041
In just seconds,
1317
00:59:11,141 --> 00:59:13,241
Phil Hill in the camera
car will lead Garner,
1318
00:59:13,341 --> 00:59:15,801
Montand and the others
around the Monaco circuit
1319
00:59:15,901 --> 00:59:19,361
at actual speeds of
over 125 miles an hour.
1320
00:59:19,461 --> 00:59:21,081
(racing car engine revs)
1321
00:59:21,181 --> 00:59:22,561
- [Frankenheimer] In Monte Carlo,
1322
00:59:22,661 --> 00:59:26,481
they began to see we
knew what we were doing.
1323
00:59:26,581 --> 00:59:28,721
We were very well organized,
1324
00:59:28,821 --> 00:59:32,561
we went out there and we
were doing real stuff.
1325
00:59:32,661 --> 00:59:35,041
And that began to get their attention.
1326
00:59:35,141 --> 00:59:36,921
(racing cars engines revs)
1327
00:59:37,021 --> 00:59:39,781
(crowd chatting)
1328
00:59:41,181 --> 00:59:44,041
- [Windsor] 1966 Monaco, I mean you can't
1329
00:59:44,141 --> 00:59:45,041
even get your head around it
1330
00:59:45,141 --> 00:59:48,321
in terms of today's
standards of operation.
1331
00:59:48,421 --> 00:59:49,921
Princess Grace was just
the beginning of it.
1332
00:59:50,021 --> 00:59:51,361
She was there obviously.
1333
00:59:51,461 --> 00:59:53,761
It was Jackie Stewart's
second Grand Prix win but
1334
00:59:53,861 --> 00:59:55,001
while all this was going on,
1335
00:59:55,101 --> 00:59:56,401
Frankenheimer in his mind
1336
00:59:56,501 --> 00:59:58,761
was creating another Monaco Grand Prix,
1337
00:59:58,861 --> 01:00:01,201
which was the "Grand Prix", "Grand Prix".
1338
01:00:01,301 --> 01:00:03,881
And to think about that happening today
1339
01:00:03,981 --> 01:00:06,121
and to have the camera cars
there in the way they did,
1340
01:00:06,221 --> 01:00:08,801
and the changing liveries of the cars
1341
01:00:08,901 --> 01:00:10,081
and of the driver's helmet.
1342
01:00:10,181 --> 01:00:12,281
- You know, one of the few
people who wasn't involved
1343
01:00:12,381 --> 01:00:14,961
in either movie was John Surtees.
1344
01:00:15,061 --> 01:00:18,601
He got absolutely fed
up to the teeth with it,
1345
01:00:18,701 --> 01:00:20,841
he had it up to here.
1346
01:00:20,941 --> 01:00:24,041
"Bloody film people I
wish they'd push off!"
1347
01:00:24,141 --> 01:00:25,441
But of course typical John,
1348
01:00:25,541 --> 01:00:30,241
he just said, "But well, you
know, there's always a way
1349
01:00:30,341 --> 01:00:34,041
around these things and
the Hollywood people stuff
1350
01:00:34,141 --> 01:00:36,501
their mouths with money
and stop them talking."
1351
01:00:37,381 --> 01:00:38,441
- It didn't worry me at all.
1352
01:00:38,541 --> 01:00:43,561
It didn't, Francoise Hardy
occasionally would upset me.
1353
01:00:43,661 --> 01:00:46,961
She was a very pretty looking
girl walking down the pits.
1354
01:00:47,061 --> 01:00:48,401
It really didn't matter.
1355
01:00:48,501 --> 01:00:51,721
I can't say at any time
was it an intrusion
1356
01:00:51,821 --> 01:00:56,801
into my preparation for a
race or in the race at all.
1357
01:00:56,901 --> 01:00:58,561
It didn't bother me at all.
1358
01:00:58,661 --> 01:01:01,841
- But, generally, the chaos
would have been incredible
1359
01:01:01,941 --> 01:01:04,881
and whilst Jackie was accepting
1360
01:01:04,981 --> 01:01:06,481
the trophy from Princess Grace,
1361
01:01:06,581 --> 01:01:08,081
just a little bit further down the road,
1362
01:01:08,181 --> 01:01:11,361
there was Sarti, Yves Montand,
1363
01:01:11,461 --> 01:01:14,861
accepting the trophy for
the "Grand Prix" Grand Prix.
1364
01:01:16,981 --> 01:01:19,401
- [Alan] Their own winner
will need a victor's cup
1365
01:01:19,501 --> 01:01:21,441
but they plan to use the
excitement at the end of
1366
01:01:21,541 --> 01:01:24,521
the race to slip a cuckoo
into the nest to film the man
1367
01:01:24,621 --> 01:01:26,441
who won the celluloid race,
1368
01:01:26,541 --> 01:01:29,941
wearing an open wreath and
looking modest, as well he might.
1369
01:01:31,461 --> 01:01:34,241
The actual winner today is Jackie Stewart.
1370
01:01:34,341 --> 01:01:35,481
As his car comes home,
1371
01:01:35,581 --> 01:01:38,801
Yves Montand, face glistening
with instant sweat,
1372
01:01:38,901 --> 01:01:41,021
prepares for his moment of hollow victory.
1373
01:01:42,061 --> 01:01:45,561
- I was not aware of it,
I was perfectly naive.
1374
01:01:45,661 --> 01:01:46,881
(laughs)
1375
01:01:46,981 --> 01:01:49,561
And you know, when you win a Grand Prix,
1376
01:01:49,661 --> 01:01:50,801
in Monaco in those days,
1377
01:01:50,901 --> 01:01:52,401
the Grand Prix was 100 laps.
1378
01:01:52,501 --> 01:01:57,501
Something like 8,600 gear
changes, all by hand,
1379
01:01:57,861 --> 01:02:00,721
and you were fairly tired
when it was finished.
1380
01:02:00,821 --> 01:02:03,841
(crowd applauds)
1381
01:02:03,941 --> 01:02:07,161
- When you're in a car,
particularly a Formula car,
1382
01:02:07,261 --> 01:02:10,881
but any car, you cannot
think of anything else.
1383
01:02:10,981 --> 01:02:12,641
I mean if you don't think of going
1384
01:02:12,741 --> 01:02:14,001
from one point to another,
1385
01:02:14,101 --> 01:02:18,481
from your braking point
to your gearing down
1386
01:02:18,581 --> 01:02:23,081
to make your turn into a
corner, if you stray from that,
1387
01:02:23,181 --> 01:02:25,121
and you worry about where that camera
1388
01:02:25,221 --> 01:02:28,301
is or anything like that,
then you're off the course.
1389
01:02:29,781 --> 01:02:32,481
So, we strictly do not worry about it,
1390
01:02:32,581 --> 01:02:34,881
we'll do our acting in the pits.
1391
01:02:34,981 --> 01:02:35,741
- [Narrator] Another member of the
1392
01:02:35,821 --> 01:02:39,081
"Day of the Champion" team was
also in Monaco that weekend.
1393
01:02:39,181 --> 01:02:41,201
Stirling Moss was keeping a close eye
1394
01:02:41,301 --> 01:02:44,121
on Frankenheimer's team
and sent a telegram back
1395
01:02:44,221 --> 01:02:47,041
to the Alan Mann garage
after seeing how the cars
1396
01:02:47,141 --> 01:02:49,721
on "Grand Prix" were
slowing down the filming.
1397
01:02:49,821 --> 01:02:52,441
- [Announcer] "Dear Alan,
Having just returned
1398
01:02:52,541 --> 01:02:55,441
from Monte Carlo and seeing how
the other lot are operating,
1399
01:02:55,541 --> 01:02:57,441
I feel we need to make some adjustments
1400
01:02:57,541 --> 01:02:59,881
to our cars so we don't
have to stop and start
1401
01:02:59,981 --> 01:03:02,121
with such regularity.
1402
01:03:02,221 --> 01:03:05,201
Please can you start to
adjust the compression rates,
1403
01:03:05,301 --> 01:03:09,321
dampers and engine idle
before we get to Germany.
1404
01:03:09,421 --> 01:03:12,201
Kind regards, Stirling Moss."
1405
01:03:12,301 --> 01:03:13,481
- [Narrator] Panic was also setting
1406
01:03:13,581 --> 01:03:15,561
in amongst the Warners' management.
1407
01:03:15,661 --> 01:03:17,441
Panic about McQueen's physical condition
1408
01:03:17,541 --> 01:03:19,441
but also about the unrealistic schedule
1409
01:03:19,541 --> 01:03:20,841
of 'Day of the Champion',
1410
01:03:20,941 --> 01:03:23,761
given their A-list star
was still in Taiwan,
1411
01:03:23,861 --> 01:03:26,761
where 'The Sand Pebbles'
was seriously over-running.
1412
01:03:26,861 --> 01:03:28,361
By June 1966,
1413
01:03:28,461 --> 01:03:31,281
John Sturges was already in
London to work on pre-production
1414
01:03:31,381 --> 01:03:33,761
for the remaining 'Day
of the Champion' shoots,
1415
01:03:33,861 --> 01:03:36,881
when he received an
extraordinary telegram.
1416
01:03:36,981 --> 01:03:39,441
- [Announcer] "Dear John,
It is needless to tell you
1417
01:03:39,541 --> 01:03:42,161
that I am very worried
because of the possibility
1418
01:03:42,261 --> 01:03:44,361
of "Grand Prix" coming out in Cinerama
1419
01:03:44,461 --> 01:03:46,721
or any other format ahead of our picture.
1420
01:03:46,821 --> 01:03:49,401
I would not put it by these
boys to release their picture
1421
01:03:49,501 --> 01:03:51,721
on 35 millimeter at the same time
1422
01:03:51,821 --> 01:03:53,821
that it's released in Cinerama.
1423
01:03:54,221 --> 01:03:56,681
Isn't there some way you can
start your pre-production
1424
01:03:56,781 --> 01:03:59,761
sooner and also have McQueen
get over to England sooner,
1425
01:03:59,861 --> 01:04:01,801
or something of this order?
1426
01:04:01,901 --> 01:04:04,721
I would hate like hell to be
given the bird and huge laugh
1427
01:04:04,821 --> 01:04:06,821
by all concerned with GRAND PRIX.
1428
01:04:07,781 --> 01:04:09,601
I don't want to say I would
not have gone into this
1429
01:04:09,701 --> 01:04:12,321
if I had known of the unfortunate
delay that has been caused
1430
01:04:12,421 --> 01:04:14,281
by "The Sand Pebbles".
1431
01:04:14,381 --> 01:04:15,881
What about phoning Bob Wise to see
1432
01:04:15,981 --> 01:04:18,601
if he can release McQueen earlier?
1433
01:04:18,701 --> 01:04:21,841
Again, in closing, see if
you can't beat GRAND PRIX
1434
01:04:21,941 --> 01:04:23,401
after you leave the starting gate.
1435
01:04:23,501 --> 01:04:25,501
Jack Warner."
1436
01:04:28,301 --> 01:04:30,581
(chuckles)
1437
01:04:34,501 --> 01:04:37,101
(racing bangs)
1438
01:04:41,021 --> 01:04:44,201
- (chuckles) just blown out.
1439
01:04:44,301 --> 01:04:45,041
- That's your job.
1440
01:04:45,141 --> 01:04:47,201
No wait a minute, that's your
job to make it really look
1441
01:04:47,301 --> 01:04:49,301
like, where's Beady Eyes?
1442
01:04:50,021 --> 01:04:52,001
- [Narrator] With production
moving at a frantic pace
1443
01:04:52,101 --> 01:04:53,601
for "Grand Prix" in Monaco,
1444
01:04:53,701 --> 01:04:55,601
an unscripted halt is
brought to proceedings
1445
01:04:55,701 --> 01:04:57,241
when local shop keepers protest
1446
01:04:57,341 --> 01:04:59,461
about street closures harming their trade.
1447
01:05:00,941 --> 01:05:04,041
Tempers flare, proving
that even Hollywood's
1448
01:05:04,141 --> 01:05:07,961
most consummate leading men
can still lose their cool.
1449
01:05:08,061 --> 01:05:09,521
- I am freezing my ass off,
1450
01:05:09,621 --> 01:05:12,361
now get your butt out of
here or I'm gonna throw you
1451
01:05:12,461 --> 01:05:14,461
in the fucking water!
1452
01:05:15,421 --> 01:05:16,401
Just get out or I'm gonna bust you,
1453
01:05:16,501 --> 01:05:17,321
I'm gonna put in there
1454
01:05:17,421 --> 01:05:19,421
and I'm gonna hold you under now get out!
1455
01:05:21,101 --> 01:05:22,161
What is your problem?
1456
01:05:22,261 --> 01:05:24,961
I am freezing to death
out here for a half hour
1457
01:05:25,061 --> 01:05:26,041
while you talk!
1458
01:05:26,141 --> 01:05:28,281
If you want to talk,
I'll talk to you later.
1459
01:05:28,381 --> 01:05:30,381
How much money do you want?
1460
01:05:30,941 --> 01:05:32,241
- I speak English, Mr Garner.
1461
01:05:32,341 --> 01:05:33,921
- Well then you get the
hell out of that shot
1462
01:05:34,021 --> 01:05:35,041
or I'm gonna put you out!
1463
01:05:35,141 --> 01:05:36,121
- [French Male] Yes sir.
1464
01:05:36,221 --> 01:05:38,801
- [James] I tell you!
1465
01:05:38,901 --> 01:05:42,061
You better count to 60 and
get your ass out of here!
1466
01:05:45,861 --> 01:05:48,781
(racing car bangs)
1467
01:05:49,941 --> 01:05:51,921
- After Monte Carlo was over,
1468
01:05:52,021 --> 01:05:56,281
I put together a quick 30
minutes of stuff I shot
1469
01:05:56,381 --> 01:05:58,041
at Monte Carlo,
1470
01:05:58,141 --> 01:06:02,841
called Ferrari and asked
him if he would look at it.
1471
01:06:02,941 --> 01:06:05,361
He said 'well I don't have
any projection equipment,
1472
01:06:05,461 --> 01:06:06,481
I don't have anything like that.
1473
01:06:06,581 --> 01:06:09,161
I said, "Just tell me you'll look at it."
1474
01:06:09,261 --> 01:06:10,561
So he said "Yes I will."
1475
01:06:10,661 --> 01:06:14,061
So I shut the movie
down, chartered a plane,
1476
01:06:15,141 --> 01:06:17,001
brought the film, a projectionist,
1477
01:06:17,101 --> 01:06:20,321
projectors and everything
else to Maranello,
1478
01:06:20,421 --> 01:06:24,501
to his office, set it up
and ran him the 30 minutes.
1479
01:06:25,421 --> 01:06:27,161
When it was over the lights came up,
1480
01:06:27,261 --> 01:06:32,321
he embraced me, he said,
"You can have anything."
1481
01:06:32,421 --> 01:06:35,241
And he said, "I don't even
want to talk to you about money
1482
01:06:35,341 --> 01:06:36,481
because I don't want any money from you,
1483
01:06:36,581 --> 01:06:38,241
because when Ferrari gives you something,
1484
01:06:38,341 --> 01:06:39,361
he gives it to you."
1485
01:06:39,461 --> 01:06:40,921
So he never charged us a penny.
1486
01:06:41,021 --> 01:06:44,601
He gave us the Ferrari team,
he gave us the factory,
1487
01:06:44,701 --> 01:06:45,721
he gave us everything!
1488
01:06:45,821 --> 01:06:47,801
Well, of course, once we
got that kind of acceptance
1489
01:06:47,901 --> 01:06:50,641
from Ferrari, I mean that was that.
1490
01:06:50,741 --> 01:06:51,961
- "We were less than a week away
1491
01:06:52,061 --> 01:06:54,281
from filming principal
photography in Germany
1492
01:06:54,381 --> 01:06:56,521
in July of 1966 and Steve McQueen
1493
01:06:56,621 --> 01:06:58,961
was still busy filming "The Sand Pebbles".
1494
01:06:59,061 --> 01:07:00,121
At midnight one evening,
1495
01:07:00,221 --> 01:07:02,521
Jack Warner called my
office at Pinewood Studios.
1496
01:07:02,621 --> 01:07:03,761
"How are ya, Bob?"
1497
01:07:03,861 --> 01:07:06,201
"Well, I'm cramming to
get everything in order
1498
01:07:06,301 --> 01:07:08,561
before I leave for Germany,
how are you, Jack?"
1499
01:07:08,661 --> 01:07:09,841
"I'm great, great thanks.
1500
01:07:09,941 --> 01:07:12,721
Right Bob, listen, about
that racing picture:
1501
01:07:12,821 --> 01:07:14,161
close it down."
1502
01:07:14,261 --> 01:07:15,601
"Excuse me?"
1503
01:07:15,701 --> 01:07:18,961
"Listen," Bob said, "Bob
Wise won't release McQueen."
1504
01:07:19,061 --> 01:07:22,001
That means "Grand Prix" will
be first to the theaters,
1505
01:07:22,101 --> 01:07:25,401
and am not gonna to be
second so shut it down."
1506
01:07:25,501 --> 01:07:28,561
"But, we've already got loads of footage,
1507
01:07:28,661 --> 01:07:31,041
I've got an entire crew
in Germany ready to go,
1508
01:07:31,141 --> 01:07:33,081
you've already committed a ton of money.
1509
01:07:33,181 --> 01:07:34,521
Bob, listen to me.
1510
01:07:34,621 --> 01:07:38,781
Send everybody home and shut
it down now, it's over."
1511
01:07:41,341 --> 01:07:45,201
- McQueen went mad on the
set of "The Sand Pebbles".
1512
01:07:45,301 --> 01:07:48,521
Sturges tried to get him to
leave as soon as possible,
1513
01:07:48,621 --> 01:07:50,241
but Robert Wise wouldn't let McQueen go.
1514
01:07:50,341 --> 01:07:51,041
He needed him.
1515
01:07:51,141 --> 01:07:51,941
His wife said to him at the time
1516
01:07:52,021 --> 01:07:55,201
"You can't get that angry
because you turned down
1517
01:07:55,301 --> 01:07:58,801
this role," but that
didn't really stop him.
1518
01:07:58,901 --> 01:08:01,241
He was determined to
make the definitive film
1519
01:08:01,341 --> 01:08:06,001
about Formula 1, about
motor racing and yeah,
1520
01:08:06,101 --> 01:08:07,881
he'd been beaten to the punch.
1521
01:08:07,981 --> 01:08:08,681
- I think the trucks were
1522
01:08:08,781 --> 01:08:11,881
in Dover already about to
depart for the Rheims Grand Prix
1523
01:08:11,981 --> 01:08:14,761
when a telegram came in from Warner Bros
1524
01:08:14,861 --> 01:08:19,081
to say stop all transport and
the whole thing's canceled
1525
01:08:19,181 --> 01:08:21,181
and go back to base.
1526
01:08:22,421 --> 01:08:23,161
- [Craig] The next morning,
1527
01:08:23,261 --> 01:08:25,001
I called Sturges to give him the news.
1528
01:08:25,101 --> 01:08:27,561
He was completely void of any emotion.
1529
01:08:27,661 --> 01:08:29,801
"Well that's that", he said.
1530
01:08:29,901 --> 01:08:33,001
I said, "Sorry John, we
would've made a great film,
1531
01:08:33,101 --> 01:08:34,521
I'm sure of it.
1532
01:08:34,621 --> 01:08:37,161
Well, I think I'll take a few
weeks vacation," John mused.
1533
01:08:37,261 --> 01:08:39,641
"Maybe I'll go to Europe."
1534
01:08:39,741 --> 01:08:42,121
- Before departing for
the continent, Sturges,
1535
01:08:42,221 --> 01:08:43,361
ever the gentleman,
1536
01:08:43,461 --> 01:08:46,321
sent a telegram to Alan Mann
conveying his deep regret
1537
01:08:46,421 --> 01:08:49,041
over the collapse of
"Day of the Champion."
1538
01:08:49,141 --> 01:08:52,401
- [Announcer] "Dear Alan,
As all of us are depressed
1539
01:08:52,501 --> 01:08:55,321
and unhappy over the
collapse of the project.
1540
01:08:55,421 --> 01:08:57,641
I think we would have achieved
some marvellous results
1541
01:08:57,741 --> 01:08:58,921
and it's a shame to miss the fun
1542
01:08:59,021 --> 01:09:01,101
and excitement we'd have had getting them.
1543
01:09:02,021 --> 01:09:04,561
You must know I'm very
grateful for the enthusiasm
1544
01:09:04,661 --> 01:09:05,841
and efficient help you gave us
1545
01:09:05,941 --> 01:09:08,441
and I'm truly sorry for any disruption
1546
01:09:08,541 --> 01:09:10,541
there has been to your plans.
1547
01:09:11,741 --> 01:09:14,161
I look forward to when we
meet again and once more,
1548
01:09:14,261 --> 01:09:16,121
my thanks for Le Mans.
1549
01:09:16,221 --> 01:09:18,841
With all the best, John."
1550
01:09:18,941 --> 01:09:20,721
- He had quite a good
relationship with Sturges
1551
01:09:20,821 --> 01:09:23,761
and they were obviously both disappointed
1552
01:09:23,861 --> 01:09:28,881
that it didn't come to any
fruition but they obviously had
1553
01:09:28,981 --> 01:09:30,641
some mutual respect for each other.
1554
01:09:30,741 --> 01:09:33,441
- I had a letter from
Brookwood Productions,
1555
01:09:33,541 --> 01:09:35,641
Pinewood Studios, 'Regret,
1556
01:09:35,741 --> 01:09:38,921
here's a cheque for two weeks money.
1557
01:09:39,021 --> 01:09:43,041
Steve McQueen is ill and
he cannot make this shoot.
1558
01:09:43,141 --> 01:09:45,841
- [Narrator] With Frankenheimer
seemingly victorious,
1559
01:09:45,941 --> 01:09:47,481
his Cinerama circus moved
1560
01:09:47,581 --> 01:09:49,561
onto other locations around Europe.
1561
01:09:49,661 --> 01:09:52,881
Filming in Clermont
Ferrand, Spa-Francorchamps,
1562
01:09:52,981 --> 01:09:55,081
Brands Hatch and Monza.
1563
01:09:55,181 --> 01:09:57,441
Not content with the drivers
he had already signed
1564
01:09:57,541 --> 01:09:58,801
to exclusive deals,
1565
01:09:58,901 --> 01:10:01,921
he also wanted the two
remaining big F1 stars
1566
01:10:02,021 --> 01:10:03,601
who had signed to Warner.
1567
01:10:03,701 --> 01:10:07,441
- My understanding is that
the insurance company,
1568
01:10:07,541 --> 01:10:09,201
that was what we were told,
1569
01:10:09,301 --> 01:10:12,281
that the insurance company
wouldn't allow Steve
1570
01:10:12,381 --> 01:10:17,041
to do a full-blown motor racing series
1571
01:10:17,141 --> 01:10:20,521
that we was directly involved in.
1572
01:10:20,621 --> 01:10:24,281
So, when that fell through,
1573
01:10:24,381 --> 01:10:28,681
Frankenheimer already had the
program going and in fact,
1574
01:10:28,781 --> 01:10:30,881
I don't know how long after we were told
1575
01:10:30,981 --> 01:10:32,981
that the movie wasn't going to happen,
1576
01:10:34,141 --> 01:10:36,961
Frankenheimer offered me another amount
1577
01:10:37,061 --> 01:10:40,041
of money to do some stuff with him
1578
01:10:40,141 --> 01:10:43,641
because one of the featured
drivers in his movie
1579
01:10:43,741 --> 01:10:46,481
was wearing my helmet colors.
1580
01:10:46,581 --> 01:10:49,001
And so I got paid twice really!
1581
01:10:49,101 --> 01:10:50,601
And so did Jimmy.
1582
01:10:50,701 --> 01:10:51,401
(laughs)
1583
01:10:51,501 --> 01:10:56,681
- We got these guys to drive
for us at $200 dollars a day.
1584
01:10:56,781 --> 01:11:00,961
So you put it in today's dollars
that's $2000 dollars a day.
1585
01:11:01,061 --> 01:11:04,681
The picture in 1966 all-in
1586
01:11:04,781 --> 01:11:07,201
with accelerated
post-production cost about nine
1587
01:11:07,301 --> 01:11:08,361
and a half million.
1588
01:11:08,461 --> 01:11:10,841
- Put that in the context of
today's Formula 1 and imagine
1589
01:11:10,941 --> 01:11:13,201
what it would be like
having a Hollywood crew
1590
01:11:13,301 --> 01:11:15,481
in the pit lane at a
proper Formula 1 race,
1591
01:11:15,581 --> 01:11:17,121
it would never happen in a million years.
1592
01:11:17,221 --> 01:11:20,121
But Frankenheimer was able
to do that and to his credit,
1593
01:11:20,221 --> 01:11:22,681
and I think to the credit
of the actors involved,
1594
01:11:22,781 --> 01:11:24,201
it all worked.
1595
01:11:24,301 --> 01:11:27,361
Probably it was the Francoise
Hardy accept of it all!
1596
01:11:27,461 --> 01:11:29,681
The drivers found her
very friendly to the eye,
1597
01:11:29,781 --> 01:11:33,281
I think, but no in general I
think they did a very good job
1598
01:11:33,381 --> 01:11:35,241
of understanding what it was all about
1599
01:11:35,341 --> 01:11:37,001
and they became part of the fabric
1600
01:11:37,101 --> 01:11:40,081
of Formula 1 throughout that '66 season.
1601
01:11:40,181 --> 01:11:42,281
- "Making a picture is a strange thing
1602
01:11:42,381 --> 01:11:44,441
because everybody hates
you when you are making it.
1603
01:11:44,541 --> 01:11:47,801
It's when the picture comes
out that they say, "Oh boy,
1604
01:11:47,901 --> 01:11:49,841
you know, it's really pretty good."
1605
01:11:49,941 --> 01:11:52,641
Or visa versa, everybody loves
you when you are making it
1606
01:11:52,741 --> 01:11:54,921
and the picture comes out and
you never work again you know.
1607
01:11:55,021 --> 01:11:57,001
It can work that way too!"
1608
01:11:57,101 --> 01:12:00,181
(racing car revving)
1609
01:12:04,101 --> 01:12:06,561
- [Narrator] August 1966 and Steve McQueen
1610
01:12:06,661 --> 01:12:08,841
is finally back in
California after wrapping
1611
01:12:08,941 --> 01:12:10,681
on "The Sand Pebbles".
1612
01:12:10,781 --> 01:12:12,441
Six months behind schedule
1613
01:12:12,541 --> 01:12:16,281
and his dream Formula 1
movie project in tatters.
1614
01:12:16,381 --> 01:12:18,801
- Steve was exhausted
after "The Sand Pebbles",
1615
01:12:18,901 --> 01:12:22,081
probably he did his best
acting of his career possibly
1616
01:12:22,181 --> 01:12:26,001
with the exception of
"Papillon" and he'd put so much
1617
01:12:26,101 --> 01:12:28,601
of himself and his energy
into "The Sand Pebbles"
1618
01:12:28,701 --> 01:12:30,281
that he needed a rest.
1619
01:12:30,381 --> 01:12:31,161
There was no way he could go
1620
01:12:31,261 --> 01:12:33,921
and make "Day of the Champion" after that.
1621
01:12:34,021 --> 01:12:37,121
He and Bob Relyea, his
great producer friend,
1622
01:12:37,221 --> 01:12:38,801
they felt they'd got their butts kicked
1623
01:12:38,901 --> 01:12:41,921
when "Day of the
Champion" didn't get made.
1624
01:12:42,021 --> 01:12:44,761
- But by early '67,
McQueen was back riding
1625
01:12:44,861 --> 01:12:46,121
the crest of a wave.
1626
01:12:46,221 --> 01:12:50,041
"The Sand Pebbles" was a
critical and box office hit.
1627
01:12:50,141 --> 01:12:51,641
- The only thing that McQueen seemed
1628
01:12:51,741 --> 01:12:53,321
to really focus on when he got back
1629
01:12:53,421 --> 01:12:57,201
to America was the Oscars
campaign for "The Sand Pebbles".
1630
01:12:57,301 --> 01:13:01,361
He was determined that he
deserved a Best Actor nominee
1631
01:13:01,461 --> 01:13:03,121
and he did in fact get it.
1632
01:13:03,221 --> 01:13:06,521
A little bit of brokenness,
I think, comes to that role,
1633
01:13:06,621 --> 01:13:07,721
aided and abetted by the fact
1634
01:13:07,821 --> 01:13:10,721
that he actually quite ill
through a lot of the filming
1635
01:13:10,821 --> 01:13:14,401
so he does actually look kind
of dissipated or off-kilter
1636
01:13:14,501 --> 01:13:17,921
in some of the scenes and that
was a way to throw himself
1637
01:13:18,021 --> 01:13:19,201
into something which,
1638
01:13:19,301 --> 01:13:20,921
was not colored by the disappointment
1639
01:13:21,021 --> 01:13:24,001
of not being able to make
this passion project.
1640
01:13:24,101 --> 01:13:25,441
- McQueen must have been gutted
1641
01:13:25,541 --> 01:13:27,761
to think that he got his
first Oscar nomination
1642
01:13:27,861 --> 01:13:31,081
for a film that actually stopped
him making the film he had
1643
01:13:31,181 --> 01:13:32,801
always dreamt of making.
1644
01:13:32,901 --> 01:13:34,841
- [Richard] "Sand Pebbles"
and "Grand Prix" were released
1645
01:13:34,941 --> 01:13:37,401
the same week in December '66.
1646
01:13:37,501 --> 01:13:39,161
- [Christina] "Grand
Prix" was a huge success.
1647
01:13:39,261 --> 01:13:41,961
It was up against "The
Sand Pebbles" at the Oscars
1648
01:13:42,061 --> 01:13:46,401
in several categories
and it won three Oscars
1649
01:13:46,501 --> 01:13:49,081
so that really added
probably insult to injury,
1650
01:13:49,181 --> 01:13:50,321
in some ways, for McQueen.
1651
01:13:50,421 --> 01:13:52,921
- At that time, there was,
1652
01:13:53,021 --> 01:13:56,241
you could get little hand
grenade-looking things made
1653
01:13:56,341 --> 01:13:59,721
of compressed paper with a
small French banger inside.
1654
01:13:59,821 --> 01:14:02,681
James Garner's and Steve
McQueen's houses were adjacent
1655
01:14:02,781 --> 01:14:04,281
to each other in Hollywood
1656
01:14:04,381 --> 01:14:07,881
and Steve's was a little uphill
from Garner's and so he used
1657
01:14:07,981 --> 01:14:11,201
to throw his grenades down into the yard
1658
01:14:11,301 --> 01:14:14,161
of Garner's house and
illicit a big police reaction
1659
01:14:14,261 --> 01:14:15,681
and everything and wait for all that
1660
01:14:15,781 --> 01:14:19,001
to dissipate and lob another one over
1661
01:14:19,101 --> 01:14:20,481
and generally wind him up.
1662
01:14:20,581 --> 01:14:22,881
- Finally his son, Chad,
1663
01:14:22,981 --> 01:14:25,181
made him go and take
him to see "Grand Prix"
1664
01:14:26,621 --> 01:14:29,401
and from that time on
we were talking again.
1665
01:14:29,501 --> 01:14:32,161
But Steve was a wild
kid, he was a wild kid.
1666
01:14:32,261 --> 01:14:33,441
He didn't know where he wanted to be
1667
01:14:33,541 --> 01:14:35,161
or what he wanted to do.
1668
01:14:35,261 --> 01:14:38,361
- Tell him exactly where
Garner's going to pass him.
1669
01:14:38,461 --> 01:14:39,321
Jimmy Garner!
1670
01:14:39,421 --> 01:14:40,121
Jimmy Garner!
1671
01:14:40,221 --> 01:14:41,881
Where is the exact place you pass him?
1672
01:14:41,981 --> 01:14:46,081
- Just before the overpass,
he's gone that way.
1673
01:14:46,181 --> 01:14:49,661
Just before the overpass,
alright we gotta go.
1674
01:14:51,421 --> 01:14:54,041
(chuckles)
1675
01:14:54,141 --> 01:14:55,401
Which side?
1676
01:14:55,501 --> 01:14:56,241
Which side?
1677
01:14:56,341 --> 01:14:58,341
- I pass him on the left!
1678
01:14:59,701 --> 01:15:00,401
- Okay!
1679
01:15:00,501 --> 01:15:02,961
Okay!
1680
01:15:03,061 --> 01:15:06,921
- When I first saw "Grand
Prix", sitting at a cinema,
1681
01:15:07,021 --> 01:15:08,441
the impact was tremendous
1682
01:15:08,541 --> 01:15:10,881
because you were seeing
Formula 1 cars racing
1683
01:15:10,981 --> 01:15:15,761
on a big screen, in color,
close-ups on the drivers.
1684
01:15:15,861 --> 01:15:18,321
There was a whole depth there
1685
01:15:18,421 --> 01:15:20,201
which we never had on television.
1686
01:15:20,301 --> 01:15:24,121
Television coverage in the
1960s was extremely primitive
1687
01:15:24,221 --> 01:15:26,441
and for people who'd never
been to a motor race,
1688
01:15:26,541 --> 01:15:29,321
which is where a lot of the
audience would have come from,
1689
01:15:29,421 --> 01:15:30,961
they would have seen this on television,
1690
01:15:31,061 --> 01:15:35,481
but the impact of seeing it
on a proper cinema screen.
1691
01:15:35,581 --> 01:15:37,001
Enormous.
1692
01:15:37,101 --> 01:15:38,041
- Frankenheimer did hire me
1693
01:15:38,141 --> 01:15:39,721
as a consultant when he was thinking
1694
01:15:39,821 --> 01:15:42,241
about doing a "Grand Prix 2".
1695
01:15:42,341 --> 01:15:44,641
I'm talking early '80s now.
1696
01:15:44,741 --> 01:15:46,401
But then of course like
everybody at that time,
1697
01:15:46,501 --> 01:15:50,481
he was completely shocked
at how much Formula 1 i.e.
1698
01:15:50,581 --> 01:15:53,201
Bernie Ecclestone wanted
in order to have the same
1699
01:15:53,301 --> 01:15:55,361
sort of access that he'd back in '66
1700
01:15:55,461 --> 01:15:57,801
and at that point it became a non-starter,
1701
01:15:57,901 --> 01:16:00,201
like a lot of other movies
that people have tried
1702
01:16:00,301 --> 01:16:01,681
to make about Formula 1.
1703
01:16:01,781 --> 01:16:02,541
- [Nigel] I will always be grateful
1704
01:16:02,621 --> 01:16:06,201
that "Grand Prix" exists because
apart from anything else,
1705
01:16:06,301 --> 01:16:08,681
it amounts to such, in effect,
1706
01:16:08,781 --> 01:16:12,841
a record of how Formula 1 was in the '60s.
1707
01:16:12,941 --> 01:16:14,841
- [Narrator] During the
second half of the 1960s,
1708
01:16:14,941 --> 01:16:18,321
Steve McQueen's Hollywood
career went stratospheric.
1709
01:16:18,421 --> 01:16:20,641
The outsider had made it inside,
1710
01:16:20,741 --> 01:16:23,281
becoming the highest
paid actor in the world.
1711
01:16:23,381 --> 01:16:25,121
His disappointment over the failure of
1712
01:16:25,221 --> 01:16:28,241
"Day of the Champion" only
served to fuel his obsession
1713
01:16:28,341 --> 01:16:30,201
with cars in the movies.
1714
01:16:30,301 --> 01:16:34,041
In 1968, "Bullit"' was
the result of his efforts.
1715
01:16:34,141 --> 01:16:36,441
Again, he insisted on doing the majority
1716
01:16:36,541 --> 01:16:38,081
of the stunt work involved
1717
01:16:38,181 --> 01:16:40,081
and this is widely considered
1718
01:16:40,181 --> 01:16:43,041
to be the greatest car chase of all time.
1719
01:16:43,141 --> 01:16:47,961
(brakes screeching)
(racing car revving)
1720
01:16:48,061 --> 01:16:50,961
- Those mid '60s years
were the hottest years
1721
01:16:51,061 --> 01:16:51,761
of his career.
1722
01:16:51,861 --> 01:16:54,561
He had five hits one after the other,
1723
01:16:54,661 --> 01:16:56,801
starting with "The Cincinnati Kid",
1724
01:16:56,901 --> 01:16:58,801
and "Nevada Smith", "The Sand Pebbles",
1725
01:16:58,901 --> 01:17:01,401
"The Thomas Crown Affair", and "Bullitt".
1726
01:17:01,501 --> 01:17:03,321
Now if we'd have seen
"Day of the Champion"
1727
01:17:03,421 --> 01:17:04,361
in the middle of that,
1728
01:17:04,461 --> 01:17:06,721
we might never have seen
"The Thomas Crown Affair"
1729
01:17:06,821 --> 01:17:07,721
and "Bullitt".
1730
01:17:07,821 --> 01:17:10,041
- [Narrator] But he was
still obsessed with his dream
1731
01:17:10,141 --> 01:17:12,601
of a motor racing film
and now had a great deal
1732
01:17:12,701 --> 01:17:16,281
of star power, the juice as he called it.
1733
01:17:16,381 --> 01:17:18,481
He did, of course,
finally make that movie.
1734
01:17:18,581 --> 01:17:22,441
"Le Mans" was released in 1971.
1735
01:17:22,541 --> 01:17:23,281
- [James] With "Bullitt",
1736
01:17:23,381 --> 01:17:25,961
"Thomas Crown" being such
massive hits, essentially,
1737
01:17:26,061 --> 01:17:27,801
he's allowed to do
whatever he wants to do.
1738
01:17:27,901 --> 01:17:30,161
That's when "Le Mans"
comes back into the mix
1739
01:17:30,261 --> 01:17:35,041
and he thinks I am gonna make
the ultimate racing car movie.
1740
01:17:35,141 --> 01:17:37,241
- By the time he got to "Le Mans",
1741
01:17:37,341 --> 01:17:39,081
he was feeling so much pressure that
1742
01:17:39,181 --> 01:17:41,561
this film had to succeed
1743
01:17:41,661 --> 01:17:44,721
that it definitely affected
his personal relationships,
1744
01:17:44,821 --> 01:17:47,921
with his wife, with his
friend Robert Relyea,
1745
01:17:48,021 --> 01:17:52,721
with his director friend from
over a decade, John Sturges.
1746
01:17:52,821 --> 01:17:56,561
I think he was dead set that
this movie had to be a success.
1747
01:17:56,661 --> 01:17:59,281
- [John] I think, at
least from my standpoint,
1748
01:17:59,381 --> 01:18:00,361
in an action film,
1749
01:18:00,461 --> 01:18:04,161
it gives you an opportunity
to put people under pressure.
1750
01:18:04,261 --> 01:18:06,241
And when they're under
pressure, they're emotions,
1751
01:18:06,341 --> 01:18:08,001
good or bad, come out.
1752
01:18:08,101 --> 01:18:10,441
What you're really looking for is emotion.
1753
01:18:10,541 --> 01:18:12,681
A fight is no more meaningful than
1754
01:18:12,781 --> 01:18:15,441
how much care somebody wins.
1755
01:18:15,541 --> 01:18:18,201
Two unknown people could
beat each other to death,
1756
01:18:18,301 --> 01:18:21,241
balanced on a girder,
40 stories in the air,
1757
01:18:21,341 --> 01:18:23,841
you wouldn't care unless
you were pulling for one
1758
01:18:23,941 --> 01:18:24,841
or the other.
1759
01:18:24,941 --> 01:18:26,161
- [Interviewer] I think the thing
1760
01:18:26,261 --> 01:18:27,321
that fascinated most people
1761
01:18:27,421 --> 01:18:29,921
about "Bullitt" was that
sensational car chase
1762
01:18:30,021 --> 01:18:31,681
in San Francisco.
1763
01:18:31,781 --> 01:18:34,801
Are you going to try for
anything like that in this film?
1764
01:18:34,901 --> 01:18:37,761
- [John] Well, we hope
to do as well of course.
1765
01:18:37,861 --> 01:18:40,561
It won't be a chase in any sense
1766
01:18:40,661 --> 01:18:43,401
and they will be cars
driven under control as they
1767
01:18:43,501 --> 01:18:44,481
are here in the circuit,
1768
01:18:44,581 --> 01:18:47,921
as opposed to a kind of flat-out stunt.
1769
01:18:48,021 --> 01:18:51,281
It's similar in that there
are cars and there is speed,
1770
01:18:51,381 --> 01:18:53,281
but totally different otherwise.
1771
01:18:53,381 --> 01:18:56,241
(racing car revving)
1772
01:18:56,341 --> 01:18:58,881
- [Natasha] When something
is a passion project,
1773
01:18:58,981 --> 01:19:01,521
logic goes out of the window.
1774
01:19:01,621 --> 01:19:04,041
For McQueen, it stopped
being about creating
1775
01:19:04,141 --> 01:19:07,121
an amazing piece of cinema and it became
1776
01:19:07,221 --> 01:19:08,401
about fulfilling a dream
1777
01:19:08,501 --> 01:19:10,201
and those two are never going to marry,
1778
01:19:10,301 --> 01:19:13,241
even more so when
Sturges left the project.
1779
01:19:13,341 --> 01:19:15,801
- [Samuelson] Steve,
who's production company
1780
01:19:15,901 --> 01:19:17,901
was making the film,
1781
01:19:18,221 --> 01:19:21,161
really didn't know how you make a film,
1782
01:19:21,261 --> 01:19:25,401
how you string a script
together, how you block a scene,
1783
01:19:25,501 --> 01:19:28,681
and I think it must have
been awful for John Sturges.
1784
01:19:28,781 --> 01:19:33,241
Steve was very, very famous
1785
01:19:33,341 --> 01:19:37,521
and also I think in many
ways, out of control.
1786
01:19:37,621 --> 01:19:39,481
- [Christina] I think "Le
Mans" is a cult classic
1787
01:19:39,581 --> 01:19:41,161
because it,
1788
01:19:41,261 --> 01:19:45,721
yes, largely appeals to people
that are really interested
1789
01:19:45,821 --> 01:19:48,481
and passionate about cars and racing,
1790
01:19:48,581 --> 01:19:50,561
but that film kind of speaks
1791
01:19:50,661 --> 01:19:53,001
to a particular style of filmmaking
1792
01:19:53,101 --> 01:19:56,201
which is unique to its moment
1793
01:19:56,301 --> 01:19:59,001
and had this kind of existentialism to it,
1794
01:19:59,101 --> 01:20:00,561
this kind of minimalism,
1795
01:20:00,661 --> 01:20:04,801
this story which was
completely self-contained
1796
01:20:04,901 --> 01:20:09,901
which didn't need the various
complications of traditional,
1797
01:20:10,461 --> 01:20:12,401
classical Hollywood cinema.
1798
01:20:12,501 --> 01:20:13,641
- I felt very strongly
1799
01:20:13,741 --> 01:20:17,981
that racing would be a
great background to a story.
1800
01:20:19,261 --> 01:20:24,201
I believe that Steve felt
racing would be a great film
1801
01:20:24,301 --> 01:20:26,301
with some story around it.
1802
01:20:26,901 --> 01:20:30,641
It may be oversimplifying but
even if it is that simple,
1803
01:20:30,741 --> 01:20:32,121
that's a big difference.
1804
01:20:32,221 --> 01:20:34,641
- Well, I'll go with you that
we concentrate on the race,
1805
01:20:34,741 --> 01:20:38,281
yes, whether anything else
is kept to a minimum or not,
1806
01:20:38,381 --> 01:20:39,641
I don't know.
1807
01:20:39,741 --> 01:20:41,281
- [Samuelson] I don't
think Steve really cared
1808
01:20:41,381 --> 01:20:45,121
about the story and the
love interest and so forth.
1809
01:20:45,221 --> 01:20:48,501
He just wanted to film the definitive,
1810
01:20:49,741 --> 01:20:52,421
really documentary of cars going fast
1811
01:20:53,461 --> 01:20:57,481
and the fiction side of it
was I think a bit shrug.
1812
01:20:57,581 --> 01:20:59,121
- I don't know if
anybody's ever discovered
1813
01:20:59,221 --> 01:21:01,161
the beginnings of a plot.
1814
01:21:01,261 --> 01:21:02,361
(laughs)
1815
01:21:02,461 --> 01:21:04,881
I don't think I ever detected one!
1816
01:21:04,981 --> 01:21:06,601
(chuckles)
1817
01:21:06,701 --> 01:21:08,901
- [Robert] Steve has from the beginning,
1818
01:21:10,301 --> 01:21:15,401
pushed and insisted upon a
reality approach to the picture.
1819
01:21:15,501 --> 01:21:18,201
The real cars that were
really in the race,
1820
01:21:18,301 --> 01:21:19,841
driving at real speed.
1821
01:21:19,941 --> 01:21:23,361
Not trick photography,
not rear projection,
1822
01:21:23,461 --> 01:21:25,401
not on a location that
looks like "Le Mans"
1823
01:21:25,501 --> 01:21:26,241
for a certain time,
1824
01:21:26,341 --> 01:21:28,701
but racing conditions
with the actual machinery.
1825
01:21:30,341 --> 01:21:32,281
- If you look at the script
for "Day of the Champion",
1826
01:21:32,381 --> 01:21:36,721
it's actually quite similar to
"Grand Prix" in certain ways.
1827
01:21:36,821 --> 01:21:38,961
Much more of a traditional narrative
1828
01:21:39,061 --> 01:21:40,441
than "Le Mans" ended up being.
1829
01:21:40,541 --> 01:21:41,321
And like "Grand Prix",
1830
01:21:41,421 --> 01:21:43,881
it follows several drivers
over a whole season.
1831
01:21:43,981 --> 01:21:47,641
There are elements that
were retained for "Le Man".
1832
01:21:47,741 --> 01:21:50,241
He's called Mike Pearce
in the original script,
1833
01:21:50,341 --> 01:21:52,441
Mike Delaney, of course, in "Le Mans".
1834
01:21:52,541 --> 01:21:55,521
But there are still a couple of lines
1835
01:21:55,621 --> 01:21:56,801
in the "Day of the Champion" script
1836
01:21:56,901 --> 01:21:59,921
that end up in the finished
version of "Le Mans".
1837
01:22:00,021 --> 01:22:02,041
- [Christina] McQueen
says in "Le Mans" that...
1838
01:22:02,141 --> 01:22:04,681
- Racing's important
to men who do it well.
1839
01:22:04,781 --> 01:22:06,781
Racing, it's life.
1840
01:22:08,261 --> 01:22:11,101
Anything that happens before
or after, it's just waiting.
1841
01:22:12,221 --> 01:22:13,141
- [Christina] That's actually originally
1842
01:22:13,221 --> 01:22:14,881
from "Day of the Champion".
1843
01:22:14,981 --> 01:22:18,761
- [Martullo] Do you remember
a man called Karl Wallenda,
1844
01:22:18,861 --> 01:22:21,861
the greatest of the high wire walkers?
1845
01:22:24,021 --> 01:22:29,121
After he fell and was broken,
when he went back, he said,
1846
01:22:29,221 --> 01:22:31,421
"To be on the wire is life.
1847
01:22:32,501 --> 01:22:35,441
The rest is waiting".
1848
01:22:35,541 --> 01:22:37,601
This was a wise man, do you know that?
1849
01:22:37,701 --> 01:22:38,841
(hopeful music)
1850
01:22:38,941 --> 01:22:40,941
- [Mike] I hope so...
1851
01:22:41,301 --> 01:22:44,041
- [Martullo] Only those of
us who have been on the wire,
1852
01:22:44,141 --> 01:22:47,121
who have held the wheel, only us.
1853
01:22:47,221 --> 01:22:49,881
No one else, the others, they cannot know
1854
01:22:49,981 --> 01:22:52,961
and it is foolish to try and tell them.
1855
01:22:53,061 --> 01:22:55,061
Never try and tell anybody.
1856
01:22:55,981 --> 01:22:58,601
They know or they can never know.
1857
01:22:58,701 --> 01:23:01,381
(hopeful music)
1858
01:23:06,541 --> 01:23:08,321
- [Narrator] "Day of the
Champion" remains one
1859
01:23:08,421 --> 01:23:12,361
of Hollywood's great "What
Ifs" Fragments of rushes
1860
01:23:12,461 --> 01:23:15,681
and an impoverished
script are all that remain
1861
01:23:15,781 --> 01:23:19,201
of the dream project of one
of the great movie stars
1862
01:23:19,301 --> 01:23:21,301
of the 20th century.
1863
01:23:22,421 --> 01:23:27,441
A contemporary F1 movie has
not been achieved since 1966,
1864
01:23:27,541 --> 01:23:31,501
while the sport grew exponentially
over the next 50 years.
1865
01:23:33,221 --> 01:23:34,441
After "Le Mans",
1866
01:23:34,541 --> 01:23:38,641
McQueen never did hit the
highs of the 60s again.
1867
01:23:38,741 --> 01:23:40,521
He divorced and remarried.
1868
01:23:40,621 --> 01:23:43,201
Then, divorced and remarried.
1869
01:23:43,301 --> 01:23:45,441
His relationships with Sturges
1870
01:23:45,541 --> 01:23:49,341
and Relyea remained strained
for the next decade.
1871
01:23:52,661 --> 01:23:54,321
- I think the best movie stars work
1872
01:23:54,421 --> 01:23:57,081
on variations on a theme,
1873
01:23:57,181 --> 01:23:59,321
in a way, or variations on a persona
1874
01:23:59,421 --> 01:24:00,241
that's always existed.
1875
01:24:00,341 --> 01:24:03,881
And so McQueen feels like Americana,
1876
01:24:03,981 --> 01:24:07,481
I think, to us now and, you know,
1877
01:24:07,581 --> 01:24:08,921
a slightly more old-fashioned,
1878
01:24:09,021 --> 01:24:11,841
traditionalism that I think
people kind of yearn for.
1879
01:24:11,941 --> 01:24:14,601
- Steve McQueen, away from the camera,
1880
01:24:14,701 --> 01:24:17,821
was a very complex
1881
01:24:18,781 --> 01:24:22,241
person with lots of moods,
1882
01:24:22,341 --> 01:24:24,501
lots of swings of those moods,
1883
01:24:25,541 --> 01:24:28,841
one of the most loyal
people I've ever known.
1884
01:24:28,941 --> 01:24:30,941
Very street smart.
1885
01:24:33,341 --> 01:24:36,101
(dramatic music)
1886
01:24:39,261 --> 01:24:42,281
(racing car revving)
1887
01:24:42,381 --> 01:24:47,381
♪ I'm gonna raise a fuss,
I'm gonna raise a holler ♪
1888
01:24:48,341 --> 01:24:53,341
♪ About a-workin' all summer
just to try to earn a dollar ♪
1889
01:24:54,701 --> 01:24:57,961
♪ Every time I call my
baby, try to get a date ♪
1890
01:24:58,061 --> 01:25:01,441
♪ My boss says, "no dice
son, you gotta work late" ♪
1891
01:25:01,541 --> 01:25:04,201
♪ Sometimes I wonder what I'm a-gonna do ♪
1892
01:25:04,301 --> 01:25:08,241
♪ But there ain't no cure
for the summertime blues ♪
1893
01:25:08,341 --> 01:25:09,961
- But more important to Steve
1894
01:25:10,061 --> 01:25:13,241
than anything in the world
would be to be remembered
1895
01:25:13,341 --> 01:25:15,761
as being a good human
being, not a good actor,
1896
01:25:15,861 --> 01:25:18,721
and most of all was
respected by his peers.
1897
01:25:18,821 --> 01:25:20,601
That the other race drivers,
1898
01:25:20,701 --> 01:25:22,241
whether they thought
he was an actor or not,
1899
01:25:22,341 --> 01:25:25,361
thought he could cut it on an even field
1900
01:25:25,461 --> 01:25:29,321
and I think the idea of getting
respect from other people,
1901
01:25:29,421 --> 01:25:31,801
which probably goes all the
way back to Boys Republic,
1902
01:25:31,901 --> 01:25:35,001
was probably what he would
want more than anything else.
1903
01:25:35,101 --> 01:25:36,101
♪ Sometimes I wonder what I'm a-gonna do ♪
1904
01:25:36,181 --> 01:25:40,241
♪ But there ain't no cure
for the summertime blues ♪
1905
01:25:40,341 --> 01:25:45,121
(racing car revving)
(dramatic music)
1906
01:25:45,221 --> 01:25:47,641
- You see the problem here,
man, is you gotta be happy.
1907
01:25:47,741 --> 01:25:48,481
If you're not happy,
1908
01:25:48,581 --> 01:25:50,581
you might as well chuck
the whole business.
1909
01:25:52,701 --> 01:25:55,121
(dramatic music)
1910
01:25:55,221 --> 01:25:57,901
(hopeful
152386
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