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(racing car revving)
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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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(upbeat music)
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(racing car revving)
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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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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00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,540
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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00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:08,860
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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00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,240
and got a scholarship
to a dramatic school.
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00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:17,020
Then I did a couple very
small parts on television,
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00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,980
and then my first Broadway show,
which is a legitimate play,
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00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:22,940
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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00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:37,540
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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00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,620
(hopeful music)
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- I think McQueen starts
to get good notices with
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00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,380
"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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00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:51,220
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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Always doing something to
draw the audience's eye
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00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:04,260
to himself.
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00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:08,100
John Sturges was a good bit
older than Steve McQueen.
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00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:09,180
He'd come up in Hollywood
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00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,860
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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McQueen really was lucky
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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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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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00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,780
- I think what John Sturges
and Steve McQueen had in common
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00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:46,300
was just an attitude of;
"Let's get on with it!"
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00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,500
There was a sort of workman-like
charm about both of them.
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00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,380
And that's not to say that
they didn't create amazing,
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00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,100
artistic and poetic
moments on film together.
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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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00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:04,660
so maybe there was a link
there between them in that way.
251
00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,580
- [Narrator] So the
street-kid had made it.
252
00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:09,500
By the age of 30, he was earning big money
253
00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,900
and was now a family
man with a wife, Neile,
254
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,420
and two children, Chad and Terry.
255
00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:16,820
- A lot of actors nowadays,
you know, are making it,
256
00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:18,920
they are successful see?
257
00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:21,100
And they're very angry.
258
00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,300
Now what have they got to be angry about?
259
00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,860
If they were really broke
and they had a hassle,
260
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:27,700
But if they are successful,
they should be very happy.
261
00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:29,540
I'm happy, I've got a
beautiful wife, two kids,
262
00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,180
two houses, a couple of cars
and my own film company.
263
00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:33,500
I'm not buggin' nothing!
264
00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:34,340
(laughs)
265
00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:35,140
- Steve, why are you here?
266
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:35,980
To make a picture?
267
00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,180
- We are doing "The War
Lover", John Hersey's novel.
268
00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:40,900
It's the story of daylight
bombing in World War Two
269
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,820
and the American flyers
who fought here in London.
270
00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:45,220
There's only two things
that mean anything to me,
271
00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,020
flying and women.
272
00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:48,380
- In that order?
273
00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,660
- In any order, or both together.
274
00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:52,140
(engine plane revving)
275
00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:53,420
- [Narrator] With his newfound fame
276
00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,580
and wealth came the opportunity
to indulge his passion
277
00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:58,260
for motorcycles and cars.
278
00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,620
So, as well as starring
opposite Robert Wagner
279
00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,140
and Shirley Anne Field,
280
00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:03,620
McQueen's main motivation
281
00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:05,580
for spending three months in rural Norfolk
282
00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:10,380
in 1962 was the film unit's
proximity to Snetterton Circuit,
283
00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:12,780
at that time, the world's foremost school
284
00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,820
for people who wanted to
learn to how to race cars.
285
00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:18,420
(trumpet music)
286
00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,500
- Yeah, when McQueen first came over here
287
00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:22,020
to film "The War Lover",
288
00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:26,620
he was really keen to drive racing cars
289
00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:28,060
and learn to drive racing cars, well,
290
00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:31,380
I think Jim Russell was an American driver
291
00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:32,660
who was actually pretty good
292
00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:34,300
and he started this new concept
293
00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,940
of a race driver school
based at Snetterton
294
00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,060
and because it was the only
one of its type at the time,
295
00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:42,460
it was like, "Wow what a great thing!
296
00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:43,900
You know, we can go
and sit in a racing car
297
00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,060
and learn how to be race drivers."
298
00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:46,540
And that hadn't happened before
299
00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:47,860
and I think it's quite interesting
300
00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:49,860
that Steve McQueen knew about that
301
00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:52,260
and was attracted by that, it says a lot.
302
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:57,140
It speaks a lot to the purity
of Steve's love of racing,
303
00:12:57,240 --> 00:12:59,580
I think that he thought, "Wow, Snetterton.
304
00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:01,580
Bleak, cold, rainy,
305
00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:03,940
but it's the Jim Russell
School I wanna be there!"
306
00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:05,860
- Steve, talking about cars.
307
00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,220
You race them and you race them very fast.
308
00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:10,260
Now I don't know any
other actor who does this
309
00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,700
sort of activity the way you do.
310
00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:13,500
Why do you do it?
311
00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:15,180
Why are you in such a hurry?
312
00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,860
- I think perhaps a lot
of it has to do with fear.
313
00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:19,460
I think that race driving is an art,
314
00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:21,380
and I don't put myself in the class
315
00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,580
of Stirling Moss or
Dan Gurney or Phil Hill
316
00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:25,760
or some of the people who are driving here
317
00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:27,900
in your Formula 1 or
your international races,
318
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,540
but I remember the first time
I raced I was very frightened,
319
00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:32,340
it scared me and I didn't like
the idea of being frightened
320
00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:33,200
and I wanted to overcome it.
321
00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:34,460
That was one element.
322
00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:36,220
The other elements is
it's a very pure thing.
323
00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,180
It's one of the few things
in life you can't fix.
324
00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:40,060
You can't fix this.
325
00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:41,020
You can go to somebody and say;
326
00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:42,980
"I'm going to buy my way out of this."
327
00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:44,580
When you are out there by
yourself you are very much
328
00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:45,820
by yourself.
329
00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:46,680
I think it's a very pure thing,
330
00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,820
I'd like to learn more and I
plan on doing a little racing
331
00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:51,780
while I'm in your county, I like to learn.
332
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:52,980
Yes, I would.
333
00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:54,140
I think your courses are very fast
334
00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:55,540
and I could learn quite
a bit from your drivers
335
00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,580
so I'd like to learn as much as I can.
336
00:13:57,680 --> 00:13:58,780
- The United States really
337
00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,540
only became aware of
European-style racing,
338
00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:04,380
sports car racing,
339
00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:09,140
Formula 1 single-seater racing
through the rich young men
340
00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:11,180
in California just after the war
341
00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:15,260
who started off racing
hot-rod type cars on circuits
342
00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,820
but then found that if you
had the money to buy a Ferrari
343
00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:23,020
or a Maserati from Europe,
they could then win races.
344
00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:25,060
Steve McQueen, certainly,
345
00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,700
was much more interested
in European-style racing
346
00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,100
and he picked up on the glamor
347
00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,420
and romanticism of Formula 1 racing.
348
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,420
- [Narrator] One driver
seemingly fitted the bill
349
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,500
as McQueen's "UK racing mentor".
350
00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,860
A tall, slim aristocrat by
the name of John Whitmore.
351
00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,180
His background and lifestyle
could not have been
352
00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:47,020
more different from rural
Indiana or indeed Hollywood.
353
00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,180
- We grew up knowing each other very well.
354
00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:55,280
And he had a lovely house
that he had in Balfour Place
355
00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:00,180
just one back from Park Lane.
356
00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,740
He was one of Jimmy Clark's best friends
357
00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:05,260
and one of my best friends.
358
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,540
But John, he wasn't a
gentleman racing driver.
359
00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:13,540
He was a racing driver
er no gentlemanly manners
360
00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:14,380
or anything like that.
361
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:15,540
Of course, he was well-mannered,
362
00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:17,620
of course he was so well, educated,
363
00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,540
but he just wanted to be one of the boys.
364
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,580
- Steve was over here making a black
365
00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:28,200
and white film actually.
366
00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:34,320
And he and I just happened
to meet and we got talking
367
00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:36,260
and we talked for about two hours
368
00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:38,900
and found that we had a
lot of common interests.
369
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,140
Steve was riding motorcycles,
370
00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:42,820
he was a very good motorcyclist
371
00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:45,060
and also was interested in cars.
372
00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,580
- And y then, Steve had
done his Jim Russell course
373
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:52,380
and John Whitmore was a
massive hot shot in Minis
374
00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:53,980
and it was a perfect thing.
375
00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:59,140
It says a lot about Steve
that he wanted to race Minis.
376
00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:01,820
I think that shows that
he'd thought it through
377
00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:04,260
and it was exactly the
right sort of category
378
00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:05,980
of racing for him.
379
00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,540
- McQueen was very
competitive at that level
380
00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,220
and there was that great
race at Brands Hatch
381
00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,060
when Whitmore and Carlisle
382
00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,060
and McQueen were backing together
383
00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,080
and McQueen very nearly
beat Carlisle to the flag.
384
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,540
- John Whitmore, I knew from early days
385
00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,140
because in fact we both
raced at Sebring together
386
00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:27,740
in the same car.
387
00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,900
But he was a great
friend of Steve McQueen's
388
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,260
and he was keen to race in England
389
00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,580
and John Whitmore had already
won a saloon car championship.
390
00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:41,140
So he lent Steve McQueen his Mini
391
00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:45,620
to race at the beginning
of October at Brands Hatch.
392
00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,900
The race was amazing.
393
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:54,000
There were five of us Minis
who were continually passing
394
00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:56,260
and re-passing each other.
395
00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:57,380
(guitar music)
396
00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:58,620
I was told we were the three
397
00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:00,500
of us together going round a corner.
398
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:05,140
Anyhow the race ended with
Vic Alford winning, me behind,
399
00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,520
just in front of Steve McQueen.
400
00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,780
And the commentator
had gone absolutely mad
401
00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:13,860
and demanded that we, us three,
402
00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:15,820
should go up onto the podium.
403
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:17,900
It was very exciting.
404
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,980
Oh, you can't ask him now but
I don't know what he thought
405
00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:21,580
about that!
406
00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:23,900
But he was a good sport.
407
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,540
He did drive me back to
London on one occasion
408
00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:29,220
and he was charming.
409
00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,140
Chatty, talkative, wonderful blue eyes.
410
00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,420
He behaved extremely well!
411
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:36,940
(laughs)
412
00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:40,700
- There was a Mini, a small car,
413
00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:43,700
on the side of the M1 and I was going down
414
00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,420
in my bigger car going a bit faster
415
00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,340
and as we went passed the Mini,
416
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,500
there were two girls
and Steve said, "Stop."
417
00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:55,540
And I said, "You can't stop on the M1,
418
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:56,560
you know, you're not allowed to do that."
419
00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:58,260
And he said "Oh yes,
420
00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:00,780
you know, you ran out of
petrol or something like that,
421
00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:01,860
you can stop."
422
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,220
He jumped out of my car,
took a bag with him,
423
00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:07,020
and jumped into the Mini.
424
00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:11,580
And he stayed in the
car with these two girls
425
00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,460
and nobody saw him for two days.
426
00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,160
(upbeat music)
427
00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:24,060
- [Narrator] The result of racing Minis
428
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,420
and his Jim Russell course
was the addition of a
429
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,660
so-called Asphalt Rider
in his future contracts.
430
00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:31,260
Nothing was to get in the way
431
00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,180
of his love for cars and bikes.
432
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,140
So, in 1963, with "The War Lover"
433
00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:38,460
and many laps of English
racetracks behind him,
434
00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:40,060
Steve McQueen once again teamed up
435
00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,300
with director John Sturges for what was
436
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,020
to become one of the most iconic
movies of the 20th Century.
437
00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:47,620
And with the character of Captain Hilts
438
00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:48,540
in "The Great Escape",
439
00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,580
he cemented his status as a
bonafide "Hollywood Superstar".
440
00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:57,680
- He looked at James Garner,
who was "The Scrounger",
441
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,420
he looked at Charles Bronson with his pick
442
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,580
and he knew I'm the star of this movie
443
00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:06,820
and I've got nothing here.
444
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,460
Sturges was big enough to give Steve
445
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:11,580
that opportunity to go away and come back
446
00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,020
with his own ideas and that was
447
00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:16,540
where the motorcycling across the Alps
448
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,260
and all that kind of thing,
449
00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:23,380
really took off and made Steve
the huge star after that.
450
00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:25,740
- We spent half our time
keeping him out of jail.
451
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,620
Every time he'd show up at
work there'd be this collection
452
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,940
of police who would come in
and they'd all come over to me
453
00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:36,140
and we'd have a consultation
with Steve over,
454
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:39,580
"You cannot drive through
flocks of chickens
455
00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,420
and you cannot go off into the woods
456
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,500
and back onto the road to
pass somebody," and so on.
457
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:46,580
- Wasn't it a while ago
458
00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,220
that the studios prohibited
you doing any racing
459
00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,660
while you were actually in production?
460
00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:52,500
- Ssssh!
461
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:53,420
- I mean I see all
462
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,380
kinds of executive-looking
people standing around
463
00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:56,540
with their fingers crossed!
464
00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,260
- Well, they're being real
nice to me on this film.
465
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:02,980
- Steve drove faster than made sense
466
00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:05,740
and Steve's emotional outlet
467
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,100
when he was troubled was drive a car.
468
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,340
- So one of the amazing things
about McQueen was really
469
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,540
for the first time since silent
cinema and the "Daredevils"
470
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,140
of silent cinema like Harold
Lloyd and Buster Keaton,
471
00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:21,660
he was someone who made it
very clear that he did a lot
472
00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,300
of his own stunt work, and was
celebrated because of that.
473
00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,100
People loved to see him do actions scenes
474
00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:29,700
because they knew it was for real.
475
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,180
But Steve McQueen really
started that in the modern era.
476
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,060
- You've got to remember about Steve,
477
00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,340
he not only loved cars
478
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,940
and loved everything to
do with mechanical things,
479
00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,340
but he was also very good at it.
480
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,340
Steve was very good at
handling automobiles,
481
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:50,500
that's why he could race competitively.
482
00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:51,340
There's another issue,
483
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,380
too, that people have mentioned
and it's absolutely true.
484
00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,980
There is the, I don't
like the term "macho",
485
00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,700
but he had that thing about,
486
00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:02,580
I don't want people doubling me
487
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:07,680
and then I have to face my peers
saying, "Here comes candy."
488
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:09,220
- [Narrator] The cavalier leading man
489
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,500
might seem like a
director's worst nightmare.
490
00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,380
Let alone the studio's insurance company.
491
00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:18,020
But it showed Sturges that
McQueen was the real deal
492
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:20,100
and his love of blurring
the lines between acting,
493
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:23,040
action and reality brought
them even closer together.
494
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,500
With McQueen's insistence on doing most
495
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,060
of his own motorbike stunts
in "The Great Escape",
496
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,700
only an insurance clause kept
him from doing that jump,
497
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,460
which whetted his appetite
for more onscreen action.
498
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,180
And what better subject than
the machinery with which he was
499
00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,280
so in love.
500
00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,380
- [Steve] I don't like acting
when it's "Playing house"?
501
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,260
You know, I believe that
I try to extract out
502
00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:49,580
of my life the same reality
503
00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:51,680
that I am existing in if I'm working.
504
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,540
- Anyone watching films in 2020
probably doesn't appreciate
505
00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,100
the difference between an
actor and a movie star.
506
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:02,140
But in the 1960s and 1970s,
there was a huge difference.
507
00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,980
It was a choice of getting
a script and turning up
508
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:07,380
and doing your job, which an actor did.
509
00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,140
A movie star had control;
they could change scenes.
510
00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,100
- [James] Well there were lots of actors.
511
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,540
Movie stars are much rarer.
512
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:19,140
- As a movie star, he's impossible
to take your eyes off of.
513
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:24,060
Completely magnetic, I think
attractive to men and women
514
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,500
because he has a salt of the earth energy.
515
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,820
He doesn't put on airs and graces.
516
00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,460
He feels like he has
the hands of a mechanic,
517
00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,020
he has the face of somebody who has lived.
518
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:36,260
- After "The Great Escape",
519
00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:39,980
it took his movie star
capabilities to another level.
520
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,900
So for him it was very
important to make a film
521
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,420
that he was passionate about.
522
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,700
- So we move into Warner Bros,
we have a six-picture deal.
523
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,260
When we had our moving in party
524
00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:52,460
with all the William Morris people there,
525
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,740
trying to make a joke I said,
526
00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,340
"We're going to make a
picture about racing.
527
00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,820
That'll be the end of this
company and our relationship!"
528
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:01,220
And we all had a big laugh.
529
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,260
Turned out not to be that funny.
530
00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:06,540
- What McQueen and Sturges wanted to do
531
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:10,580
was to exploit highly charged writing,
532
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,100
intelligent writing about sport.
533
00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,540
It hadn't really happened before
534
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,540
and a lot of it came
consciously or subconsciously
535
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,540
from the style of
writing that one had seen
536
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,220
with Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon".
537
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:26,340
It was dramatizing death.
538
00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,460
It was acknowledging that
it was a central part
539
00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:30,260
of what was going on.
540
00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,580
- Well, it was Hemingway's
great statement about
541
00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:35,380
there are only three sports; bullfighting,
542
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,020
mountaineering and motor racing.
543
00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:39,120
All the others are just games.
544
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,780
- [Narrator] So motor racing
was maybe the next logical step
545
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:47,220
and in 1963 a book by American
photojournalist Robert Daley,
546
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,340
shed new light onto Grand Prix racing,
547
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:50,940
exposing the sometimes,
548
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,460
uncomfortable truth
about the less glamorous
549
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:55,700
and often deadly nature of the sport.
550
00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:00,180
- "The Cruel Sport" came
out with a lot of fanfare
551
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,100
and being a nerd of motor racing,
552
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,100
I was very nervous
about "The Cruel Sport",
553
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,500
but we all had to be because we knew
554
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,940
it was gonna have things in
there that you aren't supposed
555
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:14,860
to be talking about or showing.
556
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:16,300
- [Nigel] Well, the more I read the book,
557
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:21,400
the more I realized how different
it was from most writing
558
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:23,140
about the sport at that time.
559
00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:25,240
It was unflinching.
560
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,140
- The sport at that
time was poorly managed
561
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:35,240
and in those days, the drivers
were sitting in a fuel tank.
562
00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,180
It was all wrapping around you.
563
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:40,260
And when you had an impact,
564
00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:42,180
they usually caught fire in a big way
565
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:43,740
and they never got it out.
566
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:44,620
They never got it out.
567
00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:49,260
So it was a colorful,
glamorous and exciting window,
568
00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:52,060
but a terrible window of death.
569
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,780
- Daley was facing the
fact that motor racing was
570
00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:57,620
so dangerous in those days.
571
00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,500
OK he was making that
the theme of his books;
572
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,060
maybe he was glorifying it.
573
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,900
But he was writing about it
intelligently and openly.
574
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,500
- Helen and I counted 57 people
575
00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:12,540
who died who were our friends.
576
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:14,700
We traveled with them,
we holidayed with them,
577
00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,060
we raced with them, we dined with them,
578
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:21,420
it was just one big happy family.
579
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:26,060
- "The Cruel Sport" highlighted
the number of accidents
580
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,500
and the number of deaths
and various serious injuries
581
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:33,180
that were taking place in
motor sport to the shock,
582
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,500
I think, of the people
involved in motor sport.
583
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,340
But the Americans got
hold of that in a way
584
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,460
that you could touch and feel
and you could smell the blood.
585
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,660
And I think this was the
role of "The Cruel Sport",
586
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:48,020
it opened the doors to a Steve McQueen
587
00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:50,660
to be able to go to a Warner Bros and say;
588
00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:51,980
"This is Formula 1,
589
00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,860
and this is what I want
to make a movie about."
590
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:56,700
(dramatic music)
591
00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,260
- [Craig] "John secured the
rights to 'The Cruel Sport'
592
00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:01,300
and we started developing a script.
593
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,820
In Sturges' mind, there was only one actor
594
00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:05,620
who had the skills to play the lead
595
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,280
in a realistic film about car racing."
596
00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:11,180
- [Narrator] The
ingredients were all there.
597
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,020
Dangerous and dramatic source material
598
00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:15,420
would give the film legitimacy.
599
00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:17,500
The glamor and excitement
of the swinging '60s
600
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,420
would provide the perfect backdrop.
601
00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:22,420
Surely this would be a
guaranteed Hollywood hit?
602
00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:26,580
It was to be called,
"Day of The Champion".
603
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,620
- Somehow or other there
was a magic about the '60s.
604
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:35,620
Carnaby Street was there, sex was safe,
605
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,220
motor racing was dangerous,
it was glamorous,
606
00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:41,320
it was colorful, it was exciting,
607
00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:46,620
and everybody would come
to Monaco every year.
608
00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,620
It was a special time
because Princess Grace was
609
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,860
like a magnet to Hollywood
610
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,820
so all the big stars would come as well.
611
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,100
It's just a different culture altogether
612
00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,980
and I just feel so fortunate
613
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:01,780
that I was living in that window.
614
00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:03,900
- [Richard] Well, Steve
always had this concept
615
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:05,900
that he wanted his racing movie
616
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,780
that he would eventually
make to be authentic.
617
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,220
It had to be a film
that his racing buddies
618
00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:13,540
would appreciate.
619
00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:15,500
- So, the script of "Day of the Champion"
620
00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,140
certainly has more of a
traditional narrative to it.
621
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,660
There is a romance
622
00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,180
with a posh British
girl called Kyla Bonham.
623
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:28,380
(laughs)
624
00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,460
I think she crashes her Jaguar in a field.
625
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:33,560
And that's how the romance starts.
626
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:36,780
But even when you look at the script now,
627
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,140
it's certainly more about
the racing than it is
628
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:41,500
about the characters.
629
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:42,860
- [Narrator] The mark of the film was
630
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:44,820
to be absolute authenticity.
631
00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,020
No compromise when it came to accuracy
632
00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:48,540
and attention to detail.
633
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,340
Stirling Moss, who had
retired from full-time racing
634
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,020
after his crash at Goodwood in 1962,
635
00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:57,340
was hired by McQueen and Sturges
as a technical consultant
636
00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:59,380
for the "Day of the Champion" team.
637
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,740
- You know, there was a
time when Grand Prix drivers
638
00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:03,260
were household names in America.
639
00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:04,900
In the days of when there were two races,
640
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:06,060
one at Long Beach at the start
641
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,180
of the year and one at Watkins
Glen at the end of the year.
642
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:11,980
Used to have huge crowds at those races
643
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,540
and knowledgeable crowds who
really knew who Jim Clark was
644
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:16,580
and what he had done.
645
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:19,020
And Stirling Moss, periodically,
646
00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:21,660
raced in America in the late '50s
647
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:23,980
on so he was the kind
of pioneer if you like,
648
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:26,100
in that respect.
649
00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,780
And that was where the
drivers began to know,
650
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:31,180
the James Garner's and so on,
651
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:36,220
who were American US film
stars who liked racing.
652
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,580
- Stirling Moss was way ahead of his time
653
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,140
as an ambassador of the sport
654
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:44,540
and as an ambassador of his own brand.
655
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:45,700
He had a great name.
656
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:47,580
He always said, "If I'd
have been christened Hamish,
657
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,100
I wouldn't be as well-known as I was."
658
00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:52,140
But he worked really hard
I mean he'd win a race
659
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:53,900
and that night he would
always make a point
660
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,220
of going out into the
town and meeting people
661
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:57,900
and going to the movies, wherever he was.
662
00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,660
And then he'd go to Hong
Kong and order a new suit.
663
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:01,340
But it was all in the newspapers.
664
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:02,500
The press loved him.
665
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:03,980
Stirling was a big,
666
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:08,660
big name and it was interesting
that Stirling was involved
667
00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:10,740
with "The Day of the Champion"
668
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:14,740
because he was a team owner by the time
669
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,900
that happened and one of his
drivers was Sir John Whitmore.
670
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,940
And Whitmore would have
said to Steve McQueen;
671
00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:22,460
"You've got to get Stirling Moss involved,
672
00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,660
I know Stirling very
well, I drive for him."
673
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,280
And that's how that
would've all come together.
674
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:30,100
- [Craig] There was a benefit
dinner in Hollywood the Night
675
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:33,100
before our film was to be
announced to the trade newspapers
676
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,460
and by chance John Sturges was seated next
677
00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:36,420
to fellow director,
678
00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,260
John Frankenheimer who had
just directed "The Train"
679
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:40,180
with Burt Lancaster
680
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,020
and "The Manchurian
Candidate" prior to that.
681
00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,780
Frankenheimer was a
long-time admirer of Sturges
682
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:49,380
and he gushed to his idol about
this film he was preparing.
683
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:50,860
"It's about car racing!"
684
00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:52,540
Frankenheimer claimed.
685
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,700
Sturges just kept picking at his meal.
686
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,260
"Car racing, really?"
687
00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,340
"We're calling it, 'Grand
Prix,'" Frankenheimer added.
688
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,220
"I'm basing it on this fantastic booked
689
00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,340
I've discovered called 'The Cruel Sport'."
690
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,180
Sturges just kept picking at his food.
691
00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:11,420
As it turned out, while
Sturges was making a deal
692
00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:13,500
for the book with the author's agent,
693
00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,940
Frankenheimer was making
the same deal with
694
00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:17,780
the author himself, Robert Daley.
695
00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:18,620
Apparently, Daley
696
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,340
and his agent didn't communicate
very well, or very often.
697
00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:23,740
So, the day after that dinner,
698
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,180
both movies based on the
same book were announced
699
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,060
to the trade papers, and
the real race was on.
700
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,420
Both sides were determined to do whatever
701
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,660
and spend whatever it took to win.
702
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:36,780
- Frankenheimer was really
from a generation of directors
703
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,660
that had cut their teeth
on literally hundreds
704
00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:41,220
of television dramas.
705
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,660
He had a string of really popular films
706
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,340
that borrowed from the realism
707
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,700
and the low budget black
and white of television,
708
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,140
with some more highbrow influences
709
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,740
and progressive politics
often were involved.
710
00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,500
So Frankenheimer belonged
more to the late '60s than
711
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,260
the early '60s in terms
of his subject matter.
712
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:03,060
- It seemed to me at the time
713
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,460
that we could do two kinds of movies.
714
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:08,400
We could either do "Test Pilot" ?
715
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,460
Which is one driver
with his mechanic going
716
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,900
through the whole thing and
finally getting up to Formula 1.
717
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,020
Or we could do "Grand Hotel",
718
00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:19,140
which is to take a group of people
719
00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,540
and put them in one situation
and see what happens.
720
00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:25,100
Which is basically what "Grand Hotel" was.
721
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,100
So we chose to do "Grand Hotel".
722
00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,060
- Steve was originally
slated to do that movie
723
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,300
but he couldn't get
along with Frankenheimer
724
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,140
and so that lasted about 30
minutes and Steve was out
725
00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,240
and I was in.
726
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,380
- Well, it's never
really been totally clear
727
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:41,220
to me what happened.
728
00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:43,420
He had this disastrous meeting
729
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:45,980
with my partner, Edward Lewis.
730
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,380
It's a meeting that I should've been at
731
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,740
and for professional reasons
I was doing something else,
732
00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:55,260
so I said to my partner; "You
take the meeting with Steve."
733
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,500
Well, it just was a
disaster and what happened
734
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:00,900
was Steve walked out of the movie
735
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,300
and we were without Steve McQueen.
736
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,340
I still think if we'd had
Steve McQueen in that movie,
737
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,740
it would have been bigger than "Jaws".
738
00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:11,580
- [Interviewer] Really?
739
00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:12,420
I mean, yeah.
740
00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:14,340
I mean that's my contention.
741
00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,340
- He was definitely number
one choice for "Grand Prix".
742
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,860
I think in hindsight,
MGM got off lightly there
743
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,860
because Steve would not have been an actor
744
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,380
that would have just executed
a script as they wanted.
745
00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:31,460
He was so passionate about
racing that he would have wanted
746
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,020
to have brought his own
ideas to that movie.
747
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:36,740
What they got with James
Garner would have been an actor
748
00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,700
who was a lot easier to handle let's say,
749
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:43,580
in terms of executing
a proper movie script,
750
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:48,500
as opposed to wanting to create
the definitive racing movie.
751
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,420
- So, when I got the part in "Grand Prix",
752
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:55,660
I called him and I said,
"Steve I want to tell you
753
00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:56,520
before you hear it from somebody else,
754
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:58,460
that I'm gonna do 'Grand Prix'."
755
00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:00,460
Well, there was about
a twenty-dollar silence
756
00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:01,900
there on the telephone!
757
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:02,740
(laughs)
758
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:04,940
He didn't know what to
say and finally he said,
759
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,700
"Oh that's great, great,
I'm glad to hear it."
760
00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:09,060
He didn't talk to me for about a year
761
00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:11,740
and a half and we were
next-door neighbors!
762
00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:12,580
(laughs)
763
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:14,380
- One of the things that
really disappointed McQueen
764
00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:17,460
was Garner didn't have the
love for cars that he had.
765
00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:21,420
It wasn't a personal
obsession with cars or racing
766
00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:23,380
to Garner, it was another job.
767
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:24,700
- So when you look at the script,
768
00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:28,020
it does seem like McQueen
wanted to show off
769
00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:32,300
a little bit some of his racing
skills with Formula 1 cars,
770
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,580
Formula 2 cars, sports
cars, a Mini-Cooper,
771
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:39,140
which could be a little nod
back to his years racing
772
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,140
with John Whitmore in a Mini.
773
00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,260
It's definitely all
about McQueen's prowess
774
00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:45,260
behind the wheel.
775
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:47,860
- With the arguments and
egos seemingly smoothed
776
00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:49,980
and top billing for
each movie established,
777
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,540
Warner Bros released this
memo proudly declaring
778
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:55,140
that "Day of the Champion" was up
779
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,580
and running with an all-star
crew and technical line up.
780
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,700
- [Announcer] "From Warner
Bros Studios, Burbank,
781
00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:03,460
California, Jack L. Warner announced today
782
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,100
that photography on a
multi-million-dollar picture
783
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,580
"Day of the Champion" will
commence in Europe this summer.
784
00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:11,900
Filming will include the
"Grand Prix" of Germany
785
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,100
at the famed Nurburgring
Circuit on August 1st.
786
00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:16,620
John Sturges will produce
787
00:34:16,720 --> 00:34:19,660
and direct and Steve McQueen
will star in the Technicolor
788
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:22,500
and Panavision production
which is being financed
789
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:25,340
and distributed worldwide by Warner Bros.
790
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,300
Stirling Moss, one of
the legendary figures
791
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:28,860
in the world of motor racing,
792
00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:31,980
is serving as production
consultant and Sir John Whitmore,
793
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:33,860
noted English sports car racer,
794
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:35,700
is acting as technical advisor.
795
00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:38,300
Sturges and cinematographer John Wilcox
796
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,260
will utilize four Panavision
cameras to capture
797
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:42,460
the exciting action.
798
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,260
- [Geoff] I'd been working with
799
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,220
the Director of Photography John Wilcox
800
00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:50,380
for a number of years as his
First Assistant Cameraman.
801
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:54,060
John Sturges was a great name
and it sounds a great film
802
00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:56,420
and Steve McQueen and motor racing.
803
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:57,740
Yes, why not?
804
00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:01,900
- [Simon] We all expected that
a motor racing film directed
805
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,980
by Sturges and starring
Steve McQueen was going
806
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:06,140
to be wonderful.
807
00:35:06,240 --> 00:35:09,540
We didn't really have very
much view about Frankenheimer
808
00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:12,020
and "Grand Prix" and James Garner.
809
00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,700
- The McQueen movie looked
like the serious one,
810
00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:15,620
if you like.
811
00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:18,020
- [Narrator] So the warring
films were literally off
812
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:19,900
to the races as both Warner
813
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:25,060
and MGM sent recce crews to
the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix.
814
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:28,380
The first race in that year's
Formula 1 World Championship.
815
00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:30,620
(racing car revving)
816
00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:34,620
- So '65 Monaco was an
interesting race altogether
817
00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:36,220
because well for a number of reasons.
818
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:37,420
One, Jim Clark wasn't there
819
00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:40,220
'cause he was away winning the Indy 500.
820
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,620
Two, Graham Hill won the
race having spun early on,
821
00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:45,500
climbed out of his car,
822
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:47,260
got back into his car and then continued
823
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:48,100
and went on to win the race.
824
00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:51,740
And three, you had the crews from MGM
825
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,900
and Warner Bros there in Monaco
in this tiny principality,
826
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,460
both receiving for the
movies they we're gonna make.
827
00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:02,060
And you can only imagine what
that would have been like,
828
00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:03,660
in terms of a vying for position,
829
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,060
there aren't many great
positions at Monaco
830
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:08,060
because the marshals had
to be standing somewhere
831
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,300
and there isn't a lot of space anyway.
832
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:13,100
There definitely would have
been some serious discussions
833
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:14,660
between the two groups.
834
00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:16,260
You can imagine, I guess,
835
00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:20,180
the impact it would have made
to have had Jim Clark winning
836
00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:24,500
the Indy 500 the same weekend
and for the movie crews
837
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:26,140
at Monaco this was like "Wow!
838
00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:28,060
What a world this is."
839
00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:31,400
(upbeat trumpet music)
840
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,960
(racing car revving)
841
00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:45,380
♪ I said can't explain it ♪
842
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:49,100
♪ Yeah, down in my soul ♪
843
00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:52,660
♪ I feel hot and cold ♪
844
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,060
♪ I said can't explain it ♪
845
00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,500
(congregation applauds)
846
00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,360
(dramatic music)
847
00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:06,060
- [Narrator] As well as the
thrill of being in Monaco
848
00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:08,780
and hanging around with his
new racing driver chums,
849
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:10,180
McQueen, along with Sturges,
850
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:13,500
Bob Relyea and their racing
consultant Stirling Moss,
851
00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:14,980
had used the trip to pay a visit
852
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:17,440
to an unassuming garage in Woking, Surrey.
853
00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:20,340
The Alan Mann Racing Company not
854
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:22,740
only modified and raced Ford road cars
855
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,060
in the British Touring Car Championship
856
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,140
but they had also
developed a handy sideline
857
00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:29,540
in adapting cars for the Silver Screen.
858
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,420
Bond's DB5 Aston Martin and
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" being
859
00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:34,620
the most iconic.
860
00:37:34,720 --> 00:37:37,180
So, it was no surprise
when they were instructed
861
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:41,980
to acquire and develop cars to
use in "Day of the Champion".
862
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,140
- My father's background in motor racing
863
00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:45,940
was really it was all tied up with Ford
864
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:47,020
from the very beginning.
865
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,780
He met Steve McQueen through
John Whitmore who I think
866
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,420
was a friend of Steve's
early on in the '60s
867
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,260
and they'd shared Mini driving together
868
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:58,660
and been motorcycle racing in California
869
00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:02,740
and all part of that
group of friends I think
870
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:03,940
that they met each other
871
00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:06,020
and Steve was obviously
a big fan of racing
872
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,060
and so they had a bit in common.
873
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:11,260
He was asked to prepare
the cars for the film
874
00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:16,140
and manage the racing scenes
of he film and also build one
875
00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:20,460
of the camera cars, which
was a modified Lola T70.
876
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:22,820
The cars had been prepared
to a certain extent
877
00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:26,460
and they came to review
some of the pictures
878
00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:28,700
that they needed to shoot and the angles
879
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:32,100
and how they were practically
going to make the film.
880
00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:35,300
And presumably make some
requests about engineering
881
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:37,460
on the cars to allow them to do so.
882
00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,460
My dad said McQueen was quite absorbed
883
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:45,900
by all the racing detail
and the car preparation,
884
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,780
and all the mechanics of the operation
885
00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:50,060
and yeah was very friendly
886
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:53,060
with all the team members and everything.
887
00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:57,300
But he also was obviously
quite a colorful character
888
00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:02,300
and after hours was quite good company.
889
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,380
But I think he was kicked
out of The Dorchester Hotel
890
00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:08,020
when he decided in his
suite to cook up some chili
891
00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:10,820
or beans or something and fell asleep,
892
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:14,540
naked on the bed and it
dried out and caught fire.
893
00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:17,060
Ran down the corridor to try
and find a fire extinguisher
894
00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:18,820
and the next morning at breakfast,
895
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:20,820
he saw all his bags in the lobby area,
896
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:22,500
all having been packed up
897
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:25,660
and asked Sturges where
they were going that day
898
00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:27,020
and he said, "Well we're
not going anywhere,
899
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:30,060
I think that's just a polite
way of kicking you out."
900
00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:33,160
(suspenseful music)
901
00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:38,180
♪ It's so too beautiful ♪
902
00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:41,980
♪ It's so too beautiful ♪
903
00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:42,820
♪ It's so too beautiful ♪
904
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:44,900
- [Narrator] The claims of
the Warner Bros memo were,
905
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:46,660
so far, proving true.
906
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:48,500
McQueen and "Day of the Champion" seemed
907
00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:50,340
to be several steps ahead of Frankenheimer
908
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,620
and MGM in the battle to the silver screen
909
00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:55,500
and had everything in place to capture
910
00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:58,820
the 1965 German Grand
Prix at the Nurburgring
911
00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,380
in true technicolor glory.
912
00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:05,000
What they captured that day
has never been publicly seen.
913
00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:11,240
(helicopter engine revving)
914
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:15,800
(congregations applauds)
915
00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:20,360
(slow dramatic music)
916
00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:28,440
(racing car revving)
917
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:50,080
- [Peter] I mean the thing about
918
00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:52,620
this is we never saw any footage.
919
00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:53,620
We saw a little bit of black
920
00:40:53,720 --> 00:40:55,720
and white Movietone News perhaps.
921
00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:57,820
It was in color.
922
00:40:57,920 --> 00:40:59,920
It actually happened in color!
923
00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:03,960
(racing car revving)
924
00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:11,760
- It's amazing, very relaxed.
925
00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:16,180
Great footage though.
926
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:19,040
(dramatic music)
927
00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,440
(racing car revving)
928
00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:37,900
- [Windsor] And there's
Stirl in the camera car.
929
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,020
- [Samuelson] You had a
400-foot roll of film,
930
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:44,540
so you had about our minutes in each go
931
00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:46,780
and then you had to reload because this
932
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:51,500
was obviously decades
before there was digital,
933
00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:54,600
so we were on 35 millimeter Eastman Color.
934
00:41:55,880 --> 00:42:00,740
Samuelson Film Service
was run by four brothers,
935
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:03,300
three of whom were my uncles,
936
00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:08,400
and one was my dad and David
was the technical partner
937
00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:12,740
and he was responsible for all manner
938
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:15,300
of extraordinary bits of brand new,
939
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,220
never-been-thought-of-before technology
940
00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:21,220
and a number of his things are still used.
941
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:24,140
He built some of it for
"Day of the Champion".
942
00:42:24,240 --> 00:42:26,900
(upbeat music)
943
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:28,180
(racing car revving)
944
00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:29,980
- There is a racing car flat out
945
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:32,220
and all you can see around it is green.
946
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:34,320
Nothing else.
947
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:37,120
- The Carousel.
948
00:42:38,240 --> 00:42:39,900
I mean it was a wonderful racetrack,
949
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,560
it was a terrific racetrack, but crazy.
950
00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:51,420
You know, 14.7 miles, 187 corners per lap.
951
00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:53,220
- You know, it was a great
race in so many ways.
952
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:54,060
This is the race
953
00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:56,780
in which Jim Clark clinched
the '65 World Championship.
954
00:42:56,880 --> 00:42:59,380
It's just amazing footage to have seen it
955
00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:01,420
after all this time.
956
00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:05,420
There's Jimmy after the race
and the mechanics running,
957
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:06,260
that's real film.
958
00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:09,740
It's just amazing.
959
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:12,260
And what a trio on the podium.
960
00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:16,300
Jim Clark in the middle,
Dan Guerney, Graham Hill,
961
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:18,500
doesn't get much better
than that in terms of
962
00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:19,580
the drivers you had to beat.
963
00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:21,820
And then for Jim Clark at
that moment he's driving off
964
00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:24,780
in the Merc and he's just won
his second World Championship,
965
00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:27,700
in the same year he's won the Indy 500.
966
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:29,800
No driver will ever do that.
967
00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:36,540
- One of the guy's around us
I knew, and he was a driver,
968
00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:39,140
he used to drive camera cars and he said,
969
00:43:39,240 --> 00:43:42,500
"Well, I brought some American guys up."
970
00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:43,340
"Oh, yeah?
971
00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:44,180
Where are they?"
972
00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:45,020
"In the Ferrari pit."
973
00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,120
I said, "Oh that's interesting."
974
00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:49,600
So, I said to John Sturges,
975
00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:53,980
"You've got some Americans
in the Ferrari pit.
976
00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:56,180
It probably might be the director."
977
00:43:56,280 --> 00:43:59,900
And I remember Sturges being
very, very upset about it.
978
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:03,060
There was obviously a
bit of animosity going on
979
00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:05,160
between the two.
980
00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:08,980
- [Samuelson] We very
explicitly used Panavision,
981
00:44:09,080 --> 00:44:10,940
not just any old Panavision,
982
00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:15,460
but we shot it in a 2.35
ratio meaning the screen,
983
00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:20,380
the shape of the frame is 2.35
times as wide as it is tall.
984
00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:22,780
It's called Panavision Anamorphic
985
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:25,700
and that gives you the shape you want
986
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:27,780
for a motor racing film
987
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,780
because you are certainly wider than
988
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:35,880
a regular 1.85 television
kind of shape of frame.
989
00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:37,920
- It's interesting to remember
990
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:39,620
that they then stayed at the Nurburgring
991
00:44:39,720 --> 00:44:42,740
and filmed the week after that race,
992
00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:45,300
ostensibly to test the camera
mounts they were gonna put
993
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:47,580
on the cars and that's
where Alan Mann came
994
00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,740
in as obviously camera
mounts were gonna be
995
00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:53,100
part of his brief.
996
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:58,200
And this has to be seen
against the '62 accident
997
00:44:58,680 --> 00:44:59,500
at the Nurburgring.
998
00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:02,580
In practice, Graham Hill
had a camera on the BRM
999
00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:06,140
and it came off and he had
a big shunt, very big shunt.
1000
00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:09,180
Very lucky to get away with
his life in that accident.
1001
00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:10,020
So here we are,
1002
00:45:10,120 --> 00:45:13,500
long before on board cameras
even became a phrase,
1003
00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:16,540
we have Warner Bros with Alan Mann,
1004
00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:20,980
with John Whitmore and Stirling
Moss hiring the Nurburgring,
1005
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:23,220
the 14-mile circuit.
1006
00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:25,740
Some of the footage we
see is an indication of
1007
00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:28,360
how good that was and how
good it would have been.
1008
00:45:29,560 --> 00:45:31,500
- [Robert] When you start
to deal with cameras
1009
00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:34,940
on cars at very high speed,
1010
00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:36,900
you have a number of built-in problems.
1011
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:38,780
If the track is wet,
1012
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:40,820
there is water flying around the lenses.
1013
00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:43,860
There has to be design
the cameras so they become
1014
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:45,540
as aerodynamic as the car is
1015
00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:47,640
to avoid getting water all over them.
1016
00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:53,060
It requires mounts that do
not disturb the aerodynamics
1017
00:45:53,160 --> 00:45:55,980
of the car too much and can be balanced in
1018
00:45:56,080 --> 00:45:57,180
some other way so the car can
1019
00:45:57,280 --> 00:45:59,860
still handle at competitive speeds.
1020
00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:02,540
This requires some trial and error,
1021
00:46:02,640 --> 00:46:04,900
it requires the drivers to
take the cars out and see
1022
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:06,540
when camera's in certain position,
1023
00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:09,740
how the car stills handles so
they can adjust accordingly.
1024
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,300
It requires the cars that
are around them to sense
1025
00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:14,400
what problems that driver has
1026
00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:17,380
and about 10 or 12 of our drivers
1027
00:46:17,480 --> 00:46:19,260
have been in this same situation,
1028
00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:22,220
including Steve, to deal with a car
1029
00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:26,180
that has a new set up
aerodynamically because of camera
1030
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,980
or cameras placed on it.
1031
00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:33,660
- [Samuelson] So we had to
build mounts that were able
1032
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:35,860
to cope with that, not fall off.
1033
00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:38,940
So not only did the mount
have to not fall off,
1034
00:46:39,040 --> 00:46:42,900
but the consequences of it
falling off would have been dire
1035
00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:48,000
for whoever was in the car
behind and got a 40-pound piece
1036
00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:51,460
of filming equipment into their head.
1037
00:46:51,560 --> 00:46:52,540
That wouldn't have been good.
1038
00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:55,700
So it was all done very very carefully.
1039
00:46:55,800 --> 00:46:56,900
- [John] You have to have the skill
1040
00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:00,220
to create something people think is real.
1041
00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:01,900
Now we were in a good area to do that.
1042
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:04,940
Steve is a race driver and
he looks like a race driver
1043
00:47:05,040 --> 00:47:07,380
and he understands race
drivers, he knows them all.
1044
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:09,260
He can drive a car.
1045
00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:11,660
We had the real cars,
we had the real circuit.
1046
00:47:11,760 --> 00:47:14,100
So that part was alright.
1047
00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:17,660
- [Geoff] MGM claimed they
had the shooting rights
1048
00:47:17,760 --> 00:47:19,540
with all the "Grand Prix" circuits.
1049
00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:21,540
The Nurburgring was under question
1050
00:47:21,640 --> 00:47:23,860
because Warner Bros claim they had it
1051
00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:25,260
and there was going to be a court case
1052
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:28,160
and they'd be looking for
evidence to sue each other.
1053
00:47:29,160 --> 00:47:31,340
I was also told that there
1054
00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:34,900
was a 16 millimeter
crew filming us filming.
1055
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:37,900
We never saw anybody,
it may have been true,
1056
00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:40,900
it may not have been true,
but we also slipped into
1057
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:44,300
some film cans with the
dummy labels and put sand
1058
00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:46,300
in them.
1059
00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:48,380
If somebody's going to steal our rushes,
1060
00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:50,060
they might steal the wrong rushes
1061
00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:52,440
and they'd find they'd
got a can full of sand.
1062
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:55,820
- Stirling always remembered that day
1063
00:47:55,920 --> 00:47:57,460
and made the point of saying
1064
00:47:57,560 --> 00:48:01,020
that when he drove at the Nurburgring,
1065
00:48:01,120 --> 00:48:04,260
doing some filming for
"Day of the Champion",
1066
00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:06,940
he just said, "That day
boy I just felt like I had
1067
00:48:07,040 --> 00:48:09,140
when I won there in '61."
1068
00:48:09,240 --> 00:48:11,500
(car racing revving)
1069
00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:12,980
- [Narrator] "Day of the Champion" was off
1070
00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:14,460
to a flying start.
1071
00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:16,820
This truly breathtaking footage
1072
00:48:16,920 --> 00:48:18,940
was just what McQueen
and Sturges had hoped for
1073
00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:20,420
and put them substantially ahead
1074
00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:22,740
of Frankenheimer and MGM.
1075
00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:24,740
Warner Bros even cheekily released
1076
00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:27,500
this poster to further
rub salt into the wounds,
1077
00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:29,140
knowing full well that Frankenheimer
1078
00:48:29,240 --> 00:48:30,220
and Garner would not be up
1079
00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:31,940
and running with principal photography
1080
00:48:32,040 --> 00:48:35,820
for another nine months at the
start of the '66 F1 season.
1081
00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:38,460
- And I think it's also
interesting to think about
1082
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:41,860
why Jim Clark and Jackie
Stewart originally signed
1083
00:48:41,960 --> 00:48:44,940
with Steve McQueen and
not with Frankenheimer
1084
00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:45,740
and "Grand Prix".
1085
00:48:45,840 --> 00:48:49,220
In my opinion it's because
it was Steve McQueen driving
1086
00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:51,340
this movie and he was a racer,
1087
00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:53,100
as well as he was an actor and a star.
1088
00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:58,140
Whereas "Grand Prix" was
driven by a movie director
1089
00:48:58,240 --> 00:49:01,300
like Frankenheimer, and in
the minds of Jimmy and Jackie,
1090
00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:03,660
probably more Jimmy than Jackie,
1091
00:49:03,760 --> 00:49:06,140
"Grand Prix" was going
to be all about crashes
1092
00:49:06,240 --> 00:49:08,780
and spectacular this and lots of things
1093
00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:10,980
that weren't true to life.
1094
00:49:11,080 --> 00:49:14,860
Whereas Steve McQueen, with
this closely knit group,
1095
00:49:14,960 --> 00:49:17,980
could produce a film
that was gonna be more
1096
00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:22,660
about racing drivers and
who racing drivers are
1097
00:49:22,760 --> 00:49:25,620
and the craft that they create.
1098
00:49:25,720 --> 00:49:29,780
- I think Jimmy and I thought
1099
00:49:29,880 --> 00:49:32,340
that everybody was going
with Frankenheimer,
1100
00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:34,900
why don't we go with McQueen?
1101
00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:37,000
And Steve McQueen,
1102
00:49:37,400 --> 00:49:41,420
in those days was bigger
than Frankenheimer.
1103
00:49:41,520 --> 00:49:42,900
- Well, who wants to get married?
1104
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:45,100
- And I think that was one of the things.
1105
00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:47,720
And he was making great movies.
1106
00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:51,980
- [Man] Steve McQueen
works by instinct, reflex,
1107
00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:54,260
unconsciously concealed know-how.
1108
00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:57,700
Above all is his
reverence to authenticity.
1109
00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:00,940
- And Jimmy and I didn't
talk an awful lot about it.
1110
00:50:01,040 --> 00:50:02,940
We just decided it was a good idea.
1111
00:50:03,040 --> 00:50:07,580
Everybody else was going to "Grand Prix"
1112
00:50:07,680 --> 00:50:10,060
and we decided to go with Steve.
1113
00:50:10,160 --> 00:50:13,420
- [Narrator] In a memo from
September 1965 John Sturges,
1114
00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:15,420
states that principal filming with McQueen
1115
00:50:15,520 --> 00:50:17,220
will start the following spring
1116
00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:19,900
after he has finished
directing "Ice Station Zebra",
1117
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:24,140
ironically for MGM, and McQueen
has completed his next film,
1118
00:50:24,240 --> 00:50:25,740
"The Sand Pebbles".
1119
00:50:25,840 --> 00:50:27,620
- He took on "The Sand Pebbles" knowing
1120
00:50:27,720 --> 00:50:29,980
that the book had been a hit.
1121
00:50:30,080 --> 00:50:34,140
The book was about the Chinese
Civil War in the 1920s.
1122
00:50:34,240 --> 00:50:36,700
- [Richard] He of course
respected Robert Wise greatly,
1123
00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:38,740
who'd directed "West Side Story",
1124
00:50:38,840 --> 00:50:40,100
"The Sound of Music",
1125
00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:42,760
so I think he saw a lot of
potential in that movie.
1126
00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:46,180
- [Narrator] Back in
Europe, John Frankenheimer,
1127
00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:48,380
realizing he would have
a big task on his hands
1128
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:51,220
to get his racing epic
released ahead of Warner's,
1129
00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:55,140
had stayed with the traveling
F1 circus throughout 1965.
1130
00:50:55,240 --> 00:50:56,860
Embedding himself in the lifestyle
1131
00:50:56,960 --> 00:50:59,860
and the culture of "The Cruel Sport".
1132
00:50:59,960 --> 00:51:00,700
- In the meantime,
1133
00:51:00,800 --> 00:51:04,700
I had been going to all the
races and they all knew me
1134
00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:06,660
as somebody who was going to make a movie.
1135
00:51:06,760 --> 00:51:08,180
And they knew nothing about movies,
1136
00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:10,260
I mean they knew nothing about
the movies I'd ever made,
1137
00:51:10,360 --> 00:51:13,180
I don't think they'd
ever seen most of them.
1138
00:51:13,280 --> 00:51:15,940
Those cameras, turn them
on as soon as you get up
1139
00:51:16,040 --> 00:51:17,300
to speed here.
1140
00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:19,460
But they did know that I was
really very very interested
1141
00:51:19,560 --> 00:51:23,460
in cars and they did know that
I raced on an amateur basis,
1142
00:51:23,560 --> 00:51:27,420
so at least I knew something
about what they did.
1143
00:51:27,520 --> 00:51:28,260
Come on!
1144
00:51:28,360 --> 00:51:29,300
Get somebody to push here!
1145
00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:30,540
Push!
1146
00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:33,260
And I became friendly with some of them,
1147
00:51:33,360 --> 00:51:37,260
like Graham Hill and Phil
Hill and Richie Ginther.
1148
00:51:37,360 --> 00:51:38,140
Everyone was very,
1149
00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:41,420
very sceptical of another
film being made about racing.
1150
00:51:41,520 --> 00:51:42,620
In fact to the point where Ferrari said
1151
00:51:42,720 --> 00:51:44,720
they didn't want anything to do with it.
1152
00:51:46,680 --> 00:51:49,660
He just said "You go make your movie,
1153
00:51:49,760 --> 00:51:51,540
it has nothing to do with what we do
1154
00:51:51,640 --> 00:51:54,700
and you can't use the word
Ferrari in this picture
1155
00:51:54,800 --> 00:51:57,780
or have any of my cars
or anything like that."
1156
00:51:57,880 --> 00:51:59,140
- [Announcer] They get you like-
1157
00:51:59,240 --> 00:52:01,460
- Oh my God get out!
1158
00:52:01,560 --> 00:52:04,340
Oh Jesus look, give his
guy hell this driver.
1159
00:52:04,440 --> 00:52:05,300
He's coming out.
1160
00:52:05,400 --> 00:52:06,500
Get out of here!
1161
00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:07,940
Come on get out!
1162
00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:10,660
So, we were lucky
enough, not lucky enough,
1163
00:52:10,760 --> 00:52:14,180
if you'll forgive me, smart
enough to go to Carrol Shelby
1164
00:52:14,280 --> 00:52:16,660
who had great credentials.
1165
00:52:16,760 --> 00:52:19,420
And Carrol Shelby kind of embraced us
1166
00:52:19,520 --> 00:52:23,740
and he kind of opened up a lot of doors,
1167
00:52:23,840 --> 00:52:27,580
including arranging to have the replicas
1168
00:52:27,680 --> 00:52:29,500
of all the cars made.
1169
00:52:29,600 --> 00:52:32,660
And he took charge of that.
1170
00:52:32,760 --> 00:52:33,860
And through Carrol Shelby,
1171
00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:36,660
I got to Dan Gurney who was a great friend
1172
00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:39,980
of Shelby's and also to Phil Hill.
1173
00:52:40,080 --> 00:52:42,080
Yeah, but this doesn't work.
1174
00:52:42,560 --> 00:52:45,380
And I signed these guys up.
1175
00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:47,820
And I actually I paid them money,
1176
00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:49,780
which also helped,
1177
00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:50,820
convince them that maybe
1178
00:52:50,920 --> 00:52:52,220
this was a good idea!
1179
00:52:52,320 --> 00:52:57,420
And for 2 years exclusivity
to movies, to me.
1180
00:52:57,520 --> 00:53:01,300
(congregation chatting)
1181
00:53:01,400 --> 00:53:03,060
Cut!
1182
00:53:03,160 --> 00:53:06,680
Cut!
1183
00:53:07,680 --> 00:53:09,680
Get everybody in here again.
1184
00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:11,140
- For John Frankenheimer,
1185
00:53:11,240 --> 00:53:14,460
Phil Hill was manor from heaven
because he still was very,
1186
00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:16,300
very quick but he was kind of available,
1187
00:53:16,400 --> 00:53:18,340
and he was American,
and he was intelligent,
1188
00:53:18,440 --> 00:53:20,260
and he loved photography.
1189
00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:24,300
This was the perfect
man to drive that side
1190
00:53:24,400 --> 00:53:25,780
of things for "Grand Prix".
1191
00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:28,020
- [Alan] I've just seen the
most terrible skid there.
1192
00:53:28,120 --> 00:53:29,380
What happened to Yves Montand?
1193
00:53:29,480 --> 00:53:31,860
- Well, that's what he was supposed to do!
1194
00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:33,380
- [Alan] He wasn't supposed
to go all over the pavement?
1195
00:53:33,480 --> 00:53:34,300
- Oh yeah!
1196
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:36,020
Up all over the kerb and
swing around backwards!
1197
00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:37,900
Wasn't that a beautiful job though?
1198
00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:39,020
He's like a stunt driver!
1199
00:53:39,120 --> 00:53:40,780
- Are you serious?
- Ha!
1200
00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:42,660
No.
(laughs)
1201
00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:44,860
- Well, he was a wonderful guy.
1202
00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:49,180
He was a great driver, but
also the most delightful guy,
1203
00:53:49,280 --> 00:53:50,100
the most delightful bloke.
1204
00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:52,460
Very, very dry sense of humor,
1205
00:53:52,560 --> 00:53:55,260
one of the funniest people I've ever met.
1206
00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:59,100
And also, probably as
intelligent as anybody
1207
00:53:59,200 --> 00:54:00,620
who ever drove a racing car.
1208
00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:03,860
He must have been enormously
helpful to Frankenheimer.
1209
00:54:03,960 --> 00:54:05,580
Just because he was such a bright man.
1210
00:54:05,680 --> 00:54:07,580
Daley had written extensively, of course,
1211
00:54:07,680 --> 00:54:08,620
about Phil Hill because he
1212
00:54:08,720 --> 00:54:11,180
was America's first World Champion.
1213
00:54:11,280 --> 00:54:12,900
- [Narrator] With
Frankenheimer buying friends up
1214
00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:14,620
and down the grid, he was now starting
1215
00:54:14,720 --> 00:54:17,100
to close the gap to "Day of the Champion".
1216
00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:18,940
Garner and the other stars were learning
1217
00:54:19,040 --> 00:54:21,860
what Grand Prix racing was all about,
1218
00:54:21,960 --> 00:54:24,860
but McQueen was still in
Taiwan and "The Sand Pebbles"
1219
00:54:24,960 --> 00:54:27,500
was starting to spiral out of control.
1220
00:54:27,600 --> 00:54:30,200
(upbeat music)
1221
00:54:37,600 --> 00:54:39,980
- The plan was to go and
shoot "The Sand Pebbles"
1222
00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:42,580
and ideally they'd be back to
shoot "Day of the Champion"
1223
00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:46,180
in '66 at the end of "The Sand Pebbles".
1224
00:54:46,280 --> 00:54:48,980
- The shoot in some ways is as memorable
1225
00:54:49,080 --> 00:54:51,740
as the film because it was
supposed to be a nine-week shoot
1226
00:54:51,840 --> 00:54:54,420
and it ended up taking
something like seven months.
1227
00:54:54,520 --> 00:54:55,860
- [Richard] The conditions over there
1228
00:54:55,960 --> 00:54:58,380
in Taiwan were horrendous.
1229
00:54:58,480 --> 00:55:01,340
Everyone got ill, Steve included.
1230
00:55:01,440 --> 00:55:04,140
(upbeat music)
1231
00:55:04,240 --> 00:55:05,260
- [Craig] We knew that the first team
1232
00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:06,820
to get their picture shot,
1233
00:55:06,920 --> 00:55:10,180
edited, scored and into
theaters before the other guy
1234
00:55:10,280 --> 00:55:11,580
would be the winner.
1235
00:55:11,680 --> 00:55:12,460
Neither side wanted
1236
00:55:12,560 --> 00:55:15,220
to be the second racing
picture out that year.
1237
00:55:15,320 --> 00:55:18,380
(racing car revving)
1238
00:55:18,480 --> 00:55:20,660
- [Narrator] Sturges and his
crew could still continue
1239
00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:22,620
to capture stunning race footage
1240
00:55:22,720 --> 00:55:25,940
while they waited for McQueen
to return from the Far East.
1241
00:55:26,040 --> 00:55:29,820
They regrouped and in late
April '66 headed to Oulton Park
1242
00:55:29,920 --> 00:55:33,540
in Cheshire to shoot a round
of the British GT Championship,
1243
00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:36,100
which would double for a
sports car race described
1244
00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:38,920
in the loose "Day of the Champion" script.
1245
00:55:39,960 --> 00:55:41,220
- There was The Steering Wheel Club
1246
00:55:41,320 --> 00:55:44,060
in the south of Park Lane
1247
00:55:44,160 --> 00:55:46,620
where all the motor racing
enthusiasts used to go.
1248
00:55:46,720 --> 00:55:48,300
And Stirling had started
1249
00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:50,340
The Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team
1250
00:55:50,440 --> 00:55:53,380
and so I drove his Elan which was his car
1251
00:55:53,480 --> 00:55:56,380
and then I entered my
own cars under his name.
1252
00:55:56,480 --> 00:55:59,620
(racing car revving)
1253
00:55:59,720 --> 00:56:03,900
There was agreement that
this car should be repainted
1254
00:56:04,000 --> 00:56:08,580
in the colors that Steve
McQueen planned to have
1255
00:56:08,680 --> 00:56:13,180
in his film, so it was
repainted to a green
1256
00:56:13,280 --> 00:56:16,220
and I drove the car in
this race and was filmed.
1257
00:56:16,320 --> 00:56:19,620
Well, we had the name "PEARCE" on the car
1258
00:56:19,720 --> 00:56:22,260
because that was the
name that Steve McQueen
1259
00:56:22,360 --> 00:56:23,620
was being given in the film.
1260
00:56:23,720 --> 00:56:26,420
- Of course, what you have to
remember is that in the '50s
1261
00:56:26,520 --> 00:56:29,940
and '60s, a top driver
wouldn't just drive Formula 1
1262
00:56:30,040 --> 00:56:32,580
as happens today, they
would drive sports cars,
1263
00:56:32,680 --> 00:56:34,260
he would do the Le Mans 24 hours,
1264
00:56:34,360 --> 00:56:36,660
he would probably race
in touring cars as well
1265
00:56:36,760 --> 00:56:39,060
and that's why it was
completely appropriate
1266
00:56:39,160 --> 00:56:43,940
that McQueen's character in
the film drives single-seaters,
1267
00:56:44,040 --> 00:56:45,780
but also drives sports cars.
1268
00:56:45,880 --> 00:56:47,880
That's how it was in those days.
1269
00:56:49,280 --> 00:56:51,340
- Bloody hell was I in the front row?
1270
00:56:51,440 --> 00:56:53,580
Six, well, I just fucked up the start.
1271
00:56:53,680 --> 00:56:56,760
(racing car revving)
1272
00:56:59,120 --> 00:57:02,060
Part of the deal was that
I should wear a helmet
1273
00:57:02,160 --> 00:57:04,500
which was approved by Steve McQueen
1274
00:57:04,600 --> 00:57:08,620
and then the production
team sent me the photograph
1275
00:57:08,720 --> 00:57:10,500
with the words which said;
1276
00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:13,500
"If this is what Dunlop overalls achieve,
1277
00:57:13,600 --> 00:57:16,060
then I think we'll go with Firestone."
1278
00:57:16,160 --> 00:57:19,600
So, I was in fact Steve McQueen's double.
1279
00:57:21,760 --> 00:57:23,340
- [Narrator] The pieces
of the puzzle were falling
1280
00:57:23,440 --> 00:57:25,460
into place for "Day of the Champion".
1281
00:57:25,560 --> 00:57:28,340
But with the start of
the 1966 Formula 1 season
1282
00:57:28,440 --> 00:57:31,540
in Monaco just a month away
they needed their Hollywood icon
1283
00:57:31,640 --> 00:57:34,100
back from Taiwan and ready to race.
1284
00:57:34,200 --> 00:57:36,700
Frankenheimer and MGM
were about to descend
1285
00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:40,540
on the principality to get their
movie underway with a bang!
1286
00:57:40,640 --> 00:57:43,560
(racing car bangs)
1287
00:57:46,440 --> 00:57:49,740
(trumpet music)
1288
00:57:49,840 --> 00:57:51,780
Late May 1966.
1289
00:57:51,880 --> 00:57:53,660
Steve McQueen is in Taiwan,
1290
00:57:53,760 --> 00:57:55,740
behind schedule on "The Sand Pebbles"
1291
00:57:55,840 --> 00:57:56,980
and desperate to get back
1292
00:57:57,080 --> 00:58:00,300
to Europe to star in his
dream Formula 1 movie project
1293
00:58:00,400 --> 00:58:02,260
"Day of the Champion".
1294
00:58:02,360 --> 00:58:06,100
In Monaco, MGM and John
Frankenheimer are underway
1295
00:58:06,200 --> 00:58:08,340
with their rival picture, "Grand Prix".
1296
00:58:08,440 --> 00:58:10,620
Nine months behind "Day of the Champion"
1297
00:58:10,720 --> 00:58:14,260
but now shooting real race
scenes, with real actors,
1298
00:58:14,360 --> 00:58:15,460
in real race cars.
1299
00:58:15,560 --> 00:58:18,720
(racing cars revving)
1300
00:58:22,480 --> 00:58:23,980
- [Announcer] These are
the Cinerama cameras
1301
00:58:24,080 --> 00:58:25,780
of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
1302
00:58:25,880 --> 00:58:28,260
about to attempt one of
the most challenging feats
1303
00:58:28,360 --> 00:58:31,860
in motion picture history
with these exciting,
1304
00:58:31,960 --> 00:58:34,660
international stars from America,
1305
00:58:34,760 --> 00:58:37,860
James Garner; the celebrated French star,
1306
00:58:37,960 --> 00:58:40,940
Yves Montand; Italy's
sensational young talent,
1307
00:58:41,040 --> 00:58:44,740
Antonio Sabato; and
England's Brian Bedford.
1308
00:58:44,840 --> 00:58:47,060
For Frankenheimer, for any film maker,
1309
00:58:47,160 --> 00:58:49,160
this is a monumental challenge.
1310
00:58:50,600 --> 00:58:52,540
Less than an hour before the actual race,
1311
00:58:52,640 --> 00:58:54,860
he is staging his own start.
1312
00:58:54,960 --> 00:58:56,280
- [Frankenheimer] Well, what
we hope to be able to do is
1313
00:58:56,360 --> 00:58:57,160
to show them what a real race
1314
00:58:57,240 --> 00:58:59,320
is really like from the driver's viewpoint
1315
00:59:00,680 --> 00:59:03,940
- [Announcer] The crowds are
real, so is the excitement.
1316
00:59:04,040 --> 00:59:07,060
And for Frankenheimer,
the suspense is very real.
1317
00:59:07,160 --> 00:59:10,140
This is not a studio;
these are not stuntmen.
1318
00:59:10,240 --> 00:59:11,020
In just seconds,
1319
00:59:11,120 --> 00:59:13,220
Phil Hill in the camera
car will lead Garner,
1320
00:59:13,320 --> 00:59:15,780
Montand and the others
around the Monaco circuit
1321
00:59:15,880 --> 00:59:19,340
at actual speeds of
over 125 miles an hour.
1322
00:59:19,440 --> 00:59:21,060
(racing car engine revs)
1323
00:59:21,160 --> 00:59:22,540
- [Frankenheimer] In Monte Carlo,
1324
00:59:22,640 --> 00:59:26,460
they began to see we
knew what we were doing.
1325
00:59:26,560 --> 00:59:28,700
We were very well organized,
1326
00:59:28,800 --> 00:59:32,540
we went out there and we
were doing real stuff.
1327
00:59:32,640 --> 00:59:35,020
And that began to get their attention.
1328
00:59:35,120 --> 00:59:36,900
(racing cars engines revs)
1329
00:59:37,000 --> 00:59:39,760
(crowd chatting)
1330
00:59:41,160 --> 00:59:44,020
- [Windsor] 1966 Monaco, I mean you can't
1331
00:59:44,120 --> 00:59:45,020
even get your head around it
1332
00:59:45,120 --> 00:59:48,300
in terms of today's
standards of operation.
1333
00:59:48,400 --> 00:59:49,900
Princess Grace was just
the beginning of it.
1334
00:59:50,000 --> 00:59:51,340
She was there obviously.
1335
00:59:51,440 --> 00:59:53,740
It was Jackie Stewart's
second Grand Prix win but
1336
00:59:53,840 --> 00:59:54,980
while all this was going on,
1337
00:59:55,080 --> 00:59:56,380
Frankenheimer in his mind
1338
00:59:56,480 --> 00:59:58,740
was creating another Monaco Grand Prix,
1339
00:59:58,840 --> 01:00:01,180
which was the "Grand Prix", "Grand Prix".
1340
01:00:01,280 --> 01:00:03,860
And to think about that happening today
1341
01:00:03,960 --> 01:00:06,100
and to have the camera cars
there in the way they did,
1342
01:00:06,200 --> 01:00:08,780
and the changing liveries of the cars
1343
01:00:08,880 --> 01:00:10,060
and of the driver's helmet.
1344
01:00:10,160 --> 01:00:12,260
- You know, one of the few
people who wasn't involved
1345
01:00:12,360 --> 01:00:14,940
in either movie was John Surtees.
1346
01:00:15,040 --> 01:00:18,580
He got absolutely fed
up to the teeth with it,
1347
01:00:18,680 --> 01:00:20,820
he had it up to here.
1348
01:00:20,920 --> 01:00:24,020
"Bloody film people I
wish they'd push off!"
1349
01:00:24,120 --> 01:00:25,420
But of course typical John,
1350
01:00:25,520 --> 01:00:30,220
he just said, "But well, you
know, there's always a way
1351
01:00:30,320 --> 01:00:34,020
around these things and
the Hollywood people stuff
1352
01:00:34,120 --> 01:00:36,480
their mouths with money
and stop them talking."
1353
01:00:37,360 --> 01:00:38,420
- It didn't worry me at all.
1354
01:00:38,520 --> 01:00:43,540
It didn't, Francoise Hardy
occasionally would upset me.
1355
01:00:43,640 --> 01:00:46,940
She was a very pretty looking
girl walking down the pits.
1356
01:00:47,040 --> 01:00:48,380
It really didn't matter.
1357
01:00:48,480 --> 01:00:51,700
I can't say at any time
was it an intrusion
1358
01:00:51,800 --> 01:00:56,780
into my preparation for a
race or in the race at all.
1359
01:00:56,880 --> 01:00:58,540
It didn't bother me at all.
1360
01:00:58,640 --> 01:01:01,820
- But, generally, the chaos
would have been incredible
1361
01:01:01,920 --> 01:01:04,860
and whilst Jackie was accepting
1362
01:01:04,960 --> 01:01:06,460
the trophy from Princess Grace,
1363
01:01:06,560 --> 01:01:08,060
just a little bit further down the road,
1364
01:01:08,160 --> 01:01:11,340
there was Sarti, Yves Montand,
1365
01:01:11,440 --> 01:01:14,840
accepting the trophy for
the "Grand Prix" Grand Prix.
1366
01:01:16,960 --> 01:01:19,380
- [Alan] Their own winner
will need a victor's cup
1367
01:01:19,480 --> 01:01:21,420
but they plan to use the
excitement at the end of
1368
01:01:21,520 --> 01:01:24,500
the race to slip a cuckoo
into the nest to film the man
1369
01:01:24,600 --> 01:01:26,420
who won the celluloid race,
1370
01:01:26,520 --> 01:01:29,920
wearing an open wreath and
looking modest, as well he might.
1371
01:01:31,440 --> 01:01:34,220
The actual winner today is Jackie Stewart.
1372
01:01:34,320 --> 01:01:35,460
As his car comes home,
1373
01:01:35,560 --> 01:01:38,780
Yves Montand, face glistening
with instant sweat,
1374
01:01:38,880 --> 01:01:41,000
prepares for his moment of hollow victory.
1375
01:01:42,040 --> 01:01:45,540
- I was not aware of it,
I was perfectly naive.
1376
01:01:45,640 --> 01:01:46,860
(laughs)
1377
01:01:46,960 --> 01:01:49,540
And you know, when you win a Grand Prix,
1378
01:01:49,640 --> 01:01:50,780
in Monaco in those days,
1379
01:01:50,880 --> 01:01:52,380
the Grand Prix was 100 laps.
1380
01:01:52,480 --> 01:01:57,480
Something like 8,600 gear
changes, all by hand,
1381
01:01:57,840 --> 01:02:00,700
and you were fairly tired
when it was finished.
1382
01:02:00,800 --> 01:02:03,820
(crowd applauds)
1383
01:02:03,920 --> 01:02:07,140
- When you're in a car,
particularly a Formula car,
1384
01:02:07,240 --> 01:02:10,860
but any car, you cannot
think of anything else.
1385
01:02:10,960 --> 01:02:12,620
I mean if you don't think of going
1386
01:02:12,720 --> 01:02:13,980
from one point to another,
1387
01:02:14,080 --> 01:02:18,460
from your braking point
to your gearing down
1388
01:02:18,560 --> 01:02:23,060
to make your turn into a
corner, if you stray from that,
1389
01:02:23,160 --> 01:02:25,100
and you worry about where that camera
1390
01:02:25,200 --> 01:02:28,280
is or anything like that,
then you're off the course.
1391
01:02:29,760 --> 01:02:32,460
So, we strictly do not worry about it,
1392
01:02:32,560 --> 01:02:34,860
we'll do our acting in the pits.
1393
01:02:34,960 --> 01:02:35,720
- [Narrator] Another member of the
1394
01:02:35,800 --> 01:02:39,060
"Day of the Champion" team was
also in Monaco that weekend.
1395
01:02:39,160 --> 01:02:41,180
Stirling Moss was keeping a close eye
1396
01:02:41,280 --> 01:02:44,100
on Frankenheimer's team
and sent a telegram back
1397
01:02:44,200 --> 01:02:47,020
to the Alan Mann garage
after seeing how the cars
1398
01:02:47,120 --> 01:02:49,700
on "Grand Prix" were
slowing down the filming.
1399
01:02:49,800 --> 01:02:52,420
- [Announcer] "Dear Alan,
Having just returned
1400
01:02:52,520 --> 01:02:55,420
from Monte Carlo and seeing how
the other lot are operating,
1401
01:02:55,520 --> 01:02:57,420
I feel we need to make some adjustments
1402
01:02:57,520 --> 01:02:59,860
to our cars so we don't
have to stop and start
1403
01:02:59,960 --> 01:03:02,100
with such regularity.
1404
01:03:02,200 --> 01:03:05,180
Please can you start to
adjust the compression rates,
1405
01:03:05,280 --> 01:03:09,300
dampers and engine idle
before we get to Germany.
1406
01:03:09,400 --> 01:03:12,180
Kind regards, Stirling Moss."
1407
01:03:12,280 --> 01:03:13,460
- [Narrator] Panic was also setting
1408
01:03:13,560 --> 01:03:15,540
in amongst the Warners' management.
1409
01:03:15,640 --> 01:03:17,420
Panic about McQueen's physical condition
1410
01:03:17,520 --> 01:03:19,420
but also about the unrealistic schedule
1411
01:03:19,520 --> 01:03:20,820
of 'Day of the Champion',
1412
01:03:20,920 --> 01:03:23,740
given their A-list star
was still in Taiwan,
1413
01:03:23,840 --> 01:03:26,740
where 'The Sand Pebbles'
was seriously over-running.
1414
01:03:26,840 --> 01:03:28,340
By June 1966,
1415
01:03:28,440 --> 01:03:31,260
John Sturges was already in
London to work on pre-production
1416
01:03:31,360 --> 01:03:33,740
for the remaining 'Day
of the Champion' shoots,
1417
01:03:33,840 --> 01:03:36,860
when he received an
extraordinary telegram.
1418
01:03:36,960 --> 01:03:39,420
- [Announcer] "Dear John,
It is needless to tell you
1419
01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:42,140
that I am very worried
because of the possibility
1420
01:03:42,240 --> 01:03:44,340
of "Grand Prix" coming out in Cinerama
1421
01:03:44,440 --> 01:03:46,700
or any other format ahead of our picture.
1422
01:03:46,800 --> 01:03:49,380
I would not put it by these
boys to release their picture
1423
01:03:49,480 --> 01:03:51,700
on 35 millimeter at the same time
1424
01:03:51,800 --> 01:03:53,800
that it's released in Cinerama.
1425
01:03:54,200 --> 01:03:56,660
Isn't there some way you can
start your pre-production
1426
01:03:56,760 --> 01:03:59,740
sooner and also have McQueen
get over to England sooner,
1427
01:03:59,840 --> 01:04:01,780
or something of this order?
1428
01:04:01,880 --> 01:04:04,700
I would hate like hell to be
given the bird and huge laugh
1429
01:04:04,800 --> 01:04:06,800
by all concerned with GRAND PRIX.
1430
01:04:07,760 --> 01:04:09,580
I don't want to say I would
not have gone into this
1431
01:04:09,680 --> 01:04:12,300
if I had known of the unfortunate
delay that has been caused
1432
01:04:12,400 --> 01:04:14,260
by "The Sand Pebbles".
1433
01:04:14,360 --> 01:04:15,860
What about phoning Bob Wise to see
1434
01:04:15,960 --> 01:04:18,580
if he can release McQueen earlier?
1435
01:04:18,680 --> 01:04:21,820
Again, in closing, see if
you can't beat GRAND PRIX
1436
01:04:21,920 --> 01:04:23,380
after you leave the starting gate.
1437
01:04:23,480 --> 01:04:25,480
Jack Warner."
1438
01:04:28,280 --> 01:04:30,560
(chuckles)
1439
01:04:34,480 --> 01:04:37,080
(racing bangs)
1440
01:04:41,000 --> 01:04:44,180
- (chuckles) just blown out.
1441
01:04:44,280 --> 01:04:45,020
- That's your job.
1442
01:04:45,120 --> 01:04:47,180
No wait a minute, that's your
job to make it really look
1443
01:04:47,280 --> 01:04:49,280
like, where's Beady Eyes?
1444
01:04:50,000 --> 01:04:51,980
- [Narrator] With production
moving at a frantic pace
1445
01:04:52,080 --> 01:04:53,580
for "Grand Prix" in Monaco,
1446
01:04:53,680 --> 01:04:55,580
an unscripted halt is
brought to proceedings
1447
01:04:55,680 --> 01:04:57,220
when local shop keepers protest
1448
01:04:57,320 --> 01:04:59,440
about street closures harming their trade.
1449
01:05:00,920 --> 01:05:04,020
Tempers flare, proving
that even Hollywood's
1450
01:05:04,120 --> 01:05:07,940
most consummate leading men
can still lose their cool.
1451
01:05:08,040 --> 01:05:09,500
- I am freezing my ass off,
1452
01:05:09,600 --> 01:05:12,340
now get your butt out of
here or I'm gonna throw you
1453
01:05:12,440 --> 01:05:14,440
in the fucking water!
1454
01:05:15,400 --> 01:05:16,380
Just get out or I'm gonna bust you,
1455
01:05:16,480 --> 01:05:17,300
I'm gonna put in there
1456
01:05:17,400 --> 01:05:19,400
and I'm gonna hold you under now get out!
1457
01:05:21,080 --> 01:05:22,140
What is your problem?
1458
01:05:22,240 --> 01:05:24,940
I am freezing to death
out here for a half hour
1459
01:05:25,040 --> 01:05:26,020
while you talk!
1460
01:05:26,120 --> 01:05:28,260
If you want to talk,
I'll talk to you later.
1461
01:05:28,360 --> 01:05:30,360
How much money do you want?
1462
01:05:30,920 --> 01:05:32,220
- I speak English, Mr Garner.
1463
01:05:32,320 --> 01:05:33,900
- Well then you get the
hell out of that shot
1464
01:05:34,000 --> 01:05:35,020
or I'm gonna put you out!
1465
01:05:35,120 --> 01:05:36,100
- [French Male] Yes sir.
1466
01:05:36,200 --> 01:05:38,780
- [James] I tell you!
1467
01:05:38,880 --> 01:05:42,040
You better count to 60 and
get your ass out of here!
1468
01:05:45,840 --> 01:05:48,760
(racing car bangs)
1469
01:05:49,920 --> 01:05:51,900
- After Monte Carlo was over,
1470
01:05:52,000 --> 01:05:56,260
I put together a quick 30
minutes of stuff I shot
1471
01:05:56,360 --> 01:05:58,020
at Monte Carlo,
1472
01:05:58,120 --> 01:06:02,820
called Ferrari and asked
him if he would look at it.
1473
01:06:02,920 --> 01:06:05,340
He said 'well I don't have
any projection equipment,
1474
01:06:05,440 --> 01:06:06,460
I don't have anything like that.
1475
01:06:06,560 --> 01:06:09,140
I said, "Just tell me you'll look at it."
1476
01:06:09,240 --> 01:06:10,540
So he said "Yes I will."
1477
01:06:10,640 --> 01:06:14,040
So I shut the movie
down, chartered a plane,
1478
01:06:15,120 --> 01:06:16,980
brought the film, a projectionist,
1479
01:06:17,080 --> 01:06:20,300
projectors and everything
else to Maranello,
1480
01:06:20,400 --> 01:06:24,480
to his office, set it up
and ran him the 30 minutes.
1481
01:06:25,400 --> 01:06:27,140
When it was over the lights came up,
1482
01:06:27,240 --> 01:06:32,300
he embraced me, he said,
"You can have anything."
1483
01:06:32,400 --> 01:06:35,220
And he said, "I don't even
want to talk to you about money
1484
01:06:35,320 --> 01:06:36,460
because I don't want any money from you,
1485
01:06:36,560 --> 01:06:38,220
because when Ferrari gives you something,
1486
01:06:38,320 --> 01:06:39,340
he gives it to you."
1487
01:06:39,440 --> 01:06:40,900
So he never charged us a penny.
1488
01:06:41,000 --> 01:06:44,580
He gave us the Ferrari team,
he gave us the factory,
1489
01:06:44,680 --> 01:06:45,700
he gave us everything!
1490
01:06:45,800 --> 01:06:47,780
Well, of course, once we
got that kind of acceptance
1491
01:06:47,880 --> 01:06:50,620
from Ferrari, I mean that was that.
1492
01:06:50,720 --> 01:06:51,940
- "We were less than a week away
1493
01:06:52,040 --> 01:06:54,260
from filming principal
photography in Germany
1494
01:06:54,360 --> 01:06:56,500
in July of 1966 and Steve McQueen
1495
01:06:56,600 --> 01:06:58,940
was still busy filming "The Sand Pebbles".
1496
01:06:59,040 --> 01:07:00,100
At midnight one evening,
1497
01:07:00,200 --> 01:07:02,500
Jack Warner called my
office at Pinewood Studios.
1498
01:07:02,600 --> 01:07:03,740
"How are ya, Bob?"
1499
01:07:03,840 --> 01:07:06,180
"Well, I'm cramming to
get everything in order
1500
01:07:06,280 --> 01:07:08,540
before I leave for Germany,
how are you, Jack?"
1501
01:07:08,640 --> 01:07:09,820
"I'm great, great thanks.
1502
01:07:09,920 --> 01:07:12,700
Right Bob, listen, about
that racing picture:
1503
01:07:12,800 --> 01:07:14,140
close it down."
1504
01:07:14,240 --> 01:07:15,580
"Excuse me?"
1505
01:07:15,680 --> 01:07:18,940
"Listen," Bob said, "Bob
Wise won't release McQueen."
1506
01:07:19,040 --> 01:07:21,980
That means "Grand Prix" will
be first to the theaters,
1507
01:07:22,080 --> 01:07:25,380
and am not gonna to be
second so shut it down."
1508
01:07:25,480 --> 01:07:28,540
"But, we've already got loads of footage,
1509
01:07:28,640 --> 01:07:31,020
I've got an entire crew
in Germany ready to go,
1510
01:07:31,120 --> 01:07:33,060
you've already committed a ton of money.
1511
01:07:33,160 --> 01:07:34,500
Bob, listen to me.
1512
01:07:34,600 --> 01:07:38,760
Send everybody home and shut
it down now, it's over."
1513
01:07:41,320 --> 01:07:45,180
- McQueen went mad on the
set of "The Sand Pebbles".
1514
01:07:45,280 --> 01:07:48,500
Sturges tried to get him to
leave as soon as possible,
1515
01:07:48,600 --> 01:07:50,220
but Robert Wise wouldn't let McQueen go.
1516
01:07:50,320 --> 01:07:51,020
He needed him.
1517
01:07:51,120 --> 01:07:51,920
His wife said to him at the time
1518
01:07:52,000 --> 01:07:55,180
"You can't get that angry
because you turned down
1519
01:07:55,280 --> 01:07:58,780
this role," but that
didn't really stop him.
1520
01:07:58,880 --> 01:08:01,220
He was determined to
make the definitive film
1521
01:08:01,320 --> 01:08:05,980
about Formula 1, about
motor racing and yeah,
1522
01:08:06,080 --> 01:08:07,860
he'd been beaten to the punch.
1523
01:08:07,960 --> 01:08:08,660
- I think the trucks were
1524
01:08:08,760 --> 01:08:11,860
in Dover already about to
depart for the Rheims Grand Prix
1525
01:08:11,960 --> 01:08:14,740
when a telegram came in from Warner Bros
1526
01:08:14,840 --> 01:08:19,060
to say stop all transport and
the whole thing's canceled
1527
01:08:19,160 --> 01:08:21,160
and go back to base.
1528
01:08:22,400 --> 01:08:23,140
- [Craig] The next morning,
1529
01:08:23,240 --> 01:08:24,980
I called Sturges to give him the news.
1530
01:08:25,080 --> 01:08:27,540
He was completely void of any emotion.
1531
01:08:27,640 --> 01:08:29,780
"Well that's that", he said.
1532
01:08:29,880 --> 01:08:32,980
I said, "Sorry John, we
would've made a great film,
1533
01:08:33,080 --> 01:08:34,500
I'm sure of it.
1534
01:08:34,600 --> 01:08:37,140
Well, I think I'll take a few
weeks vacation," John mused.
1535
01:08:37,240 --> 01:08:39,620
"Maybe I'll go to Europe."
1536
01:08:39,720 --> 01:08:42,100
- Before departing for
the continent, Sturges,
1537
01:08:42,200 --> 01:08:43,340
ever the gentleman,
1538
01:08:43,440 --> 01:08:46,300
sent a telegram to Alan Mann
conveying his deep regret
1539
01:08:46,400 --> 01:08:49,020
over the collapse of
"Day of the Champion."
1540
01:08:49,120 --> 01:08:52,380
- [Announcer] "Dear Alan,
As all of us are depressed
1541
01:08:52,480 --> 01:08:55,300
and unhappy over the
collapse of the project.
1542
01:08:55,400 --> 01:08:57,620
I think we would have achieved
some marvellous results
1543
01:08:57,720 --> 01:08:58,900
and it's a shame to miss the fun
1544
01:08:59,000 --> 01:09:01,080
and excitement we'd have had getting them.
1545
01:09:02,000 --> 01:09:04,540
You must know I'm very
grateful for the enthusiasm
1546
01:09:04,640 --> 01:09:05,820
and efficient help you gave us
1547
01:09:05,920 --> 01:09:08,420
and I'm truly sorry for any disruption
1548
01:09:08,520 --> 01:09:10,520
there has been to your plans.
1549
01:09:11,720 --> 01:09:14,140
I look forward to when we
meet again and once more,
1550
01:09:14,240 --> 01:09:16,100
my thanks for Le Mans.
1551
01:09:16,200 --> 01:09:18,820
With all the best, John."
1552
01:09:18,920 --> 01:09:20,700
- He had quite a good
relationship with Sturges
1553
01:09:20,800 --> 01:09:23,740
and they were obviously both disappointed
1554
01:09:23,840 --> 01:09:28,860
that it didn't come to any
fruition but they obviously had
1555
01:09:28,960 --> 01:09:30,620
some mutual respect for each other.
1556
01:09:30,720 --> 01:09:33,420
- I had a letter from
Brookwood Productions,
1557
01:09:33,520 --> 01:09:35,620
Pinewood Studios, 'Regret,
1558
01:09:35,720 --> 01:09:38,900
here's a cheque for two weeks money.
1559
01:09:39,000 --> 01:09:43,020
Steve McQueen is ill and
he cannot make this shoot.
1560
01:09:43,120 --> 01:09:45,820
- [Narrator] With Frankenheimer
seemingly victorious,
1561
01:09:45,920 --> 01:09:47,460
his Cinerama circus moved
1562
01:09:47,560 --> 01:09:49,540
onto other locations around Europe.
1563
01:09:49,640 --> 01:09:52,860
Filming in Clermont
Ferrand, Spa-Francorchamps,
1564
01:09:52,960 --> 01:09:55,060
Brands Hatch and Monza.
1565
01:09:55,160 --> 01:09:57,420
Not content with the drivers
he had already signed
1566
01:09:57,520 --> 01:09:58,780
to exclusive deals,
1567
01:09:58,880 --> 01:10:01,900
he also wanted the two
remaining big F1 stars
1568
01:10:02,000 --> 01:10:03,580
who had signed to Warner.
1569
01:10:03,680 --> 01:10:07,420
- My understanding is that
the insurance company,
1570
01:10:07,520 --> 01:10:09,180
that was what we were told,
1571
01:10:09,280 --> 01:10:12,260
that the insurance company
wouldn't allow Steve
1572
01:10:12,360 --> 01:10:17,020
to do a full-blown motor racing series
1573
01:10:17,120 --> 01:10:20,500
that we was directly involved in.
1574
01:10:20,600 --> 01:10:24,260
So, when that fell through,
1575
01:10:24,360 --> 01:10:28,660
Frankenheimer already had the
program going and in fact,
1576
01:10:28,760 --> 01:10:30,860
I don't know how long after we were told
1577
01:10:30,960 --> 01:10:32,960
that the movie wasn't going to happen,
1578
01:10:34,120 --> 01:10:36,940
Frankenheimer offered me another amount
1579
01:10:37,040 --> 01:10:40,020
of money to do some stuff with him
1580
01:10:40,120 --> 01:10:43,620
because one of the featured
drivers in his movie
1581
01:10:43,720 --> 01:10:46,460
was wearing my helmet colors.
1582
01:10:46,560 --> 01:10:48,980
And so I got paid twice really!
1583
01:10:49,080 --> 01:10:50,580
And so did Jimmy.
1584
01:10:50,680 --> 01:10:51,380
(laughs)
1585
01:10:51,480 --> 01:10:56,660
- We got these guys to drive
for us at $200 dollars a day.
1586
01:10:56,760 --> 01:11:00,940
So you put it in today's dollars
that's $2000 dollars a day.
1587
01:11:01,040 --> 01:11:04,660
The picture in 1966 all-in
1588
01:11:04,760 --> 01:11:07,180
with accelerated
post-production cost about nine
1589
01:11:07,280 --> 01:11:08,340
and a half million.
1590
01:11:08,440 --> 01:11:10,820
- Put that in the context of
today's Formula 1 and imagine
1591
01:11:10,920 --> 01:11:13,180
what it would be like
having a Hollywood crew
1592
01:11:13,280 --> 01:11:15,460
in the pit lane at a
proper Formula 1 race,
1593
01:11:15,560 --> 01:11:17,100
it would never happen in a million years.
1594
01:11:17,200 --> 01:11:20,100
But Frankenheimer was able
to do that and to his credit,
1595
01:11:20,200 --> 01:11:22,660
and I think to the credit
of the actors involved,
1596
01:11:22,760 --> 01:11:24,180
it all worked.
1597
01:11:24,280 --> 01:11:27,340
Probably it was the Francoise
Hardy accept of it all!
1598
01:11:27,440 --> 01:11:29,660
The drivers found her
very friendly to the eye,
1599
01:11:29,760 --> 01:11:33,260
I think, but no in general I
think they did a very good job
1600
01:11:33,360 --> 01:11:35,220
of understanding what it was all about
1601
01:11:35,320 --> 01:11:36,980
and they became part of the fabric
1602
01:11:37,080 --> 01:11:40,060
of Formula 1 throughout that '66 season.
1603
01:11:40,160 --> 01:11:42,260
- "Making a picture is a strange thing
1604
01:11:42,360 --> 01:11:44,420
because everybody hates
you when you are making it.
1605
01:11:44,520 --> 01:11:47,780
It's when the picture comes
out that they say, "Oh boy,
1606
01:11:47,880 --> 01:11:49,820
you know, it's really pretty good."
1607
01:11:49,920 --> 01:11:52,620
Or visa versa, everybody loves
you when you are making it
1608
01:11:52,720 --> 01:11:54,900
and the picture comes out and
you never work again you know.
1609
01:11:55,000 --> 01:11:56,980
It can work that way too!"
1610
01:11:57,080 --> 01:12:00,160
(racing car revving)
1611
01:12:04,080 --> 01:12:06,540
- [Narrator] August 1966 and Steve McQueen
1612
01:12:06,640 --> 01:12:08,820
is finally back in
California after wrapping
1613
01:12:08,920 --> 01:12:10,660
on "The Sand Pebbles".
1614
01:12:10,760 --> 01:12:12,420
Six months behind schedule
1615
01:12:12,520 --> 01:12:16,260
and his dream Formula 1
movie project in tatters.
1616
01:12:16,360 --> 01:12:18,780
- Steve was exhausted
after "The Sand Pebbles",
1617
01:12:18,880 --> 01:12:22,060
probably he did his best
acting of his career possibly
1618
01:12:22,160 --> 01:12:25,980
with the exception of
"Papillon" and he'd put so much
1619
01:12:26,080 --> 01:12:28,580
of himself and his energy
into "The Sand Pebbles"
1620
01:12:28,680 --> 01:12:30,260
that he needed a rest.
1621
01:12:30,360 --> 01:12:31,140
There was no way he could go
1622
01:12:31,240 --> 01:12:33,900
and make "Day of the Champion" after that.
1623
01:12:34,000 --> 01:12:37,100
He and Bob Relyea, his
great producer friend,
1624
01:12:37,200 --> 01:12:38,780
they felt they'd got their butts kicked
1625
01:12:38,880 --> 01:12:41,900
when "Day of the
Champion" didn't get made.
1626
01:12:42,000 --> 01:12:44,740
- But by early '67,
McQueen was back riding
1627
01:12:44,840 --> 01:12:46,100
the crest of a wave.
1628
01:12:46,200 --> 01:12:50,020
"The Sand Pebbles" was a
critical and box office hit.
1629
01:12:50,120 --> 01:12:51,620
- The only thing that McQueen seemed
1630
01:12:51,720 --> 01:12:53,300
to really focus on when he got back
1631
01:12:53,400 --> 01:12:57,180
to America was the Oscars
campaign for "The Sand Pebbles".
1632
01:12:57,280 --> 01:13:01,340
He was determined that he
deserved a Best Actor nominee
1633
01:13:01,440 --> 01:13:03,100
and he did in fact get it.
1634
01:13:03,200 --> 01:13:06,500
A little bit of brokenness,
I think, comes to that role,
1635
01:13:06,600 --> 01:13:07,700
aided and abetted by the fact
1636
01:13:07,800 --> 01:13:10,700
that he actually quite ill
through a lot of the filming
1637
01:13:10,800 --> 01:13:14,380
so he does actually look kind
of dissipated or off-kilter
1638
01:13:14,480 --> 01:13:17,900
in some of the scenes and that
was a way to throw himself
1639
01:13:18,000 --> 01:13:19,180
into something which,
1640
01:13:19,280 --> 01:13:20,900
was not colored by the disappointment
1641
01:13:21,000 --> 01:13:23,980
of not being able to make
this passion project.
1642
01:13:24,080 --> 01:13:25,420
- McQueen must have been gutted
1643
01:13:25,520 --> 01:13:27,740
to think that he got his
first Oscar nomination
1644
01:13:27,840 --> 01:13:31,060
for a film that actually stopped
him making the film he had
1645
01:13:31,160 --> 01:13:32,780
always dreamt of making.
1646
01:13:32,880 --> 01:13:34,820
- [Richard] "Sand Pebbles"
and "Grand Prix" were released
1647
01:13:34,920 --> 01:13:37,380
the same week in December '66.
1648
01:13:37,480 --> 01:13:39,140
- [Christina] "Grand
Prix" was a huge success.
1649
01:13:39,240 --> 01:13:41,940
It was up against "The
Sand Pebbles" at the Oscars
1650
01:13:42,040 --> 01:13:46,380
in several categories
and it won three Oscars
1651
01:13:46,480 --> 01:13:49,060
so that really added
probably insult to injury,
1652
01:13:49,160 --> 01:13:50,300
in some ways, for McQueen.
1653
01:13:50,400 --> 01:13:52,900
- At that time, there was,
1654
01:13:53,000 --> 01:13:56,220
you could get little hand
grenade-looking things made
1655
01:13:56,320 --> 01:13:59,700
of compressed paper with a
small French banger inside.
1656
01:13:59,800 --> 01:14:02,660
James Garner's and Steve
McQueen's houses were adjacent
1657
01:14:02,760 --> 01:14:04,260
to each other in Hollywood
1658
01:14:04,360 --> 01:14:07,860
and Steve's was a little uphill
from Garner's and so he used
1659
01:14:07,960 --> 01:14:11,180
to throw his grenades down into the yard
1660
01:14:11,280 --> 01:14:14,140
of Garner's house and
illicit a big police reaction
1661
01:14:14,240 --> 01:14:15,660
and everything and wait for all that
1662
01:14:15,760 --> 01:14:18,980
to dissipate and lob another one over
1663
01:14:19,080 --> 01:14:20,460
and generally wind him up.
1664
01:14:20,560 --> 01:14:22,860
- Finally his son, Chad,
1665
01:14:22,960 --> 01:14:25,160
made him go and take
him to see "Grand Prix"
1666
01:14:26,600 --> 01:14:29,380
and from that time on
we were talking again.
1667
01:14:29,480 --> 01:14:32,140
But Steve was a wild
kid, he was a wild kid.
1668
01:14:32,240 --> 01:14:33,420
He didn't know where he wanted to be
1669
01:14:33,520 --> 01:14:35,140
or what he wanted to do.
1670
01:14:35,240 --> 01:14:38,340
- Tell him exactly where
Garner's going to pass him.
1671
01:14:38,440 --> 01:14:39,300
Jimmy Garner!
1672
01:14:39,400 --> 01:14:40,100
Jimmy Garner!
1673
01:14:40,200 --> 01:14:41,860
Where is the exact place you pass him?
1674
01:14:41,960 --> 01:14:46,060
- Just before the overpass,
he's gone that way.
1675
01:14:46,160 --> 01:14:49,640
Just before the overpass,
alright we gotta go.
1676
01:14:51,400 --> 01:14:54,020
(chuckles)
1677
01:14:54,120 --> 01:14:55,380
Which side?
1678
01:14:55,480 --> 01:14:56,220
Which side?
1679
01:14:56,320 --> 01:14:58,320
- I pass him on the left!
1680
01:14:59,680 --> 01:15:00,380
- Okay!
1681
01:15:00,480 --> 01:15:02,940
Okay!
1682
01:15:03,040 --> 01:15:06,900
- When I first saw "Grand
Prix", sitting at a cinema,
1683
01:15:07,000 --> 01:15:08,420
the impact was tremendous
1684
01:15:08,520 --> 01:15:10,860
because you were seeing
Formula 1 cars racing
1685
01:15:10,960 --> 01:15:15,740
on a big screen, in color,
close-ups on the drivers.
1686
01:15:15,840 --> 01:15:18,300
There was a whole depth there
1687
01:15:18,400 --> 01:15:20,180
which we never had on television.
1688
01:15:20,280 --> 01:15:24,100
Television coverage in the
1960s was extremely primitive
1689
01:15:24,200 --> 01:15:26,420
and for people who'd never
been to a motor race,
1690
01:15:26,520 --> 01:15:29,300
which is where a lot of the
audience would have come from,
1691
01:15:29,400 --> 01:15:30,940
they would have seen this on television,
1692
01:15:31,040 --> 01:15:35,460
but the impact of seeing it
on a proper cinema screen.
1693
01:15:35,560 --> 01:15:36,980
Enormous.
1694
01:15:37,080 --> 01:15:38,020
- Frankenheimer did hire me
1695
01:15:38,120 --> 01:15:39,700
as a consultant when he was thinking
1696
01:15:39,800 --> 01:15:42,220
about doing a "Grand Prix 2".
1697
01:15:42,320 --> 01:15:44,620
I'm talking early '80s now.
1698
01:15:44,720 --> 01:15:46,380
But then of course like
everybody at that time,
1699
01:15:46,480 --> 01:15:50,460
he was completely shocked
at how much Formula 1 i.e.
1700
01:15:50,560 --> 01:15:53,180
Bernie Ecclestone wanted
in order to have the same
1701
01:15:53,280 --> 01:15:55,340
sort of access that he'd back in '66
1702
01:15:55,440 --> 01:15:57,780
and at that point it became a non-starter,
1703
01:15:57,880 --> 01:16:00,180
like a lot of other movies
that people have tried
1704
01:16:00,280 --> 01:16:01,660
to make about Formula 1.
1705
01:16:01,760 --> 01:16:02,520
- [Nigel] I will always be grateful
1706
01:16:02,600 --> 01:16:06,180
that "Grand Prix" exists because
apart from anything else,
1707
01:16:06,280 --> 01:16:08,660
it amounts to such, in effect,
1708
01:16:08,760 --> 01:16:12,820
a record of how Formula 1 was in the '60s.
1709
01:16:12,920 --> 01:16:14,820
- [Narrator] During the
second half of the 1960s,
1710
01:16:14,920 --> 01:16:18,300
Steve McQueen's Hollywood
career went stratospheric.
1711
01:16:18,400 --> 01:16:20,620
The outsider had made it inside,
1712
01:16:20,720 --> 01:16:23,260
becoming the highest
paid actor in the world.
1713
01:16:23,360 --> 01:16:25,100
His disappointment over the failure of
1714
01:16:25,200 --> 01:16:28,220
"Day of the Champion" only
served to fuel his obsession
1715
01:16:28,320 --> 01:16:30,180
with cars in the movies.
1716
01:16:30,280 --> 01:16:34,020
In 1968, "Bullit"' was
the result of his efforts.
1717
01:16:34,120 --> 01:16:36,420
Again, he insisted on doing the majority
1718
01:16:36,520 --> 01:16:38,060
of the stunt work involved
1719
01:16:38,160 --> 01:16:40,060
and this is widely considered
1720
01:16:40,160 --> 01:16:43,020
to be the greatest car chase of all time.
1721
01:16:43,120 --> 01:16:47,940
(brakes screeching)
(racing car revving)
1722
01:16:48,040 --> 01:16:50,940
- Those mid '60s years
were the hottest years
1723
01:16:51,040 --> 01:16:51,740
of his career.
1724
01:16:51,840 --> 01:16:54,540
He had five hits one after the other,
1725
01:16:54,640 --> 01:16:56,780
starting with "The Cincinnati Kid",
1726
01:16:56,880 --> 01:16:58,780
and "Nevada Smith", "The Sand Pebbles",
1727
01:16:58,880 --> 01:17:01,380
"The Thomas Crown Affair", and "Bullitt".
1728
01:17:01,480 --> 01:17:03,300
Now if we'd have seen
"Day of the Champion"
1729
01:17:03,400 --> 01:17:04,340
in the middle of that,
1730
01:17:04,440 --> 01:17:06,700
we might never have seen
"The Thomas Crown Affair"
1731
01:17:06,800 --> 01:17:07,700
and "Bullitt".
1732
01:17:07,800 --> 01:17:10,020
- [Narrator] But he was
still obsessed with his dream
1733
01:17:10,120 --> 01:17:12,580
of a motor racing film
and now had a great deal
1734
01:17:12,680 --> 01:17:16,260
of star power, the juice as he called it.
1735
01:17:16,360 --> 01:17:18,460
He did, of course,
finally make that movie.
1736
01:17:18,560 --> 01:17:22,420
"Le Mans" was released in 1971.
1737
01:17:22,520 --> 01:17:23,260
- [James] With "Bullitt",
1738
01:17:23,360 --> 01:17:25,940
"Thomas Crown" being such
massive hits, essentially,
1739
01:17:26,040 --> 01:17:27,780
he's allowed to do
whatever he wants to do.
1740
01:17:27,880 --> 01:17:30,140
That's when "Le Mans"
comes back into the mix
1741
01:17:30,240 --> 01:17:35,020
and he thinks I am gonna make
the ultimate racing car movie.
1742
01:17:35,120 --> 01:17:37,220
- By the time he got to "Le Mans",
1743
01:17:37,320 --> 01:17:39,060
he was feeling so much pressure that
1744
01:17:39,160 --> 01:17:41,540
this film had to succeed
1745
01:17:41,640 --> 01:17:44,700
that it definitely affected
his personal relationships,
1746
01:17:44,800 --> 01:17:47,900
with his wife, with his
friend Robert Relyea,
1747
01:17:48,000 --> 01:17:52,700
with his director friend from
over a decade, John Sturges.
1748
01:17:52,800 --> 01:17:56,540
I think he was dead set that
this movie had to be a success.
1749
01:17:56,640 --> 01:17:59,260
- [John] I think, at
least from my standpoint,
1750
01:17:59,360 --> 01:18:00,340
in an action film,
1751
01:18:00,440 --> 01:18:04,140
it gives you an opportunity
to put people under pressure.
1752
01:18:04,240 --> 01:18:06,220
And when they're under
pressure, they're emotions,
1753
01:18:06,320 --> 01:18:07,980
good or bad, come out.
1754
01:18:08,080 --> 01:18:10,420
What you're really looking for is emotion.
1755
01:18:10,520 --> 01:18:12,660
A fight is no more meaningful than
1756
01:18:12,760 --> 01:18:15,420
how much care somebody wins.
1757
01:18:15,520 --> 01:18:18,180
Two unknown people could
beat each other to death,
1758
01:18:18,280 --> 01:18:21,220
balanced on a girder,
40 stories in the air,
1759
01:18:21,320 --> 01:18:23,820
you wouldn't care unless
you were pulling for one
1760
01:18:23,920 --> 01:18:24,820
or the other.
1761
01:18:24,920 --> 01:18:26,140
- [Interviewer] I think the thing
1762
01:18:26,240 --> 01:18:27,300
that fascinated most people
1763
01:18:27,400 --> 01:18:29,900
about "Bullitt" was that
sensational car chase
1764
01:18:30,000 --> 01:18:31,660
in San Francisco.
1765
01:18:31,760 --> 01:18:34,780
Are you going to try for
anything like that in this film?
1766
01:18:34,880 --> 01:18:37,740
- [John] Well, we hope
to do as well of course.
1767
01:18:37,840 --> 01:18:40,540
It won't be a chase in any sense
1768
01:18:40,640 --> 01:18:43,380
and they will be cars
driven under control as they
1769
01:18:43,480 --> 01:18:44,460
are here in the circuit,
1770
01:18:44,560 --> 01:18:47,900
as opposed to a kind of flat-out stunt.
1771
01:18:48,000 --> 01:18:51,260
It's similar in that there
are cars and there is speed,
1772
01:18:51,360 --> 01:18:53,260
but totally different otherwise.
1773
01:18:53,360 --> 01:18:56,220
(racing car revving)
1774
01:18:56,320 --> 01:18:58,860
- [Natasha] When something
is a passion project,
1775
01:18:58,960 --> 01:19:01,500
logic goes out of the window.
1776
01:19:01,600 --> 01:19:04,020
For McQueen, it stopped
being about creating
1777
01:19:04,120 --> 01:19:07,100
an amazing piece of cinema and it became
1778
01:19:07,200 --> 01:19:08,380
about fulfilling a dream
1779
01:19:08,480 --> 01:19:10,180
and those two are never going to marry,
1780
01:19:10,280 --> 01:19:13,220
even more so when
Sturges left the project.
1781
01:19:13,320 --> 01:19:15,780
- [Samuelson] Steve,
who's production company
1782
01:19:15,880 --> 01:19:17,880
was making the film,
1783
01:19:18,200 --> 01:19:21,140
really didn't know how you make a film,
1784
01:19:21,240 --> 01:19:25,380
how you string a script
together, how you block a scene,
1785
01:19:25,480 --> 01:19:28,660
and I think it must have
been awful for John Sturges.
1786
01:19:28,760 --> 01:19:33,220
Steve was very, very famous
1787
01:19:33,320 --> 01:19:37,500
and also I think in many
ways, out of control.
1788
01:19:37,600 --> 01:19:39,460
- [Christina] I think "Le
Mans" is a cult classic
1789
01:19:39,560 --> 01:19:41,140
because it,
1790
01:19:41,240 --> 01:19:45,700
yes, largely appeals to people
that are really interested
1791
01:19:45,800 --> 01:19:48,460
and passionate about cars and racing,
1792
01:19:48,560 --> 01:19:50,540
but that film kind of speaks
1793
01:19:50,640 --> 01:19:52,980
to a particular style of filmmaking
1794
01:19:53,080 --> 01:19:56,180
which is unique to its moment
1795
01:19:56,280 --> 01:19:58,980
and had this kind of existentialism to it,
1796
01:19:59,080 --> 01:20:00,540
this kind of minimalism,
1797
01:20:00,640 --> 01:20:04,780
this story which was
completely self-contained
1798
01:20:04,880 --> 01:20:09,880
which didn't need the various
complications of traditional,
1799
01:20:10,440 --> 01:20:12,380
classical Hollywood cinema.
1800
01:20:12,480 --> 01:20:13,620
- I felt very strongly
1801
01:20:13,720 --> 01:20:17,960
that racing would be a
great background to a story.
1802
01:20:19,240 --> 01:20:24,180
I believe that Steve felt
racing would be a great film
1803
01:20:24,280 --> 01:20:26,280
with some story around it.
1804
01:20:26,880 --> 01:20:30,620
It may be oversimplifying but
even if it is that simple,
1805
01:20:30,720 --> 01:20:32,100
that's a big difference.
1806
01:20:32,200 --> 01:20:34,620
- Well, I'll go with you that
we concentrate on the race,
1807
01:20:34,720 --> 01:20:38,260
yes, whether anything else
is kept to a minimum or not,
1808
01:20:38,360 --> 01:20:39,620
I don't know.
1809
01:20:39,720 --> 01:20:41,260
- [Samuelson] I don't
think Steve really cared
1810
01:20:41,360 --> 01:20:45,100
about the story and the
love interest and so forth.
1811
01:20:45,200 --> 01:20:48,480
He just wanted to film the definitive,
1812
01:20:49,720 --> 01:20:52,400
really documentary of cars going fast
1813
01:20:53,440 --> 01:20:57,460
and the fiction side of it
was I think a bit shrug.
1814
01:20:57,560 --> 01:20:59,100
- I don't know if
anybody's ever discovered
1815
01:20:59,200 --> 01:21:01,140
the beginnings of a plot.
1816
01:21:01,240 --> 01:21:02,340
(laughs)
1817
01:21:02,440 --> 01:21:04,860
I don't think I ever detected one!
1818
01:21:04,960 --> 01:21:06,580
(chuckles)
1819
01:21:06,680 --> 01:21:08,880
- [Robert] Steve has from the beginning,
1820
01:21:10,280 --> 01:21:15,380
pushed and insisted upon a
reality approach to the picture.
1821
01:21:15,480 --> 01:21:18,180
The real cars that were
really in the race,
1822
01:21:18,280 --> 01:21:19,820
driving at real speed.
1823
01:21:19,920 --> 01:21:23,340
Not trick photography,
not rear projection,
1824
01:21:23,440 --> 01:21:25,380
not on a location that
looks like "Le Mans"
1825
01:21:25,480 --> 01:21:26,220
for a certain time,
1826
01:21:26,320 --> 01:21:28,680
but racing conditions
with the actual machinery.
1827
01:21:30,320 --> 01:21:32,260
- If you look at the script
for "Day of the Champion",
1828
01:21:32,360 --> 01:21:36,700
it's actually quite similar to
"Grand Prix" in certain ways.
1829
01:21:36,800 --> 01:21:38,940
Much more of a traditional narrative
1830
01:21:39,040 --> 01:21:40,420
than "Le Mans" ended up being.
1831
01:21:40,520 --> 01:21:41,300
And like "Grand Prix",
1832
01:21:41,400 --> 01:21:43,860
it follows several drivers
over a whole season.
1833
01:21:43,960 --> 01:21:47,620
There are elements that
were retained for "Le Man".
1834
01:21:47,720 --> 01:21:50,220
He's called Mike Pearce
in the original script,
1835
01:21:50,320 --> 01:21:52,420
Mike Delaney, of course, in "Le Mans".
1836
01:21:52,520 --> 01:21:55,500
But there are still a couple of lines
1837
01:21:55,600 --> 01:21:56,780
in the "Day of the Champion" script
1838
01:21:56,880 --> 01:21:59,900
that end up in the finished
version of "Le Mans".
1839
01:22:00,000 --> 01:22:02,020
- [Christina] McQueen
says in "Le Mans" that...
1840
01:22:02,120 --> 01:22:04,660
- Racing's important
to men who do it well.
1841
01:22:04,760 --> 01:22:06,760
Racing, it's life.
1842
01:22:08,240 --> 01:22:11,080
Anything that happens before
or after, it's just waiting.
1843
01:22:12,200 --> 01:22:13,120
- [Christina] That's actually originally
1844
01:22:13,200 --> 01:22:14,860
from "Day of the Champion".
1845
01:22:14,960 --> 01:22:18,740
- [Martullo] Do you remember
a man called Karl Wallenda,
1846
01:22:18,840 --> 01:22:21,840
the greatest of the high wire walkers?
1847
01:22:24,000 --> 01:22:29,100
After he fell and was broken,
when he went back, he said,
1848
01:22:29,200 --> 01:22:31,400
"To be on the wire is life.
1849
01:22:32,480 --> 01:22:35,420
The rest is waiting".
1850
01:22:35,520 --> 01:22:37,580
This was a wise man, do you know that?
1851
01:22:37,680 --> 01:22:38,820
(hopeful music)
1852
01:22:38,920 --> 01:22:40,920
- [Mike] I hope so...
1853
01:22:41,280 --> 01:22:44,020
- [Martullo] Only those of
us who have been on the wire,
1854
01:22:44,120 --> 01:22:47,100
who have held the wheel, only us.
1855
01:22:47,200 --> 01:22:49,860
No one else, the others, they cannot know
1856
01:22:49,960 --> 01:22:52,940
and it is foolish to try and tell them.
1857
01:22:53,040 --> 01:22:55,040
Never try and tell anybody.
1858
01:22:55,960 --> 01:22:58,580
They know or they can never know.
1859
01:22:58,680 --> 01:23:01,360
(hopeful music)
1860
01:23:06,520 --> 01:23:08,300
- [Narrator] "Day of the
Champion" remains one
1861
01:23:08,400 --> 01:23:12,340
of Hollywood's great "What
Ifs" Fragments of rushes
1862
01:23:12,440 --> 01:23:15,660
and an impoverished
script are all that remain
1863
01:23:15,760 --> 01:23:19,180
of the dream project of one
of the great movie stars
1864
01:23:19,280 --> 01:23:21,280
of the 20th century.
1865
01:23:22,400 --> 01:23:27,420
A contemporary F1 movie has
not been achieved since 1966,
1866
01:23:27,520 --> 01:23:31,480
while the sport grew exponentially
over the next 50 years.
1867
01:23:33,200 --> 01:23:34,420
After "Le Mans",
1868
01:23:34,520 --> 01:23:38,620
McQueen never did hit the
highs of the 60s again.
1869
01:23:38,720 --> 01:23:40,500
He divorced and remarried.
1870
01:23:40,600 --> 01:23:43,180
Then, divorced and remarried.
1871
01:23:43,280 --> 01:23:45,420
His relationships with Sturges
1872
01:23:45,520 --> 01:23:49,320
and Relyea remained strained
for the next decade.
1873
01:23:52,640 --> 01:23:54,300
- I think the best movie stars work
1874
01:23:54,400 --> 01:23:57,060
on variations on a theme,
1875
01:23:57,160 --> 01:23:59,300
in a way, or variations on a persona
1876
01:23:59,400 --> 01:24:00,220
that's always existed.
1877
01:24:00,320 --> 01:24:03,860
And so McQueen feels like Americana,
1878
01:24:03,960 --> 01:24:07,460
I think, to us now and, you know,
1879
01:24:07,560 --> 01:24:08,900
a slightly more old-fashioned,
1880
01:24:09,000 --> 01:24:11,820
traditionalism that I think
people kind of yearn for.
1881
01:24:11,920 --> 01:24:14,580
- Steve McQueen, away from the camera,
1882
01:24:14,680 --> 01:24:17,800
was a very complex
1883
01:24:18,760 --> 01:24:22,220
person with lots of moods,
1884
01:24:22,320 --> 01:24:24,480
lots of swings of those moods,
1885
01:24:25,520 --> 01:24:28,820
one of the most loyal
people I've ever known.
1886
01:24:28,920 --> 01:24:30,920
Very street smart.
1887
01:24:33,320 --> 01:24:36,080
(dramatic music)
1888
01:24:39,240 --> 01:24:42,260
(racing car revving)
1889
01:24:42,360 --> 01:24:47,360
♪ I'm gonna raise a fuss,
I'm gonna raise a holler ♪
1890
01:24:48,320 --> 01:24:53,320
♪ About a-workin' all summer
just to try to earn a dollar ♪
1891
01:24:54,680 --> 01:24:57,940
♪ Every time I call my
baby, try to get a date ♪
1892
01:24:58,040 --> 01:25:01,420
♪ My boss says, "no dice
son, you gotta work late" ♪
1893
01:25:01,520 --> 01:25:04,180
♪ Sometimes I wonder what I'm a-gonna do ♪
1894
01:25:04,280 --> 01:25:08,220
♪ But there ain't no cure
for the summertime blues ♪
1895
01:25:08,320 --> 01:25:09,940
- But more important to Steve
1896
01:25:10,040 --> 01:25:13,220
than anything in the world
would be to be remembered
1897
01:25:13,320 --> 01:25:15,740
as being a good human
being, not a good actor,
1898
01:25:15,840 --> 01:25:18,700
and most of all was
respected by his peers.
1899
01:25:18,800 --> 01:25:20,580
That the other race drivers,
1900
01:25:20,680 --> 01:25:22,220
whether they thought
he was an actor or not,
1901
01:25:22,320 --> 01:25:25,340
thought he could cut it on an even field
1902
01:25:25,440 --> 01:25:29,300
and I think the idea of getting
respect from other people,
1903
01:25:29,400 --> 01:25:31,780
which probably goes all the
way back to Boys Republic,
1904
01:25:31,880 --> 01:25:34,980
was probably what he would
want more than anything else.
1905
01:25:35,080 --> 01:25:36,080
♪ Sometimes I wonder what I'm a-gonna do ♪
1906
01:25:36,160 --> 01:25:40,220
♪ But there ain't no cure
for the summertime blues ♪
1907
01:25:40,320 --> 01:25:45,100
(racing car revving)
(dramatic music)
1908
01:25:45,200 --> 01:25:47,620
- You see the problem here,
man, is you gotta be happy.
1909
01:25:47,720 --> 01:25:48,460
If you're not happy,
1910
01:25:48,560 --> 01:25:50,560
you might as well chuck
the whole business.
1911
01:25:52,680 --> 01:25:55,100
(dramatic music)
1912
01:25:55,200 --> 01:25:57,880
(hopeful music)
144048
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