[JasonB]

We have a new section on the website if anyone fancies a look. It may not be directly related to slot cars but I think it's an interesting piece of motor sport and film history.

It was certainly too good an opportunity to turn down. CMOTD, of this very forum came into possesion of a large number of original contact strips from the film "Grand Prix", John Frankenheimer's iconic film about 1960s Formula One.

Well, as it turned out, many of these publicity shots, and behind the scenes photos spruced up quite nicely, so we thought we'd share them.

I've posted a few shots below, but there are many, many more available through the following link...


Grand Prix


                       


                                               

[Gordon Steadman]

I've just sat through that whole thing including the film clips.

Excellent stuff and fascinating with it!

Thanks for posting this.

[JasonB]

Thanks Gordon, very much my pleasure.

It's not often you get access to such a wealth of original, historical material, so it was like finding a hidden treasure trove.

[Scuderia_Turini]

Great stuff, lots of detail in this.
One of my very favourite movies, very well put together and a full storyline.

The multi-screen sequence broe new ground in film-making. The theme music is a magical mix of national anthems.

Love it...

Leo

[Anthony B]

I doff my cap at you Jason.

This is just awesome!! The movie is great, the background very enlightening, and you have put it together exceptionally well.

[JasonB]

Thank you Gents.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed putting this together.

Saul Bass has always been a hero of mine, James Garner was also a big favourite, particularly in the Rockford Files, Francoise Hardy was gorgeous, and Genevieve Page too.

What a film!!!!

[Scuderia_Turini]

Nice one Jason and thank you to Brian.  Is this a SlotRacer exclusive? I didn't find any other sites with the contact strips.  

There have been attempts to make Grand Prix type movies since but the tracks are all so "normalised" that there is not the same opportunity to vary the environment. 

Fabulous stuff !

Leo

[JasonB]

Thanks Leo.

As far as we know this is indeed a SlotRacer exclusive.  

Totally agree about the tracks too. On the one hand you had Nurburgring, Spa, and Charade, huge circuits wandering off into the the forests and around the hillsides. On the other you had Monaco, Watkins Glen, and Brands Hatch which were all quite compact.

We'll never see that sort of variation again.

[CMOTD]

Various photos taken during the filming of the movie have surfaced over the years and there is a long running thread in the Autosport nostalgia forum LINK which contains a lot of them but the set of 300 sheets I provided for Jason is believed to be exclusive to us and the most comprehensive set in private hands. No doubt they will soon be copied and pasted elsewhere though. Of course there are bound to be many more buried in film company vaults somewhere, whether they will ever surface is debatable. I have only put about 5 of the sheets up on the web previously and they were all deleted when Photobucket started playing silly buggers.

Jason has only used a small proportion of the collection so far and may possibly be able to add some more later. There are some really good ones of the machine they used to propel the car over the fence for the Spa crash which would be worthwhile including.

The source of the photos was former racing driver Jim Russell. He was born and lived all his life in Downham Market, 7 miles down the road from me. He set up the very first racing school at Snetterton, was heavily involved in the movie and most of the cars in the film are modified formula junior cars from the school.

He also ran a Mercedes dealership in Downham for many years, it was immediately in front of, and shared dustbins with, the ambulance station where a paramedic friend of mine was based. The whole site was demolished in 2007 to make way for a housing estate (called Russell Gardens) and just prior to that my friend found him having a clear out and about to deposit a large folder of the photos in the bin. He asked if he could have them and Jim was more than happy to pass them on. Knowing my interest in such things my friend gave them to me. I scanned them in order to preserve them as they were already beginning to fade.

I still have the originals and am open to seriously large offers for the collection, apart, of course from the hundreds of photos of Françoise Hardy.

[Gordon Steadman]

I still have the originals and am open to seriously large offers for the collection, apart, of course from the hundreds of photos of Françoise Hardy.

Strange that so many pics should be taken of her rather than the cars!! (What's happened to the smileys? Can't insert them any more)

Ronnie is probably the 'fastest' woman I've ever met.

That could be something to do with the fact that she drove a Lotus 7 with a blueprinted BDA motor though!