Good movie, but the wheel to wheel racing in the film was to some extent dramatic license as this film shows. The commentator Raymond Baxter was the BBC's 'Go to' man for many years. Apart from Motor Sport he hosted the science programme Tomorrow's World which was unmissable at a time when Britain had real innovation. Sadly when the producers proposed an episode denigrating the airliner Concorde he walked and the programme was never the same again, becoming an adult Blue Peter.
I have once attented a start of the Storica in pouring rain ... running from one doorframe to the next whilst the racecars were thundering through oldtown alleyways .. fully using up that narrow gap between houses . coming to a halt at sharp corners codrivers in open machines were sometimes greeted with bouquets of roses by spectators 🌷:)
Crack testing was probably not the norm in those days. Though I'd have found the nearest gas welding kit and got welding. Probably out of contention but not out of the race.
Oh, jolly good! We're jauntily motoring in a gentleman's sporting event in which extreme danger is naught but a remote concern except to those lacking pluck! I say, a picnic shall certainly be in order after we arrive at the next village and... "Ahhaaagggg!" SPLAT!
The account that I read about 40 years ago stated that he was either closing closely on the next car or working to stay ahead of the one behind him. In his last pit stop, he chose to continue with only two new tires to save time. I've been down much of the Mille Miglia route in the early 1960s. It was a pretty rough roadway then, in a VW Camper, at about 40 mph. De Portage was supposedly running his Ferrari close to 170 when he left the ground on a bump. One of his rear tires blew and he slid off into the crowd. In those days, road racing was much like WRC now, when came to crowd control... there was none! The result was devastating and was the end for the original Mille Miglia.
I have also read a few reports ... and summing it up there might have been just too many decisions in favour of 'racing' in this particular case .. ignoring damage and wear at over 270 kmh on 1950 alley roads is no minor vice . to me the miracle is how an ego as big got so far anyway
By most accounts though, it was de Portago who wanted to do the race (who wouldn't, if they could?) He was paying Ferrari for his drives, other people thought he was too reckless.
@@MrGaryGG48 The 1961 court case that ended claims against Ferrari found that a damaged cast iron "Cat's Eye" road reflector ripped De Portage's worn but otherwise sound tire and put him off the road and into the crowd. Shown in the 2023 movie.
Very sanitized in the '50's way. Happy music throughout, only a brief mention of De Portago's fatal accident, no mention at all of the ten spectators lives he took with him and certainly NO accident footage. This is what passed for documentary filmmaking in those days?
70Kenny Sort of. Appears to be a sponsored film paid for by Sunbeam; I’ve also seen a film Shell did about Le Mans in 1955 and it had a similar unseemly cheeriness. Commercial promotional films like these would have a budget that got approved in advance - which, to our benefit, means the films actually got made - but their job was to promote the product. If the films were too grim the companies wouldn’t risk distributing them at all, and we’d have nothing now. Bummer, because I wanted to see de Portago getting the famous “kiss of death” before the final leg. Have to admit it wouldn’t have sold any Sunbeams, though.
@@FYMASMD Interesting how you responded to my complaint by complaining about it. I’ll get busy on that more in-depth, historically correct, less redacted and sanitized Mille Miglia documentary right away.
There must be very little on RU-vid that doesn't annoy you then. Music is everywhere. Some of the older film goes without. I feel sorry that it annoys you so much. I really do. Perhaps try and not let it get to you. Best wishes
