A race driver must choose between his love for racing and his wife. His buddy's accident will help him to choose, and his loyal ways will get him a new friend - his main rival.A race driver must choose between his love for racing and his wife. His buddy's accident will help him to choose, and his loyal ways will get him a new friend - his main rival.A race driver must choose between his love for racing and his wife. His buddy's accident will help him to choose, and his loyal ways will get him a new friend - his main rival.
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- (uncredited)
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- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRacing sequences filmed at Goodwood, Sussex.
- Quotes
Guido Rosetti: [referring to Wells] He's finished and you know it! He should have packed up two years ago.
'Pic' Dallapiccola: Aye, he's off form. He's in a streak of bad luck. Bad luck, bad roads, bad weather. It's what we all suffer from sooner or later.
Guido Rosetti: You forgot to add something.
'Pic' Dallapiccola: Hm?
Guido Rosetti: Bad nerves.
- Alternate versionsRace for Life (1954) is a shorter cut for USA release, at 69 minutes (65 minutes in the re-release). The director's cut was titled Mask of Dust (1954), and ran at 79 minutes.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood! (1987)
Rather slowly paced but quite exciting story about fading driver Pete Wells (Richard Conte) whose wife Pat wants him to chuck the business before he kills himself. He refuses, even when advised by older team mate Dallapiccola (George Colouris) and being outpaced by the up and coming Rosetti.
Things get even worse after Wells withdraws from a race when Dallapiccola is killed. He is given one more chance but Pat leaves him in disgust. Rosetti is made team leader and is given Wells' car. However, since this is a fifties movie, you know everything will turn out fine.
Richard Conte has just the right world-weary look for a burnt-out driver and he and his wife to some extent reflect the Montand/Eve Marie Saint thread in the other movie mentioned below. With his mad professor hair George Colouris may appear incongruous as a racer but, it should be remembered that, at that time a lot of pre-war drivers were still at the wheel. Fangio won 5 championships in his forties and Luis Fagiola won the 1951 French Grand Prix at the age of 53. In fact it is Alec Mango who seems too mature to play boy-racer Rosetti.
With its limited budget this movie is a pale forerunner of the excellent "Grand Prix" but, there is some superb staged racing mixed with genuine footage of the guys in overalls wrestling with the snarling monsters of cars of the time. No poncy roll bars or traction control. Just put your foot down with your head and shoulders sticking out of the cockpit, power-sliding around bends and corners. A couple of awful, real crashes are featured, and you wonder if the drivers walked away. A museum piece but, if you like huge, fifties racing cars, you'll want to give it a look.
- TondaCoolwal
- Aug 3, 2022
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Racers from Hell
- Filming locations
- Goodwood Motor Circuit, Goodwood, Chichester, West Sussex, England, UK(Location: Opening racing scenes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 19 minutes
- Color