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Stars Behind the Wheel

The bond between the silver screen and the world of racing goes back a long way. The twentieth century celebrated the “beauty of speed” and, from the Futurists onwards, the thrill of racing only increased as the decades went by. What better than cinema, the art of the moving image, could convey the dynamism of motor racing? From the 1950s and 1960s, when the economic boom made cars ubiquitous, car journeys became a staple in films, with seaside holidays, racing along the motorway, and nail-biting car chases. In some cases, also Formula 1 races, which started up in the 1950s, came to the fore in feature films, such as the 1955 film The Racers, which arrived in Italy under the title “Destino sull’asfalto”. It was shot during tests for the 1954 Belgian Grand Prix, with the Swiss Toulo de Graffenried taking part as a stunt double for Kirk Douglas in a Maserati A6GCM fitted out as a camera car. Also in Italy, in 1951, Gianni Franciolini shot a melodrama film on the Monza circuit, called Last Meeting, of which we have some backstage shots in our Historical Archive, showing Jean-Pierre Aumont, Amedeo Nazzari and a young Alida Valli, back in Italy after her time in Hollywood. The screenplay, to which Alberto Moravia contributed, was based on the novel La biondina (1893) by Marco Praga. The actors included some illustrious names from the world of car racing, such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Nino Farina, Consalvo Sanesi and Felice Bonetto, who all played themselves, and, as a brief piece in Pirelli magazine recalled, Pirelli mechanics and tyres could be seen everywhere “as modest but indispensable… extras”.

During those same years, rallying also entered the world of cinema, this time not on the big screen but by organising a car race that, from 1954, saw the most famous Italian actors at the wheel, in pairs. Mike Bongiorno, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Renato Rascel and Eleonora Ruffo, to name but a few. Over the years, many competed to be the first to reach the chequered flag in a stage race, often having to get the better of fans who would do anything to get an autograph from their movie idols. Our Historical Archive contains precious photographic documentation of the 1957 race, showing the actors Roberto Risso and Magali Noël, the future “Gradisca” in Fellini’s Amarcord, with their Fiat TV no. 2. We also see the actress Marisa Allasio, fresh from her great success in Poveri ma belli and Belle ma povere by Dino Risi, appear next to a Pirelli Technical Assistance vehicle. Later that year it was none other than Marisa Allasio who – with Nunzio Filogamo and Fiorella Mari – presented the Sanremo Festival, before definitively abandoning the stage in 1958. But she remained forever in the hearts of Italians, together with the other great actresses – and great actors – who have lit up the firmament of the “seventh art”.

The bond between the silver screen and the world of racing goes back a long way. The twentieth century celebrated the “beauty of speed” and, from the Futurists onwards, the thrill of racing only increased as the decades went by. What better than cinema, the art of the moving image, could convey the dynamism of motor racing? From the 1950s and 1960s, when the economic boom made cars ubiquitous, car journeys became a staple in films, with seaside holidays, racing along the motorway, and nail-biting car chases. In some cases, also Formula 1 races, which started up in the 1950s, came to the fore in feature films, such as the 1955 film The Racers, which arrived in Italy under the title “Destino sull’asfalto”. It was shot during tests for the 1954 Belgian Grand Prix, with the Swiss Toulo de Graffenried taking part as a stunt double for Kirk Douglas in a Maserati A6GCM fitted out as a camera car. Also in Italy, in 1951, Gianni Franciolini shot a melodrama film on the Monza circuit, called Last Meeting, of which we have some backstage shots in our Historical Archive, showing Jean-Pierre Aumont, Amedeo Nazzari and a young Alida Valli, back in Italy after her time in Hollywood. The screenplay, to which Alberto Moravia contributed, was based on the novel La biondina (1893) by Marco Praga. The actors included some illustrious names from the world of car racing, such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Nino Farina, Consalvo Sanesi and Felice Bonetto, who all played themselves, and, as a brief piece in Pirelli magazine recalled, Pirelli mechanics and tyres could be seen everywhere “as modest but indispensable… extras”.

During those same years, rallying also entered the world of cinema, this time not on the big screen but by organising a car race that, from 1954, saw the most famous Italian actors at the wheel, in pairs. Mike Bongiorno, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Renato Rascel and Eleonora Ruffo, to name but a few. Over the years, many competed to be the first to reach the chequered flag in a stage race, often having to get the better of fans who would do anything to get an autograph from their movie idols. Our Historical Archive contains precious photographic documentation of the 1957 race, showing the actors Roberto Risso and Magali Noël, the future “Gradisca” in Fellini’s Amarcord, with their Fiat TV no. 2. We also see the actress Marisa Allasio, fresh from her great success in Poveri ma belli and Belle ma povere by Dino Risi, appear next to a Pirelli Technical Assistance vehicle. Later that year it was none other than Marisa Allasio who – with Nunzio Filogamo and Fiorella Mari – presented the Sanremo Festival, before definitively abandoning the stage in 1958. But she remained forever in the hearts of Italians, together with the other great actresses – and great actors – who have lit up the firmament of the “seventh art”.