In spite of its strange title, "To Please a Lady" of 1950 is one of the best movies ever made about car racing. Many other films have had racing in them, but this is one of the very few specifically about racing with a cast of big stars.
The latter include "Grand Prix" of 1966 with James Garner, which was more about romance and affairs in the rarified and rich atmosphere around the French Grand Prix auto race. "Winning" of 1969 with Paul Newman was more of a melodrama, romance and off-track story. It was set in the glitzy atmosphere of big-time NASCAR racing. "Le Mans" of 1971 starred Steve McQueen. It too had a complex plot with past race tragedies and romance. It lacks more big name stars, but McQueen's real life experience in racing adds to the authenticity of this film. This film also used actual race footage shot with cameras attached to cars.
"To Please a Lady" stars Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck, with a fine supporting cast. It is the grittiest and one of the most realistic race movies. It 's the first to film racing at its actual speed and the first to use a camera fastened to a race car. It has great action on the racetrack, and real views behind the scenes of racing. One sequence shows Gable's race team taking apart, working and reassembling his entire engine. This film also has good scenes of midget racing, which began in the 1930s and is still a sport in America and other countries.
Clark Gable plays Mike Brannan, a World War II hero who has made it big in midget car racing since the war. He's an expert driver who takes the time to walk and study the track for trouble spots before races. He says he will do whatever it takes to win. He has come out on top of scrapes including one in which another driver was killed. Because of his daredevil ways, he soon becomes the enmity of racing fans who boo him. He hopes to one day move up to the big cars, and again race in the Indianapolis 500.
Barbara Stanwyck is Regina Forbes, who writes a famous syndicated column. She can make or break a person at the stroke of a pen. Her column is legitimate and she has a team of researchers and assistants. She digs out scandals and reports on crooked politicians and shady deals and people. Adolph Menjou is Gregg, her manager. He's also her co-writer and a cynic who seems to worry that he may be out of a lucrative career if Regina finds love.
They watch a TV segment on midget car racing and Forbes learns of Brannan's reputation. So, she decides to attend a race. She meets Brannan, and after a racer he was challenging gets killed, she accuses Brannan of murder in her column, and sets out to bring him down. After her scathing columns, racetrack owners and circuits refuse to let Brannan race. He tries all over the country but is rejected. But, the two are attracted to each other and meet again. They have a love-hate relationship at first.
After some time passes, Forbes finds Brannan doing stunt driving in the daredevil Joie (sic) Chitwood Thrill Show. Brannan and Forbes face off, and their renewed acquaintance soon turns into friendship. In time, it starts to blossom into love. But now, Brannan has been saving his money to buy his own car to get back into the big car racing circuit. He has his sights set on winning the Indy 500.
This film pays more attention than any other film to the internal drive that divers have for racing. It never leaves that first love, and doesn't get sidetracked by romance, love trysts or other affairs of the heart. Yet, human elements ride comfortably beside the racing in "To Please a Lady."
The race actually filmed at the end of the movie was the Indy 500 on Memorial Day of 1950. The lineup and announcing by Ted Husing (playing himself) was modified to include Mike Brannan's name. It was Joie Chitwood's last of seven Indy 500s. He finished 5th that year. The announcer has three-time winner Mauri Rose ahead much of the race, and vying with Brannan before the accident toward the end. The real winner that year was Johnnie Parsons. And, because the movie crew was there for filming the last scene, Barbara Stanwyck was in Victory Lane to give Johnnie Parsons the victory kiss.
The segment of daredevil driving with the Joie Chitwood show is a bit of nostalgia. Most people who lived anywhere in America after WWII into the 1980s saw or had a chance to see Chitwood's Thrill Show. I saw Chitwood drive a couple times in the early 1950s, and saw his shows several years in a row. Chitwood was a successful big time racer who gave it up when his thrill show became so popular. For more than 40 years (1945-1980s), Chitwood's show teams toured the U.S., thrilling audiences at county fairgrounds, state fairs, holiday festivals and other events.
Chitwood did some stunt work in Hollywood and on TV. William C. McGaw plays Chitwood in this film. He's probably the man announcing the daredevil show, and whom Regina Forbes talks to afterwards. The precision driving, jumping stunts, speed racing choreography patterns and other thrills truly made Joie Chitwood's "the greatest show on wheels." And, his show inclusion in this movie is an extra bonus that adds historical value to the film.
I've not driven a racecar, but I have driven and walked some racetracks. I walked the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Speedway in 1999.
Some very good quips adorn this film. Here's a favorite. Mike, "If you wanna get in some guy's hair, go find someone else." Regina, "Yeah, but I like being in yours."
The latter include "Grand Prix" of 1966 with James Garner, which was more about romance and affairs in the rarified and rich atmosphere around the French Grand Prix auto race. "Winning" of 1969 with Paul Newman was more of a melodrama, romance and off-track story. It was set in the glitzy atmosphere of big-time NASCAR racing. "Le Mans" of 1971 starred Steve McQueen. It too had a complex plot with past race tragedies and romance. It lacks more big name stars, but McQueen's real life experience in racing adds to the authenticity of this film. This film also used actual race footage shot with cameras attached to cars.
"To Please a Lady" stars Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck, with a fine supporting cast. It is the grittiest and one of the most realistic race movies. It 's the first to film racing at its actual speed and the first to use a camera fastened to a race car. It has great action on the racetrack, and real views behind the scenes of racing. One sequence shows Gable's race team taking apart, working and reassembling his entire engine. This film also has good scenes of midget racing, which began in the 1930s and is still a sport in America and other countries.
Clark Gable plays Mike Brannan, a World War II hero who has made it big in midget car racing since the war. He's an expert driver who takes the time to walk and study the track for trouble spots before races. He says he will do whatever it takes to win. He has come out on top of scrapes including one in which another driver was killed. Because of his daredevil ways, he soon becomes the enmity of racing fans who boo him. He hopes to one day move up to the big cars, and again race in the Indianapolis 500.
Barbara Stanwyck is Regina Forbes, who writes a famous syndicated column. She can make or break a person at the stroke of a pen. Her column is legitimate and she has a team of researchers and assistants. She digs out scandals and reports on crooked politicians and shady deals and people. Adolph Menjou is Gregg, her manager. He's also her co-writer and a cynic who seems to worry that he may be out of a lucrative career if Regina finds love.
They watch a TV segment on midget car racing and Forbes learns of Brannan's reputation. So, she decides to attend a race. She meets Brannan, and after a racer he was challenging gets killed, she accuses Brannan of murder in her column, and sets out to bring him down. After her scathing columns, racetrack owners and circuits refuse to let Brannan race. He tries all over the country but is rejected. But, the two are attracted to each other and meet again. They have a love-hate relationship at first.
After some time passes, Forbes finds Brannan doing stunt driving in the daredevil Joie (sic) Chitwood Thrill Show. Brannan and Forbes face off, and their renewed acquaintance soon turns into friendship. In time, it starts to blossom into love. But now, Brannan has been saving his money to buy his own car to get back into the big car racing circuit. He has his sights set on winning the Indy 500.
This film pays more attention than any other film to the internal drive that divers have for racing. It never leaves that first love, and doesn't get sidetracked by romance, love trysts or other affairs of the heart. Yet, human elements ride comfortably beside the racing in "To Please a Lady."
The race actually filmed at the end of the movie was the Indy 500 on Memorial Day of 1950. The lineup and announcing by Ted Husing (playing himself) was modified to include Mike Brannan's name. It was Joie Chitwood's last of seven Indy 500s. He finished 5th that year. The announcer has three-time winner Mauri Rose ahead much of the race, and vying with Brannan before the accident toward the end. The real winner that year was Johnnie Parsons. And, because the movie crew was there for filming the last scene, Barbara Stanwyck was in Victory Lane to give Johnnie Parsons the victory kiss.
The segment of daredevil driving with the Joie Chitwood show is a bit of nostalgia. Most people who lived anywhere in America after WWII into the 1980s saw or had a chance to see Chitwood's Thrill Show. I saw Chitwood drive a couple times in the early 1950s, and saw his shows several years in a row. Chitwood was a successful big time racer who gave it up when his thrill show became so popular. For more than 40 years (1945-1980s), Chitwood's show teams toured the U.S., thrilling audiences at county fairgrounds, state fairs, holiday festivals and other events.
Chitwood did some stunt work in Hollywood and on TV. William C. McGaw plays Chitwood in this film. He's probably the man announcing the daredevil show, and whom Regina Forbes talks to afterwards. The precision driving, jumping stunts, speed racing choreography patterns and other thrills truly made Joie Chitwood's "the greatest show on wheels." And, his show inclusion in this movie is an extra bonus that adds historical value to the film.
I've not driven a racecar, but I have driven and walked some racetracks. I walked the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Speedway in 1999.
Some very good quips adorn this film. Here's a favorite. Mike, "If you wanna get in some guy's hair, go find someone else." Regina, "Yeah, but I like being in yours."