Underplayed Gems

Once Upon a Wheel (1971)

Once Upon a Wheel poster
Directed by
David Winters
Genre
documentary film
Country
United States
Rating
7.3 of 10 from 3 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

Paul Newman hosts this TV documentary about auto racing. It covers the drivers, the cars, the crowd, and the race itself. The film includes interviews with famous racers and celebrity appearances.

informativefast-pacednostalgicobserver-stylehistoricalconversationalearnestretro

What happens

Once Upon a Wheel is a 1971 ABC television documentary on the history of auto racing. It was hosted by Paul Newman and was directed and produced by David Winters. The production house behind it was Winters/Rosen and the project was sponsored by Coca-Cola. It includes interviews with racers Al Unser, Jackie Oliver, Richard Petty, Stirling Moss, Mario Andretti, John Surtees, LeeRoy Yarbrough and others. It also includes celebrity cameos by Kirk Douglas, Stephen Boyd, Dean Martin, Dick Smothers, Pancho Gonzales and more. The documentary is split into four sections: "The Men", "The Machine", "The Spectator" and "The Race". "The Men" is about the motivation and characteristics needed to participate in races. "The Machine" covers the speed needed to service a car during a race, and the history of the automobile. "The Spectator" examines the experiences of a regular spectator, the wives while their husbands are racing, and Newman going from spectator to racer. "The Race" starts with the human nature of the sport, and ends with conversations with champions and the competitions they aim to win. The project was produced by Winters/Rosen. Initially, Newman turned it down because he didn't want to do television, but he accepted once Winters explained his vision. It then became a passion project for Newman, and it marked his first time starring in a television project. Though the film was aired on television in the United States, Newman suggested to Winters to add some footage and release it theatrically internationally. Upon its release, the film generally received good reviews for its directing, pace, photography, music, and human interest stories. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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