Le Mans movie storyline. Throngs of race car media, fans and drivers are making their way to Le Mans, France for the annual 24-hour Grand Prix race. One of those attending this year is American driver Michael Delaney, despite his involvement in a horrific crash the previous year which claimed the life of fellow driver, Piero Belgetti. Delaney would admit to himself that the crash is still on his mind.
Belgetti’s widow, Lisa Belgetti, who is also at the race supporting another driver, Claude Aurac, is troubled at this event every time she hears an announcement of an accident on course. The relationship between Delaney and Lisa is cordial but awkward. The media are playing up a rivalry between Delaney, driving for Team Gulf-Porsche, and Erich Stahler, driving for Team Ferrari, although they are friends off the track, as are most of the drivers in the race.
Unknown to Delaney, Ritter, a fellow Porsche driver is thinking of quitting race car driving after this event. As the problems mount just over half way through the race due in part to treacherous road conditions, the drivers, their team, and their personal supporters think all the more about winning the race regardless of what happens in their lives afterward.
Le Mans is a 1971 film depicting a fictional 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race starring Steve McQueen and directed by Lee H. Katzin. It features actual footage captured during the 1970 race held the previous June.
About the Production
Le Mans was filmed on location on the Le Mans circuit between June and November 1970, including during that season’s actual 24 Hours of Le Mans race in mid-June.[3] McQueen had intended to race a Porsche 917 together with Jackie Stewart,[4][5] but the #26 entry was not accepted. Instead, he is depicted as starting the race in the blue #20 Gulf-Porsche 917K driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. The race-leading white #25 Porsche 917 “Long tail” was piloted by Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens, Jr..
The Porsche 908/2 which McQueen had previously co-driven to a second place in the 12 Hours of Sebring was entered in the race by McQueen’s Solar Productions, complete with heavy movie cameras capturing actual racing footage. This #29 camera car, which can be briefly seen in the starting grid covered with a black sheet (at approximately 17:51) and again at just before the 79 minute-mark (at 1:18:42) racing past the starting line, was driven by Porsche’s Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams. It travelled 282 laps, or 3,798 kilometres (2,360 miles) and finished the race in 9th position, but it was not classified as it had not covered the required minimum distance due to the stops to change film reels. It did, however, manage to finish 2nd in the P3.0 class.
Additional footage shot after the race used actual Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512s, in competition liveries. In the crash scenes comparatively expendable technologically obsolete Lola T70 chassis were fitted with replica Porsche and Ferrari bodywork. Though depicted as the factory-backed Scuderia Ferrari team, the 512’s used were borrowed from Belgian Ferrari distributor Jacques Swaters after Enzo Ferrari balked at supplying cars due to the script’s Porsche team victory.
McQueen had wanted to employ Christopher Chapman’s new multi-dynamic image technique in the film, as had been done at his instigation with The Thomas Crown Affair, in which he starred in 1968. Chapman advised against it, much to McQueen’s disappointment; in Chapman’s words, “it was much too big a film, with too many writers; it wouldn’t work that way.”
Steve McQueen and Director John Sturges long worked on the project and originally had the film set up at Warner Bros. as “Day of the Champion”. But with Warner Bros selling the studio to Kinney National Services, Inc., McQueen’s multi picture deal with the studio was cancelled. After securing a deal with Cinema Center Films and National General Pictures the project was reborn “Le Mans”. After a troubled pre-production and partial production Sturges quit the film and the studio took over the project. Lee H. Katzin was brought in to finish the project.
Le Mans (1971)
Directed by: Lee H. Katzin, John Sturges
Starring: Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Fred Haltiner, Luc Merenda, Christopher Waite, Louise Edlind, Angelo Infanti, Jean-Claude Bercq, Michele Scalera
Screenplay by: Harry Kleiner
Production Design by: Phil Abramson
Cinematography by: René Guissart Jr., Robert B. Hauser
Film Editing by: Ghislaine Desjonquères, Donald W. Ernst, John Woodcock
Costume Design by: Phil Abramson, Ray Summers
Music by: Michel Legrand
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: National General Pictures
Release Date: June 23, 1971
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