Follows the professional and personal life of race car driver Gino Borgesa (Douglas), as he struggles on the track and in his love life.Follows the professional and personal life of race car driver Gino Borgesa (Douglas), as he struggles on the track and in his love life.Follows the professional and personal life of race car driver Gino Borgesa (Douglas), as he struggles on the track and in his love life.
- Mechanic
- (uncredited)
- Janka
- (uncredited)
- Doorman
- (uncredited)
- Intern
- (uncredited)
- Race Official
- (uncredited)
- Gatti
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThird and final of Bella Darvi's Hollywood films, after which she continued her career in Europe.
- GoofsOn the starting grid at the Nurburgring, one of the drivers looks to his left and waves at someone in the pits. The Pit area at the Nurburgring is on drivers' right.
- Quotes
Opening Narrator: The playground of the world, Monte Carlo, is calling. The city of white villas, of sand and sea and gambling. This is how it looks once a year when even the roulette wheel seems to spin more slowly. This is how it looked on a Spring afternoon in the early fifties, the day before the annual race through its winding streets. As in every great sport, motor racing has its traditions and its heroes. As in bullfighting, the presence of death gives a special intensity to their lives. For these are the gods of the road, adored by millions, masters of a skill which approaches an art. Representing the great motor factories of England and the Continent, backed by an organisation of technical experts, they're the drivers of cars which are jewels of engineering perfection. But not all drivers are champions or part of the wealthy factory teams; others, with their secondhand cars and their unpaid helpers are poor - in everything but dreams of victory.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 66th Annual Academy Awards (1994)
Kirk Douglas is an Italian bus driver obsessed with the desire to win the Grand Prix de Napoli with his home-built car, competing against some of the best drivers, best engines and best engineers...
It is a race of genius over machinery... Douglas has thought out each turn of the wheel, each acceleration of the pedal, each pass to perfection... From there his ambition takes no limit and his perseverance to win by ways of antagonism from fellow drivers and estrangement from the woman who loves him...
Lively directed by Hathaway and beautifully photographed in Technicolor, "The Racers" is a revival of all five senses... The atmosphere of the circuits is electric... The energy and sheer excitement from the roar of the engines and the screams of the crowds are feelings that only the CinemaScope can produce... Whether or not your favorite hero takes the checkered flag, you stand up and cheer the winner across the finish line...
But like many another films dealing with sport, "The Racers" suffers from a banal story and questionable characterizations... It tries to increase its appeal to women audience by having its attractive heroine, a ballet dancer (Bella Darvi) one interested in high fashion... In this way female viewers glimpse the flashes of color of fashion salons in addition to scenic shots of the French Riviera, Paris, Rome, and the authentic locations of the acclaimed auto racing sites...
Not only do you get the insight of a lifetime of champions (two of whom are played by Gilbert Roland and Cesar Romero) but you share many racing experiences with Lee J. Cobb who shows great aptitude as the racing manager... But again, it is the story - a routine melodrama totally unmemorable but impersonally efficient - that hangs heavy...
For those interested in sports car, speedways' drivers, and the celebrated runways of Europe, "The Racers" remains a film worth watching...
- Nazi_Fighter_David
- Oct 8, 2000
Details
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1