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Speedway in Films

Sebastian Sojka has uncovered some more (rather obscure) movies that feature speedway or speedway scenes. These would all be worthy additions to our (now rather ancient) Speedway on Screen feature.


Aldri annet enn br�k

This is a 1954 Norwegian film about the life of a family of seven crammed into a two-room apartment in Oslo. Not quite sure where the speedway fits in, just a very short sequence we believe. An online translation of a review comes up with the following interesting comments:

"The little guy in the family is a greedy little bastard who likes to shout."

"Maiken is an egotistical and selfish simpleton, her employer, a psychopathic old dinosaur and her friend Liv is a whore."

Doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs.

Let us know if you've seen the film and can shed any more light on the speedway storyline.

 


Inspektor GAI

A film from the Soviet Union in 1982. That's all we know. Get in touch if you can tell us anything about it.

 


Sakrytyje Sesona (or Zakrytie Sezona)

Another film from the Soviet Union, this time from 1974. There are a couple of conflicting titles, presumably just different attempts to translate the name into English. The name seems to mean 'End of the Season'. The film features a wall of death at one point, but other than that we know nothing about it. More details welcomed if you have them.

 

This article was first published on 10th March 2011


 

  • Ian Harwood:

    "Interesting that this article should come up on this week's page. Only today whilst looking something up about a different form of motorsport altogether I stumbled across a link on Wikipedia to this film described as follows- Money for Speed is a 1933 British film starring John Loder, Ida Lupino, Cyril McLaglen and Moore Marriott. It is centered around the sport of speedway racing, which was at its peak of popularity at the time. It also featured speedway riders Ginger Lees, Lionel van Praag and Frank Varey. It also featured speedway promoter Johnnie Hoskins. Do any copies of this exist? Was it any good?"

  • Chris Stockwell:

    "Regarding Speedway on film/TV. Long Eaton was featured in an episode of BOON, staring Michaal Elphick. The two INVADERS featured both racing and later seen in the background minus their helmets were Paul Fry and Nigel De'ath. The old gents toilets at Station Road which smelt of....(Thank goodness, smelly vision as never been introduced) well those of you male Speedway fans that ever went in them will remember, were once used in an episode of Shine on Harvey Moon. Harvey got beaten up in them, I thnk John Turner offered to have them cleaned up, but was told "No they're fine!!" The Actors really earned their pay that day!! Never did find out how many takes it took!!"

  • David Briggs:

    "I remember a black/white TV advert in the '60s featuring Poole Pirate Alan Kidd racing, then in the pits lighting a Players Weights cigarette with the voiceover saying " 60 miles per hour without brakes, that takes nerve". I was in a cinema in Uppsala, Sweden in '73 when a very similar advert to the Players one was shown on the big screen, I was so surprised that I spoke aloud, "Wow...speedway!!" I don't know who the smoking rider with dirty face was but he made my day. Lastly I remember seeing, I think, an Austrian film on TV late one night that was set around speedway, I think it had English subtitles, but no idea of its title. OK, so I've got this idea for a script..... just need a little fundng."

  • Ivan Blacka:

    "I know that this was not a movie but do you remember when Speedway was on the Eastenders. Ricky was learning to ride and they showed a few lessons he had. That was good publicity."

  • Bert Harkins:

    "Yes, Ivan, East Enders did have Speedway featured and the rider who rode the action sequences for "Ricky", was non other than Troy Pratt, complete with Scott goggles and Poloneck!"

  • Dave Harris:

    "There was a tea time series all about speedway that was filmed at Rye House during the time of Marvyn Cox. I seem to remember Cocker in his chequered leathers ."

  • The programme was King Cinder - but it was filmed a few years before Marvyn started racing for the Rockets.

  • David Thompson:

    "I seem to remember in the late sixties when a storyline of 'Crossroads' (I only watched it because my Gran was living with us at the time....honest) when a touring speedway team stopped at the hotel. There were some good action scenes which I believe were filmed at Wolverhampton. A 'staged' crash in one scene resulted in the stunt rider - Pete Jarman, the Wolves heat leader, - receiving a bad injury that put him out for the rest of the season. I can't believe I've remembered that, how sad."

  • Ross Dow:

    "It has probably been mentioned already but speedway featured in the then popular soap 'Crossrosds' when speedway riders stayed at the Crossroads Motel. There wer some sequences from Wolverhampton with Peter 'Budgie' Vandenberg, 'Speedy' Pete Jarman, Jimmy Bond (shaken - not stirred) and a few others. I seem to recall that someone (Speedy Pete??) broke his leg filming a crash scene."

  • Bernie Davenport:

    "Also speedway featured briefly in the Sweeny, Regan (John Thaw) went to interview a informer at a track one minute of speedway, dont recognise the track. Any ideas?"

  • Steve Brown:

    "In response to Bernie Davenport's query, the track featured in "The Sweeney" was White City, and the riders were Trevor Geer and Paul Gachet."

  • Paul Cartwright:

    "I believe the track on the Sweeney was White City and featured in the episode 'May'. Anyone ever seen the cult film 'Bullfrog Bronco'? There is a short sequence at Hackney Speedway. The film was shot circa 1969/70. The speedway clip is on you tube."

  • Dave Hudson:

    "That Russian Film is called Closure of the Season and was released in 1974, and I've nicked all this blurb below from the speedway fiction website"

    "In the mid-Seventies, when speedway was enjoying a golden age in Britain, the sport reached a peak of popularity in the USSR and it was unsurprising that one of Moscow's biggest movie studios should employ acclaimed writer Andrei Bitov to produce the screenplay for a film set in the world of Russian speedway. 'Closure of the Season' tells the tale of three former schoolmates who have fallen in love with the same girl and who meet each other at the local speedway stadium. The film relates their different stories."

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