40 Fun Facts About Grand Prix (1966 Film)

Which Hollywood star rejected a role in Grand Prix and later made his own racing film, Le Mans?

Steve McQueen had planned a competing picture called Day of the Champion, but its troubles pushed his racing film back to 1971.

What did the Grand Prix film crew build to hurl real cars through the air for its crash scenes?

A hydrogen cannon worked like a pea shooter, director John Frankenheimer said. It flung real cars at up to 135 miles an hour, and no models were used.

Which Italian team first resisted Grand Prix, then let its director shoot inside the factory?

Ferrari feared the film would sensationalize its work, until John Frankenheimer sent its management about thirty minutes of early footage.

Which star of Akira Kurosawa's samurai films made his Hollywood debut as a team owner in Grand Prix?

Toshiro Mifune made 16 films with Kurosawa, among them Rashomon and Seven Samurai, before he turned to roles abroad.

Most racing cars in the 1966 film Grand Prix were mock-ups built from cars of which junior class?

Formula Three cars were dressed up to pass for the real thing. James Garner's had a taller roll bar and no seat, because he was too tall to fit.

In the film Grand Prix, American driver Pete Aron signs with which fictional Japanese racing team?

Yamura Motors is a newcomer to the sport, and Aron joins it hoping to shake off his reputation as a reckless, second-tier driver.

Which future Arrested Development star plays Pat, a British driver's unhappy wife, in Grand Prix?

Jessica Walter had made her film debut only two years earlier, in Lilith, and decades later became the scheming Lucille Bluth.

The title sequence of the film Grand Prix builds up to the season's opening race in which location?

Monte Carlo is also where a camera car lapped during the real race weekend, driven by a former World Champion.

Grand Prix (1966) won Oscars for sound, sound effects and which other craft?

Film Editing completed a clean sweep. Grand Prix won all three Oscars it was nominated for, one of six films with multiple wins that night.

What career milestone did Grand Prix (1966) mark for director John Frankenheimer?

First color film for him, and a personal one too. John Frankenheimer had been an amateur race car driver himself and took on the project with real enthusiasm.

Which On the Waterfront Oscar winner plays Louise, lover of a married champion, in Grand Prix?

Eva Marie Saint joined a week into filming, after the actress first cast as the female lead was replaced.

Which French star, discovered by Édith Piaf, plays veteran champion Jean-Pierre Sarti in Grand Prix?

Yves Montand was born Ivo Livi in Tuscany. On the Grand Prix shoot he struggled with even basic driving skills.

Which English actor, later the voice of Disney's Robin Hood, plays Scott Stoddard in Grand Prix?

Brian Bedford could not drive at all, so he sat in the car only for close-ups. The production's driving instructor called his case hopeless.

Which actor, Bond villain Largo in Thunderball, plays team manager Agostino Manetta in Grand Prix?

Adolfo Celi had made Thunderball only a year earlier. He later spoofed that villain in the comedy OK Connery.

Which French pop singer was cast in Grand Prix after its director spotted her leaving a London club?

Françoise Hardy had no interest in an acting career, but she took the part of Lisa because it was well paid.

Which Sicilian-born newcomer had his breakout role as hotshot driver Nino Barlini in Grand Prix?

Antonio Sabàto had made his film debut that same year. He later acted opposite his son, Antonio Jr., on The Bold and the Beautiful.

The Japanese team owner's dialogue in Grand Prix was dubbed by which prolific American voice actor?

Paul Frees, the voice of Boris Badenov and of the Ghost Host in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, is credited as the character's voice.

Which Swedish star of Ingmar Bergman films was replaced as female lead of Grand Prix after one week?

Harriet Andersson left after the first week of filming, and an American Oscar winner took over the role of Louise.

Which French actress, later in Belle de Jour, plays Jean-Pierre Sarti's wife Monique in Grand Prix?

Geneviève Page had already starred opposite Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren in the epic El Cid.

Louise Frederickson, who falls for a married driver in the 1966 film Grand Prix, works as what?

Magazine writer Louise is an American who starts out with little interest in motorsports.

The white cars of the Japanese team in Grand Prix were styled after which real carmaker's racers?

Honda had made history a year before the film, when its RA272 became the first Japanese car to win a Formula One race.

Which Le Mans-winning sports car was modified into a camera car to film Grand Prix racing at speed?

Ford GT40 speed let the cameras keep pace with the racers, in some of the earliest driver's-eye filming the sport had seen.

Which five-time World Champion of the 1950s makes a cameo appearance in the 1966 film Grand Prix?

Juan Manuel Fangio's five titles stood as the record for 46 years. Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt and Jack Brabham make cameos too.

Which Scottish driver, face hidden by a balaclava, drove as Scott Stoddard in the film Grand Prix?

Jackie Stewart did the driving because the actor could not, and the character's helmet copied his so that the footage would match.

Which 1961 World Champion drove camera cars during real 1966 races to shoot footage for Grand Prix?

Phil Hill carried the cameras through sessions at two real Grands Prix that season, and also advised the production on racing.

Which new team painted its car white with a green stripe to play the Japanese cars in Grand Prix?

McLaren was short of money in its first Formula One season, so it made a deal with the filmmakers and raced in the movie team's colours.

Which American racer, a technical consultant on Grand Prix, trained James Garner to drive its cars?

Bob Bondurant took the cast out in a two-seat racing car at speed. Every actor came back frightened except Garner, who returned laughing.

Jean-Pierre Sarti's helmet in Grand Prix copied the design worn by which 1964 World Champion?

John Surtees won that title with the same Italian team Sarti drives for, then walked out on it midway through the 1966 season.

Which Italian driver suggested a harbour crash spot for Grand Prix, then crashed fatally there a year later?

Lorenzo Bandini helped the production through the 1966 season, and rookie Nino Barlini wears his helmet design in the film.

Which American racer, an adviser on the film Grand Prix, appears uncredited as driver John Hogarth?

Richie Ginther suited the part of a driver for the Japanese team. A year earlier he had given a real Japanese carmaker its first Formula One win.

The film Grand Prix reaches its climax at which Italian circuit, shown with its old banked curves?

Monza had already dropped its bumpy concrete banking from Formula One racing, so the film gave that stretch of track one last appearance.

Which Lawrence of Arabia composer wrote the music for John Frankenheimer's 1966 film Grand Prix?

Maurice Jarre had already scored The Train for the same director, and in between the two he won his second Oscar for Doctor Zhivago.

What is race winner Pete Aron doing as the 1966 film Grand Prix comes to an end?

Walking the track alone, Aron has little to celebrate. The death of a rival during the race takes its toll on the victory party.

Which designer of the Psycho titles created the split-screen montages and credits of Grand Prix?

Saul Bass was credited as visual consultant for the film's montages as well as its titles, so his multiple split screens run through the racing scenes too.

The 1966 film Grand Prix premiered in 70mm on the giant curved screens of which widescreen format?

Cinerama theatres showed it as a reserved-seat roadshow attraction, the big-event style of release of its day.

Scott Stoddard struggles in Grand Prix to match the racing legacy of which late relative?

His brother casts a long shadow over Stoddard, who is also recovering from a bad crash and living with recurring pain.

After Jean-Pierre Sarti's fatal crash in Grand Prix, what happens to his teammate Nino Barlini?

He is flagged off the course by team leader Manetta in recognition of Sarti. That leaves Aron and Stoddard to fight it out to the line.

Jeff Jordan's team, where Pete Aron starts the season in Grand Prix, uses which real British marque?

BRM gave the film more than a name. Real footage of one of its drivers at work was cut in for the scenes of Scott Stoddard racing.

A sudden torrential downpour at which country's real 1966 race was captured on film for Grand Prix?

Belgium's race at Spa-Francorchamps saw its field decimated by the weather in the early laps, and the aftermath of several incidents made it into the film.

John Frankenheimer had to give 27 reels of Grand Prix footage to a rival film tied to which track?

Nürburgring had an exclusive contract with a competing racing picture, so the German circuit is only mentioned in Grand Prix and never shown.