Le Mans 1952

I'm not sure we needed quite such intrusive music to accompany the start of the narration here, but with some insightful in-car and helicopter footage around the Tertre Rouge, Mulsanne and Arnage we take a quick tour of the 8½ miles circuit. Then we are off for the official, and meticulous, inspection of the cars before the race can get under way. It's not just the drivers who've descended on the place, but the bistros and bars are packed with fans eager for the race to start. Italy, Britain, Germany, France and the USA are amongst those represented. Gardini, Talbot, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar and Mercedes are all here too with the likes of Stirling Moss, Darnell, Simon, Thomson, Lang, Reiss, Ascari, 'Levegh' and even a youngster in a pedal car taking the wheel as the 20th race gets underway for the 57 cars taking part. They're off to the sound of roaring and revving engines that remind you of WWI aircraft as brakes squeal round the tight bends. A couple of well placed fixed cameras manage to capture a good deal of the action, albeit statically, and they enable us to follow the race quite effectively. Bustling crowd noises go hand in hand with this quite excitingly narrated report as the cars have around 2000 miles to go in just short of 24hrs hours at speeds of over 107 mph. As cars lose their places, there's the risk of a near miss or two and engines are already starting to overheat. Desolate looks ensue... With only two hours gone, some famous names are already watching from the bar then night falls and the race starts to separate the wheat from the chaff as the engines start to give up and the track starts to make it's presence felt as dawn breaks in a veil of thick fog. Hectic pit work keeps thing competitive as the race heads to it's exciting climax... It's standard Shell Film Unit stuff with their cumulative photographic and audio expertise delivering a compelling package of race highlights peppered with some local flavour and plenty of jeopardy. If you are into your archive motor sport, then this is a must. If not, then it's still entertaining giving a feeling that this is a day out for everyone - petrolhead or not.