1968

INDIANAPOLIS 500

"And Then There Were None"
plus
"Trail and Triumph"
and
"The Winning Spirit"

"And Then There Were None", "Trial and Triumph" and "The Winning Spirit" are three vintage films about the 1968 Indianapolis 500, and all three films are included in beautiful COLOR on a new 65-minute DVD from Rare Sportsfilms! "And Then There Were None" was WFBM Productions' first film on the 500 and is narrated by Tom Carnegie. "Trial and Triumph" by Triangle Productions has more driver interviews and is narrated by Les Keiter. "The Winning Spirit" by Universal Pictures is a shorter film on the behind-the-scenes making of the racing movie "Winning", starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward and has been added as a bonus! Even as they all cover Indy in 1968, each shows completely different footage of the race and the story of the month of May leading up to the spectacular classic on Memorial Day!

The title "And Then There Were None" refers to the fact that of the seven turbine cars that were brought to the 500 in 1968, none finished the race. All seven cars are shown at one time or another in this film, including car #'s 66 and 69 of the Shelby stable driven by Bruce McLaren and Denis Hulme (they were withdrawn before the race). The fatal crash of rookie Mike Spence, who was test driving the STP #30 turbine for Greg Weld, is shown. Spence goes high into the first turn and smashes the wall. The wreck knocks off his helmet and tears off both right side wheels, the front one battering his head. After Parnelli Jones gives up his ride in his 1967 "Pregnant Porpoise" #40, Joe Leonard smashes it into the first turn wall, ending the racing life of one of the most controversial cars in the history of the 500. Four turbines are now out with only the STP #'s 20, 60 and 70 left, but these three are later qualified by Art Pollard, Joe Leonard and Graham Hill respectively, as Leonard takes the pole, Hill is second fastest and Pollard starts 11th. Qualifying day has Jim Philipi interviewing driver Art Pollard and shown qualifying are some of the greatest names in racing: Hill and Leonard, Lloyd Ruby, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Jim McElreath, Jim Hurtubise and Bobby Unser, who qualifies the #3 Rislone special on the outside of the front row. Cars shown that did not make the race are #22 (Bill Cheesbourg), #19 (Sonny Ates), #75 (Ronnie Bucknam), #81 and #88 (Bob Harkey) and #28 (Rick Muther). Other drivers shown are Gary Bettenhausen, Billy Vukovich Jr., Arnie Knepper and Johnny Rutherford.

During the race, Graham Hill is running strong in 4th place when his right front suspension fails and he hits the wall in turn two. Hill's #70 is the first Turbine out of the race! With less than 50 miles left in the race, Carl Williams smashes the turn two wall and slides down the backstretch on fire. He exits the car safely then watches it burn during the yellow. There are only nine laps left when the green is waved for the final time. Leader Joe Leonard in turbine #70 however, is slowing down, coasting to a stop in the first turn grass, as Gurney and Bobby Unser whip around him into the lead! As the leaders come around again, Unser has taken the lead and now Art Pollard in turbine #20 has stopped in the grass in turn three! All of the turbines are out and Unser coasts to victory over the last eight laps!

"Trial and Triumph" provides a different slant on the race. Sponsored by Wynn's, the film follows driver Larry Dickson through practice and qualifications, as he is driving the Wynns #36 Jack Adams Aircraft Special. Lots of nice interviews in this film, especially of Dickson and Mario Andretti, mostly involving the dramatic Dickson-Andretti partnership the last day of qualifications. Others interviewed include Dan Gurney, Denis Hulme and race winner Bobby Unser. Graham Hill in the #70 STP Turbine Wedge is first to qualify and sets a new qualifying record! Later, his STP Turbine teammate Joe Leonard in #60 wins the pole position with a speed of 171.559 MPH. Other drivers shown qualifying include: Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Dan Gurney, Lloyd Ruby and Denis Hulme. In a special Monday qualifying session, Dickson puts his #36 in the field, but he is soon bumped by Jim Hurtubise in the Pepsico-Frito-Lay roadster. Mario Andretti asks Larry to drive his extra car, the #64 Overseas National Airways Special, so Dickson gets in and easily qualifies the car, without ever having driven it before this late-afternoon opportunity! Dickson agrees to turn the driving duties of car #64 over to Andretti during the race if Mario’s car leaves the race first.

Pole-sitter Joe Leonard takes the lead at the start of the race, but even on the first lap, there is trouble for Andretti. He comes in after only 2 laps with a burned piston. After only 16 laps run, Dickson turns #64 over to Mario, who only completes eight more laps before another burned piston ends his run. Sixteen laps later Al Unser hits the first turn wall when the suspension on #24 fails. Brother Bobby Unser has now passed Joe Leonard's turbine #60 to take the lead. Shown in the pits are Denis Hulme, Lloyd Ruby, and Bobby Unser. Ruby is out first and leads laps 57-90 after this first round of pit stops. A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney race wheel to wheel for a stretch of almost 50 miles! But after 200 miles A.J. is out with a blown engine and the defending champion's bid for his 4th Indy win is over for this year. At 110 laps, Graham Hill's crash in turn two is shown, and brings out the second caution. With only 16 laps to go, Joe Leonard still has the #60 Turbine in first place, but on the backstretch, Carl Williams hits the wall, bringing out the final caution. After cleanup, the green comes out with nine laps to go, but Leonard's turbine is slowing and coasting to a stop in turn one, with Bobby Unser now sweeping into the lead! After his big win a happy Bobby Unser explains how he drove the race, and a beaming second-place finisher Dan Gurney is also happy, as his Gurney Eagles finished first, second and fourth, with drivers Gurney, Mel Kenyon, Denis Hulme and Lloyd Ruby finishing in that order behind Unser.

Our third film on this DVD is titled "The Winning Spirit" and is the behind-the-scenes story of the filming of the racing scenes at Indianapolis for the Hollywood feature film "Winning", starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Robert Wagner. Two-time Indy winner Rodger Ward, senior racing consultant for the film, shows and tells how director James Goldstone used special equipment to get realistic racing scenes for the picture. Shots of the special camera cars used at racing speeds as well as examples of the immense undertaking of the project add to the appreciation for the finished film. Other drivers involved in the production included Jim McElreath, Mel Kenyon, A.J. Foyt, Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney and Denis Hulme.

To get your own 65-minute DVD containing all three of these vintage films, send $29.95 + $4.00 shipping.
(Illinois residents must add $2.25 State Sales Tax).