20th Century-Fox Dynamo (1954)

THE RACER Based on the book by Hans Ruesch, himself one of the world’s famed auto-racing champions, "The Racer” is a tense, headlong drama of the private life of the most reckless and ruthless of that international breed, Gino Borgesa whose creed was to win. . . no matter what the cost. Here is a suspenseful, but fast-moving melodramatic story of the ambitions, frustrations, loves and victories of a dare-devil who lived and thrived by the thrill of death-defying speed. The role of this driver, who rose from an obscure bus driver’s position to become the idolized hero of auto sports car racing addicts, fits Kirk Douglas like the proverbial glove. Not since "The Cham- pion” has he portrayed as hard-hitting, ruthless a character. . . a man who misappropriated a great and beautiful dancer’s glamorous career to achieve on the cinder paths the fame he sought more than anything in life. His Gino Borgesa is a character that knows no mercy. Even the woman who gave her all for him soon was to realize that love to hi m was a passing fancy. . .and no man was more sought by beautiful women than he. He fought hard and un- ceasingly to reach his goal. . . and to stay there once he attained it. But, like many another man who has achieved success, Gino could not live in a vacuum. "The Racer” is a story of mature, sophisticated people, sizzling with hair-raising, death-dealing racing. Director Henry Hathaway, Douglas and others spent months in Europe filming the continent’s great racing events. Romantically involved with the racer is Bella Darvi, the lovely ballerina who halts her career to sponsor the man with whom she has fallen desperately in love. Robert Stack, as the young Frenchman who bids for the love of the dancer. Gilbert Roland as the romantic Dell Oro; Cesar Romero as Europe’s leading racer; Katy Jurado as his philosophical wife, and Lee J. Cobb as the paunchy head of the Burano auto- mobile factory’s stable of drivers, are co-starred. Knowing she is hopelessly in love with him, Nicole gives up dancing, raises enough money by gambling to buy a racing car for the ex-bus driver. . . and goes with him to the start of the Mille Miglia, a torturous one-way ride from Brescia to Rome. Gino’s friends (above) await word of his operation. Recovering from his injury, flush with a suc- cession of victories, Gino, taking needless risks to remain on time, neglects the woman to whom he owes everything. Feeling she is being taken for granted, has no influence over Gino and sickened by his deviation from his former fair means to at- tain victory, Nicole decides to leave him. Feeling she has deserted him for a young Frenchman (Robert Stack), Gino returns to the races, but loses several in a row. He seeks forgetfullness in Paris where one of Gilbert Roland’s ex-girl friends tells him Nicole still loves him. He follows the ballet trail until he meets Nicole, but she tearfully re- fuses to come back, saying the Frenchman loves her and she only wishes she can, in return, make him happy. Two great auto racing drivers, Carlos (Cesar Romero) and Dell Oro (Gilbert Roland) keep an apprehensive watch in the hospital with Nicole (Bella Darvi) and Carlos’ wife, Maria (Katy Jurado). Nicole, who has sacrified her career for Gino, is summoned by the nurse to the surgeon’s office. Thinking she is Gino’s wife, the doctor asks permission to amputate his leg, badly injured in a race. After a long battle with herself and a brief talk with the pain-wracked Gino, she refuses to let the doctor amputate, knowing how much the racer would de- spise her if she did. See scene at left bottom of this page. Page 33A