Silver Dream Racer (1980)

Interesting facts

• Filmed in: Pinewood Studios

Silver Dream Racer is a 1980 motor-racing film starring British pop star David Essex and Beau Bridges. The film was produced, written and directed by David Wickes.

Production

In the late 1970s director David Wickes had enjoyed a box office success with the feature film version of The Sweeney and he was approached by Tony Williams of the Rank Organisation asking if Wickes had a film he wanted to make. The director had been sent a script about motorbike racing by actor Michael Billington which Wickes said, "needed a re-write, but I liked it because it was about a very human thing — dreaming the impossible dream.

Essex was a pop star who had starred in the hit films That'll Be the Day and Stardust, as well as enjoying a great success playing Che Guevera on stage in the original West End production of Evita. Essex had recently turned down the title role in The Stud but he not only agreed to appear in Silver Dream Racer, he signed on to write the film's score. Essex later called the film "a blast from start to finish.

Wickes, who rewrote the script, said the film nearly was not made because of difficulties sourcing a 500cc racing bike ("all the big manufacturers have their own racing teams and they won't give you the time of day") but they were rescued by "a brilliant Welsh engineering company called Barton Motors" who produced "a great-looking bike that could go respectably fast around a track."

Tuesday Weld had talks about playing the female lead. She eventually took another role, and Cristina Raines, who had been in The Duellists, was cast instead. Beau Bridges was imported from the USA to co-star.

Filming took place in August 1979 at Pinewood Studios and on location. Some scenes were filmed during the 1979 Grand Prix at Silverstone, Northamptonshire. "I think we still hold the record for using 16 Panavision cameras on a single day," said Wickes.

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