[TR] The Green Helmet

[Michael Marr]

Did any of our US members catch "The Green Helmet" on Turner Classic Movies
last night?  I had never seen it before - it was kind of fun.  The plot was a
little insipid and some of the acting was pretty poor, but the in-car camera
work, filmed at Sebring, Le Mans and the Mille Miglia was great.  The movie
was made in 1961 and the hero was driving a Jag D-type in the initial scenes,
then a Jag-based special, and also a Birdcage Maserati at Sebring.  The hero's
brother drove a TR3A in one scene and the mechanic (played by Sid James with a
very strange Australian accent) drove a very nice looking Herald convertible.
Not a great movie, but the camera work kept me up until 11:45 pm, well past my
bed-time.  The racing scenes at the Mille Miglia, with cars racing at high
speed through villages with people lining the streets, totally in harm's way,
maybe protected by a couple of straw bales, were eye-opening and quite a
contrast to today's world of Safer Barriers etc.

Sorry for the off-topic post but there were Triumphs involved, and none were
harmed in the course of making the movie!

Michael Marr
1960 TR3A
2000 Jag XK8
Plainfield, IL