Checkpoint (1956)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Ralph Thomas

Writer:

Robin Estridge (writer)

Release Date:

16 January 1957 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

There's a Gun At Your Ribs and Not Enough Gas to Make It to the Next Checkpoint

Plot:

Stanley Baker's character is sent to steal the plans from another company of their racing car designs...

Cast

Anthony Steel	...	Bill Fraser
Odile Versois	...	Francesca
Stanley Baker	...	O'Donovan
James Robertson Justice	...	Warren Ingram
Maurice Denham	...	Ted Thornhill
Michael Medwin	...	Ginger
Paul Muller	...	Petersen
Lee Patterson	...	Johnny Carpenter
Anne Heywood	...	Gabriela
Anthony Oliver	...	Michael
Philip Gilbert	...	Eddie
MacDonald Hobley	...	Commentator
Robert Rietty	...	Frontier Guard
Andreas Malandrinos	...	Night Watchman
Dino Galvani	...	Hotel Hall Porter

Runtime:

USA:86 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

Rank Films Distributors released this film in the USA on a double bill with The Black Tent (1956).

A good film for motor racing enthusiasts

The film uses much footage from the Mille Miglia and although the plot is fairly thin it's worth watching for the amount of original footage of period racing cars. From the cars involved and the date of release it would appear to be the 1955 race, which was won by Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in a Mercedes-Benz 300SLR. The cars used in the 'team' are actually Lagonda versions of the Aston Martin DB3S. Keen observers will note the scenes in the introduction, allegedly set in an Italian car factory, show Sunbeam Rapier bodies on a production line in what would have been Pressed Steel in Coventry. As the Rapier was introduced in 1955 this sets the date. Rootes Group were never slow in offering cars to the British Film Industry for scenes by way of publicity. The sports car bodies shown in part of the scene are obviously made-up replicas with a hint of Porsche. Worth watching if you are a car nut, but the scenery both automotive and geographical outweighs the story.