a scene in the 1959 version of On the Beach, a futuristic film about atomic war set in 1964.
Everyone is dying from radiation. Near the end, Fred Astaire seals his garage door, climbs into a Ferrari race car, revs the smoky motor and lays back in the seat to die.
1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider, one of 35 and the racing sequences filmed at Riverside Raceway in California and at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
"On the Beach" was based on the novel by the same name written by Nevil Shute. His full name was Nevil Shute Norway and he was a successful aeronautical engineer in Great Britain in the 1930's. After being the chief engineer on the R100 airship program he started Airspeed Ltd which designed and built numerous aircraft. Eventually his engineering career was eclipsed by his work as a novelist.
Shute wrote "A Town Like Alice" which was the basis for a popular miniseries, and many other novels. My favorites include Trustee From The Toolroom, No Highway, Round the Bend, In the Wet, An Old Captivity, and The Seafarers. Many of them have aviation and nautical themes.
His autobiography is "Slide Rule" and includes a detailed account of his work on the R100 airship which was a privately funded venture in competition with a government funded program. The government airship (R101) was a failed design which crashed and burned on its maiden voyage, killing 48 of the 54 aboard.
Shute also developed secret weapons for Britain during WWII.
Some years ago I went through a brief period where I read every Shute book I could get my hands on. He was indeed quite a decent writer, and good with a plot and with a tendency toward likeable characters. I especially would recommend "Trustee From the Toolroom," whose protagonist is a modest machinist on a mission that takes him on a round the world adventure. "No Highway" was also made into a movie with James Stewart, in which an engineer finds himself on a plane with a flaw he has reason to believe will cause it to crash.
I was about 13 when I first read "On the Beach." A lot to chew on!
"On the Beach" was based on the novel by the same name written by Nevil Shute. His full name was Nevil Shute Norway and he was a successful aeronautical engineer in Great Britain in the 1930's. After being the chief engineer on the R100 airship program he started Airspeed Ltd which designed and built numerous aircraft. Eventually his engineering career was eclipsed by his work as a novelist.
ReplyDeleteShute wrote "A Town Like Alice" which was the basis for a popular miniseries, and many other novels. My favorites include Trustee From The Toolroom, No Highway, Round the Bend, In the Wet, An Old Captivity, and The Seafarers. Many of them have aviation and nautical themes.
His autobiography is "Slide Rule" and includes a detailed account of his work on the R100 airship which was a privately funded venture in competition with a government funded program. The government airship (R101) was a failed design which crashed and burned on its maiden voyage, killing 48 of the 54 aboard.
Shute also developed secret weapons for Britain during WWII.
Don in Oregon
wow, thank you!
DeleteSome years ago I went through a brief period where I read every Shute book I could get my hands on. He was indeed quite a decent writer, and good with a plot and with a tendency toward likeable characters. I especially would recommend "Trustee From the Toolroom," whose protagonist is a modest machinist on a mission that takes him on a round the world adventure. "No Highway" was also made into a movie with James Stewart, in which an engineer finds himself on a plane with a flaw he has reason to believe will cause it to crash.
DeleteI was about 13 when I first read "On the Beach." A lot to chew on!