This film looks at a successful motor racing season for Vanwall, a car introduced to the racing calendar by Tony Vandervell an ex-racing driver and wealthy industrialist who financed the making of the car in the mid 1950’s. Title: Hepolite Title: Hepworth & Grandage Ltd. present Title: Vanwall Victory Credit: Photography C. H. Wood, F. G. Dewhirst, M. Wood Credit: Sound Recording.. F.Hill Commentary Recording.. United Motion Pictures Ltd. Credit: Film Editing.. C. H. Wood Sound...

This film looks at a successful motor racing season for Vanwall, a car introduced to the racing calendar by Tony Vandervell an ex-racing driver and wealthy industrialist who financed the making of the car in the mid 1950’s. Title: Hepolite Title: Hepworth & Grandage Ltd. present Title: Vanwall Victory Credit: Photography C. H. Wood, F. G. Dewhirst, M. Wood Credit: Sound Recording.. F.Hill Commentary Recording.. United Motion Pictures Ltd. Credit: Film Editing.. C. H. Wood Sound Editing.. M. Wilson A. Hudson Credit: Historical Sketches by Brian de Grineau, Frederic Nevin, George Lane by courtesy of ‘The Motor’ Credit: Commentary by Rodney Walkerley Credit: Produced by C.H. Wood The film opens on a view of high-powered racing cars negotiating a tricky bend at a racing circuit. An advertising hoarding for Avon tyres is the backdrop for car number 22, a Vanwall as it negotiates a bend then races past the camera. From a different part of the track, the film shows number 18, another Vanwall performing well and skilfully driven. The view changes to a country road and the sound of a very different engine. A veteran Rolls Royce made in 1904 makes its way towards the camera and stops just in front of it. The driver gets out and lifts the bonnet exposing the well-maintained engine. The car is made of wood and metal, with the metal, wood and paintwork highly polished. The view changes to a veteran car rally, where a car makes its way through a crowd and is ushered onto an open field. The car carries its maximum number of passengers. Another veteran vehicle makes its way on to the competition field. The commentator reels off the names of several different makes of car appearing at the event, including Daimler, Rover, Humber, Napier, Rolls Royce, Riley and Vauxhall with most still being made in the 1950’s. The crowd watches as the cars parade around the field. The film moves to a sketch of a veteran car travelling at speed, followed by archive film of old cars racing along a street circuit. This is followed by a phantom passenger view, from one of those cars. Another sketch follows of vintage racers negotiating a banked corner, followed by another sketch of a street race and another drawing showing cars emerging from a tunnel. Several other sketches follow showing different makes of racing car. The film then shows flags flying from different countries at a motoring event. Included in the sequence are views of a chequered flag being waved to end a race. The view changes to the factory Tony Vandervell built to develop the Vanwall car. The imposing whitewashed building is named Vandervell Products Ltd. Inside a group of white-coated draughtsmen work at drawing boards, creating detailed drawings of the car’s construction. The film then shows a workman operating a lathe, followed by a view of a finished car. The film then cuts to an exterior view of another factory, that of the Hepolite factory in Bradford which produces specialised metal products. Views follow of metal samples being made and tested on special machines by technicians. A technician studies a metal sample under a microscope, another grinds metal off an engine piston. Another view shows a man handling one of the finished pistons, then three are shown together on display. A mechanic opens boxes which have printed on them, “Hepolite” Quality Pistons. He takes one and starts fitting it to an engine he’s constructing along with a colleague. With the engine completed the car number 18 is rolled out of a garage by three mechanics. Polished to a high shine the car has ‘Vanwall’ written in white paint on the bodywork just ahead of the windscreen. A couple of static views show the car from different angles. On a country road in Europe the Vanwall team transporter vehicles speed past. The year is 1957 and they are heading to the first big meeting of the year in May, the Monaco Grand Prix. The film shows a roadside sign which reads ‘Principaute de Monaco’ A view follows looking across Monte Carlo, where the grand prix will take place. Vanwall number 18 is wheeled out of one of the transporters. Number 18 and number 20 are shown parked next to each other. A sign above the area reads ‘Vanwall – 18 Moss, 20 Brooks’. Other team driver banners are shown; B.R.M. - 5 Flockhart, 8 Salvadori, Connaught - 10 Lewis-Evans, 12 Bueb, Cooper - 14 Brabham, 16 Leston. The film cuts to another team car transporter belonging to rivals Maserati. The team drivers for Maserati are numbers 32 Fangio, 34 Behra, 36 Menditeguy, 38 Schell. The Ferrari drivers are listed as 24 Musso, 26 Collins, 28 Hawthorn, and 30 Trintignant A brief view shows Stirling Moss in conversation with another driver or technician. Mechanics work on a Ferrari car engine, Stirling Moss takes pictures of Mike Hawthorn’s Ferrari with his camera. Moss then tries sitting behind the wheel of the Ferrari as Mike Hawthorn looks on. In a practice run cars speed around the street-based circuit. Stirling Moss in Vanwall number 18 takes a hair pin bend near the harbour. Spectators overlook a bend from their vantage point as the cars speed past. A view follows as the cars negotiate the famous station hairpin bend immediately in front of the railway station. The view changes as the speeding cars go along the promenade. The film then shows the forecourt of a local garage and filling station called ‘Antar Station Service’ Outside the garage entrance mechanics work on the two Vanwalls, which are stripped of their body shells. One of the car is hoisted up on an inspection platform. Tony Vandervell the team boss is there scrutinising the progress of the overhaul; Stirling Moss is in conversation with him. Team manager David York is on hand to give advice. Flags fly on the grandstand that overlooks the Monte Carlo circuit. General views show cars and team members preparing for the race. Film and TV cameramen position themselves to record or televise the race. An open top limousine drives past with passengers Prince Ranier of Monaco and Princess Grace. Car engines start and general views follow of spectators. The cars respond quickly to the starting flag. From various viewpoints along the route cars speed past eager spectators. A high angle view shows the cars speeding past the harbour. Some keen spectators take up precarious positions on the roofs of buildings. General views follow of some of the more tortuous parts of the just under two-mile course, several general views show the cars racing close to the harbour. Views follow of the start of the course as cars begin their second lap with Stirling Moss leading, at lap four Juan Fangio leads the race. Some spectators use binoculars to get a better view of the race, some watch the race from boats in the harbour. A crash on the quayside is getting all the attention from spectators. The film shows the mangled wreckage of two red cars at the side of the road, their drivers, Hawthorn and Collins are out of the race. The green Vanwall of Stirling Moss is also wrecked but fortunately there were no injuries. Stirling Moss walks briskly back to the pits with two Ferrari’s and a Vanwall out of the race. Views show the race continuing along the quayside with Juan Fangio in the lead and likely to win the race, although Tony Brooks in the surviving Vanwall is not far behind. General views follow of spectators alongside the harbour as Fangio leads the race in the 20th lap. General views follow of the race from various viewpoints, and with two laps left, Tony Brooks in the Vanwall still challenges Juan Fangio in first place. The race finishes along the promenade and Juan Fangio wins, with the Vanwall of Tony Brooks second. General views follow of Monte Carlo returning to its traditional role as a holiday resort, as traffic goes along the same roads the grand prix drivers raced along. A phantom passenger view follows from a car travelling near the harbour, which then heads off into road bordered by tree covered mountains. The car heads along high mountain roads. A different view follows from the stern of a boat as it leaves the harbour at Monte Carlo. A plaque with a coat of arms mounted on a concrete pillar reads ‘Dover Harbour Board 1606’ Mechanics push a Vanwall car back into a garage, with the other damaged Vanwall expected later. Mechanics use a measuring device to check on the capacity of the engine cylinders on one of the cars to make sure it qualifies for the next race. The mechanics strip the engine further to do more thorough maintenance. Another mechanic checks the efficiency of the disk brakes; a mechanic replaces a wheel. The film shows the cover of a copy of the R. A. C. [Royal Automobile Club] Motor Sport Year Book & Fixture List for 1957. A finger traces the fixture list laid out in the book. The next race the Vanwall team will be attending is displayed on a notice board outside the Aintree race track. It reads: ‘The Grand Prix d’Europe International Motor Racing Sat.20th July’ The team transport vehicles arrive at the race track and drive through the main entrance, three Vanwall cars will appear at this event. The cars will be driven by Stirling Moss, Tony Brook and Stuart Lewis-Evans. Crowds fill the grandstands and others crowd round the team vehicles to get a good look at cars and with luck see the drivers as well. Mechanics push one of the Vanwalls down a ramp from one of the transporters. The view changes to the pits at the start of the race as mechanics do final checks on the cars. One of another team’s drivers, Mike Hawthorn admires his new crash helmet. Stirling Moss is making sure all the checks are being done on his Vanwall. Views follow of several race officials. A man and a young boy stand on small metal drum containers to get better view over the other spectators. An official holds up a notice board which tells other officials and spectators that there is 2 minutes to go before the beginning of the race. Radio commentators from the BBC check that they are prepared for the start. A team official stands on the top of a Maserati support vehicle, as does a Ferrari official who stands on the roof of one of their team vehicles. Other spectators and those from the fire service take advantage of a higher viewpoint. The crowds wait in anticipation for the start of the race, the notice board held aloft by an official now says that there is one minute to go until the race starts. The starters flag comes down, and a view from the pit lane shows the cars speeding past. General views show the crowded grandstands as announcements on the public address system report on the position of the cars in the race. At the end of the first lap Stirling Moss in a Vanwall is in the lead, Tony Brooks in one of the other Vanwalls is in third position. The cars speed past the grandstands at the start, with the leaders positions unchanged. A mechanic at one of the pits tries to take a photograph of a speeding car. The cars speed along Railway Straight at around 150 miles per hour. Leader boards at the back of one of the grandstands shows the position of the first four cars in the race. Stirling Moss loses the lead after having to stop at the pits for a loose wire to be fixed, he also stops a lap later for another problem. The team manager calls Tony Brooks in the other Vanwall into the pits and Stirling Moss takes over the driving of the car. Moss joins the race in 9th place with Jean Behra in the lead in a Maserati. The injured Tony Brooks will try and drive Moss’s original faltering Vanwall to the finish The film shows Stirling Moss working hard to make up the lost lead. General views show the cars racing hard at various positions on the track. Several retirements are reflected in the name changes on the display boards for the first four places. The leader Jean Behra retires his Maserati with a worn-out clutch. Mike Hawthorn in second place retires with a flat tyre on his Ferrari. Moss passes the other remaining Vanwall to take the lead. The other Vanwall driven by Stuart Lewis-Evans also comes to rest at the side of the track, with a broken throttle linkage. Officials surround his car and they manage to do a repair using wire from one of the hay bales alongside the track. The team manager brings Stirling Moss into the pits for a top up of fuel. Stirling Moss takes a drink himself, then gets back in the car to continue his lead in the race, mechanics push start his car. Roy Salvadori’s Cooper retires in 4th place after gearbox trouble. Stirling Moss stretches out his lead as the excited including his anxious fiancé, look on. Stirling Moss speeds pass the chequered flag to win the race. The first four to finish the race are displayed on boards seen earlier. Moss does a lap of honour and waves at the crowd. The crowds rush forward to see Moss being awarded his prize in front of the grandstand, the driver is surrounded by photographers. A black and white photograph shows Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss at the finish as they both helped to gain the Vanwall team’s victory. A view follows of an article from the Times newspaper, which reports on the historic victory. Other newspaper and magazine headlines follow along with advertisements including one for Hepolite piston manufacturers. A page in the August 1957 edition of the Hepolite Bulletin house magazine shows an article entitled ‘The Realisation of a Dream’ along with a portrait photo of Stirling Moss. Title: Hepolite Credit: A C.H. Wood Production