Checkpoint

Stanley Baker has been sent by automotive financier John Robertson Justice to get an Italian racecar engineer to work for Justice. He refuses, so Baker steals automotive plans.... blowing up the plant and causing the deaths of several people, including five policemen. The authorities want him and have his picture posted. Justice feels responsible, so he arranges to get him out of the country as the co-driver of Anthony Steel's car on a Florence to Locarno run. Baker intends to leave no witnesses, including Steel.

It's a chance to look at beautiful people and beautiful cars. The race, which begins in the final third of the movie, is shot half on location and half in Pinewood Studios with some obvious back projection. Ralph Thomas directs for speed and excitement and the result is very watchable.... even more so if you enjoy handsome cars.

This is a great opportunity for car lovers to watch some beauties meandering the roads of Locarno, Florence and the Northern Italian lakes using some stunning actuality footage from the Mille Miglia. Aside from that, its a rather far-fetched crime caper that sees Stanley Baker sent to an Italian car designer to try and persuade him to come and work for James Robertson Justice's British outfit. It all goes murderously wrong, and a convoluted scheme has to be devised to get him back home involving "Bill" (Anthony Steel), butch drunkard "Johnny" (Lee Patterson) and the rather glamorous "Francesca" (Odile Versois). It's probably more notable for being one of the few roles with JRJ appearing as a baddie, but Baker is his usually hammy self and the dialogue lurches along towards a really rather predictable, if good to watch, ending. One for car enthusiasts only sorry...

This film was produced in colour in 1956 at a time when Britain was just emerging from post-war austerity and pleasant motoring trips to the continent were becoming a possibility for the British middle class. The film was made on location and Ralph Thomas the director is clearly anxious to show off the delights of Florence and the Italian lakes. In fact the whole thing is like a Peter Stuyvesant cigarette commercial. It includes a great deal of motor racing from an era when 160 mph racing cars were raced on public roads with huge crowds lining the routes and minimal safety considerations (fits in with the ciggies I guess). The plot is pretty mechanical, the acting, except for Stanley Baker, who was incapable of a bad performance, is pretty routine and the script merely servicable. I have to confess to liking James Robertson Justice, the overbearing boss from central casting, but actually the cars (Aston-Martins) had the meatiest roles. The participation of Aston Martin no doubt accounts for O'Donovan trying to burn some DB3 bodyshells in the opening sequences. Well, it was all a great excuse for some jaded Rank and Aston-Martin employees to catch some Italian sun and one can only hope they enjoyed themselves.

I taped Checkpoint when Channel 4 screened it one afternoon earlier this year (2006) and quite enjoyed it.

A man, O'Donovan breaks into a car factory to steal some plans for new models of racing cars to ensure his company wins the forthcoming race. But things go wrong and gets spotted resulting in him killing a security guard and several coppers who were sent to see what was going on at the factory after an alarm was triggered. The factory then catches fire. Later, O'Donovan enters the race himself and threatens his driver with a gun and both end up in a cliff hanging position, literally...

This movie contains some great Italian scenery and nice to see some classic cars too.

A great cast: Stanley Baker (Zulu) as O'Donovan, James Robertson Justice (Mobey Dick, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Anthony Steel, Maurice Denham, Odile Versois, Michael Medwin and Anne Heywood.

Watch out for Checkpoint in TV listings, doesn't seem to have been released on video or DVD anywhere. A treat.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

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.