1950-1959 – Formula 1 (Vol 5)

1953 Formula 1 Season  (b&w – 6 min)
A brief recap of the 1953 season.

1953 Swiss Grand Prix  (color – 8 min)
Stunning, original color film reviewing the 1953 Swiss Grand Prix at Berne.

1954 Formula 1 Season Review  (b&w – 60 min)
A tremendous film produced by Mercedes-Benz titled “Pioneers Of Progress”. Mercedes-Benz returned to
Formula 1 racing for the first time since WWII. There were only 9 races on the F1 schedule in 1954, and
Mercedes chose the 4th race of the season, the French Grand Prix, to mark their return. Juan Manuel Fangio
drove for Maserati, but switched to Mercedes for the French Grand Prix. It proved to be a magical combination,
as Fangio went on to win 4 of the last 6 races of the year.

1955 Belgian Grand Prix  (b&w – 29 min)
There were only 7 races on the 1955 Formula 1 schedule, so every race was crucial for the points
championship. This very clear b&w 29-minute film covers round 4 from the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
It was a sad event as just a couple weeks earlier, Alberto Ascari (Lancia) had been killed during testing at
Monza driving a sports car. The Lancia team was sold, and the new owner had no desire to continue Formula 1
racing. The manufacturers on the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix consisted of Mercedes, Ferrari, Maserati, and
a sole Vanwall (Mike Hawthorn). While Lancia was officially out of racing, Eugenio Castelotti managed to
convince them to allow him to drive one of their D50’s, and surprised everyone by putting the lone Lancia on
pole. In the race, Juan-Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss dominated in their Mercedes W196’s and easily won by
over 90 seconds, their nearest competitors driving Ferraris. A very clear film, and great to see Spa in all its glory
when it was still just a country road.

1956 Monaco Grand Prix (b&w – 6 min)
Juan-Manuel Fangio is on pole yet again, but the win would go to Stirling Moss and his Maserati 250F. Lots of
great action in this one. Fangio actually switched cars during the race, taking over his teammate Peter Collins’
Lancia-Ferrari after Fangio had an accident that damaged his own car. Fangio closed quickly on Moss, but could
not catch him in time, and second place would be shared by Fangio and Collins.

1959 Portuguese Grand Prix (color – 6 min)
From Lisbon’s Monsanto Park, the Cooper-Climax were strong, with Stirling Moss taking the win followed by
Masten Gregory. An serious accident occurred when Jack Brabham, running in second place in his
Cooper-Climax, swerved to avoid a lapped car. Brabham struck a telegraph pole, his car was thrown back on to
the track, and Brabham was ejected from the cockpit. Brabham would be ok, but he was narrowly missed by the
third place car of Masten Gregory (the crash is not shown in this film). This footage is very clear and in color.

1959 Italian Grand Prix (b&w – 4 min)
Short highlight reel of the Italian Grand Prix from Monza. Stirling Moss would take the win in his Cooper-Climax,
followed by Phil Hill (Ferrari) and Jack Brabham (Cooper-Climax), and Dan Gurney (Ferrari). Also in this race
were Carroll Shelby (Aston Martin) and Bruce McLaren (Cooper-Climax).