Rare Sports Films

"THE ROADSTER ERA
(And Before)
AT INDIANAPOLIS"
1930's-1965

      A fabulous new Dual-Layer Disk on the Indianapolis 500 is now available to all racing fans from the vast Indianapolis 500 film library of Rare Sportsfilms! Our old 45-minute video, "News From Indy", has not been available for a number of years. But now we have nearly tripled the length of that tape and produced the most extensive collection of rare, black & white Indianapolis newsfilm footage from the 1930's through 1964 ever available on DVD! Here's over two hours of the newsmaking events at the speedway from this 30-year period! Most is footage never seen before, a tremendous 2-hour, 6-minute B & W collection of highlights from the days of the 1930's two-man cars to the end of the roadster era in the mid-1960's! Here is exactly what you'll see on this DVD, in order:

DVD

  • Spectacular early scenes, pre-1938 - To begin Part 1, a brief look back at early scenes of Indianapolis races.
  • 1937 Race (SILENT Film) Wilbur Shaw averages 113 MPH to win his first 500!
  • 1937 Home Movies of the 500, (SILENT FILM) taken from the Paddock! Shows the start, pit work on Billy Winn's Miller, a tire change for eventual winner Wilbur Shaw, Bill Cummings in #16, flagstand, pagoda and cars of Ted Horn and Ralph Hepburn.
  • 1939 Race - Wilbur Shaw wins again, this time in the #2 Boyle Special! Floyd Roberts' fiery crash on the backstretch!
  • 1939 Race - Floyd Roberts crash shown in greater detail. Also Louis Meyer at speed.
  • 1941 Race - The start of the 29th race. Wilbur Shaw crash, Floyd Davis and Mauri Rose in Victory Lane! Good scenes of the pre-race garage fire!
  • 1941 Race - More 1941 - George Robson and Ralph Hepburn in action!
  • 1946 Race - Start of the 30th annual event! Mel Hansen, Sam Hanks, Hepburn, Emil Andres, Frank Wearne and Joie Chitwood on the track! Paul Russo crash!
  • 1947 Race - Start of the race and Shorty Cantlon wreck cleanup. Mauri Rose wins again!
  • 1947 Race - More of the Cantlon wreck plus Jimmy Jackson spin!
  • 1949 Race - Start of the race plus George Lynch crash and great shots of the Duke Nalon Novi wreck! Bill Holland drives Lou Moore's Blue Crown Special into victory lane!
  • 1948 and 1949 - A race edition of Jimmy Powers and his Press Box Favorites with a special Bill Holland feature! 1948 Duane Carter crash! Charlie Van Acker in #4 and Billy Devore in the 6-wheel Pat Clancy Special! Mauri Rose wins again! Then, in 1949, closeups of Bayliss Levrett's #69 and Nalon's #54 Novi before the race. More on the George Lynch wreck, plus Charlie Van Acker's crash! Duke Nalon's fiery crash and Joie Chitwood in action. Mauri Rose shown by his car on the backstretch, out of the race with a broken magneto strap! Bill Holland wins!
  • 1950 Practice - Jimmy Jackson and his #61 Cummins Diesel get ready for 1950!
  • 1950 Race Clip - Johnnie Parsons shown in victory lane with actress Barbara Stanwyck.
  • 1951 - The 35th 500 - Lee Wallard wins first race run in under 4 hours! Duke Nalon with screen star Loretta Young, Johnnie Parsons, Walt Faulkner, Wallard, Freddie Agabashian, and Wilbur Shaw. Cars of Chet Miller, Rodger Ward, Carl Scarborough, Nalon, Parsons, Mauri Rose and George Connor. Shown in action are Faulkner, Jimmie Davies and Johnny McDowell. Chuck Stevenson on fire on the backstretch, and Tony Bettenhausen and Nalon pit stops.
  • 1952 Race - Troy Ruttman becomes youngest winner in Aggie's #98! The Cummins Diesel of Fred Agabashian. Racing are Jack McGrath, Ruttman and Bill Vukovich. Victory Lane with actress Arlene Dahl and owner Agajanian.
  • 1953 Race Preview w/ Harry Wismer - Ruttman, Sam Hanks, Parsons and Paul Russo. · 1953 Race - Bill Vukovich, Fred Agabashian, McGrath, Duane Carter in Hank's Bardahl #3, and Nalon in action. Andy Linden accident cleanup and Gene Hartley crash aftermath. Vuky pit stop and in Victory Lane with wife Esther and screen star Jane Greer.
  • More 1953 - Wreck involving Gene Hartley and Don Freeland. Also Pat Flaherty and Andy Linden crashes.
  • 1954 Race - Jack McGrath, Jimmy Bryan and Paul Russo. McGrath and Bryan pit stops.
  • 1955 Race - Vukovich in his car before the race, Bob Sweikert and McGrath in action. Tragic Vukovich crash shown. Sweikert in Victory Lane with wife Dorie.
  • More 1955 Vukovich wreck - Close ups of his burned out #4 being towed away.
  • 1956 Race Preview - 1956 DeSoto pace car. Shown qualifying are Bob Sweikert, Ruttman, Jim Rathmann and pole-winner Pat Flaherty.
  • 1956 Race - Pat O'Connor and Flaherty at speed. Closeups of Russo's Novi crash. Sweikert's tire trouble. Fire in the old Paddock Press Box! Flaherty with wife Marilyn in Victory Lane with Virginia Mayo is last to win in tee shirt and tennis shoes!
  • More 1956 Race - More DeSoto pace car. Bettenhausen crash, plus two others.
  • 1957 Race - Don Edmunds' McKay Special, Russo's Novi and cars of Pat O'Connor and Jimmy Bryan. Front row drivers Pat O'Connor, Eddie Sachs and Troy Ruttman with screen star Cyd Charisse. Race action shows Ruttman passing O'Connor on the main straightaway, Russo's Novi, Jimmy Bryan and Jim Rathmann. Sam Hanks and wife Alice in Victory Lane!
  • 1958 Race - Actress Shirley MacLaine with Tony Bettenhausen and Johnnie Parsons. A.J. Foyt, Sam Hanks, Jimmy Bryan, Ed Elisian, A.J. Watson, Jim Rathmann and starter Bill Vandewater. Pat O'Connor and his #4 Sumar Special. Huge first lap wreck aftermath. Shown racing are Bettenhausen, Johnny Boyd, Jim Rathmann and Bryan passing George Amick on the main straightaway to go into first place! Jim Rathmann spins in the pits! Bryan's last pit stop helps him win the race!
  • 1958 Race - Spectacular first lap chain-reaction smashup which kills Pat O'Connor is shown.
  • More 1958 (I & E Sportsreel) - First lap wreck shown in greater detail, with slow-motion, etc.
  • 1959 Race Preview - Johnny Boyd, Bobby Grim in #48, Rodger Ward and Johnny Thomson. Shown qualifying are Duane Carter, Eddie Sachs and Jim Rathmann.
  • 1959 Race (from I & E Sportsreel) - Drivers Paul Russo and Tony Bettenhausen. Jimmy Bryan's #6 Belond Special. Eddie Sachs' breathtaking spin in turn one. Mike Magill crashes and is loaded into an ambulance! Rodger Ward is the winner!
  • More 1959 Race - Ward pit stop. More Eddie Sachs spin. Mike Magill wreck shown in greater detail. Also Ray Crawford crash!
  • 1960 Race - Front row is Sachs, Rathmann and Ward. Sensational rookie Jim Hurtubise, actress Jayne Mansfield. Cars of Eddie Johnson and Don Branson. Two fans die, many injured during infield scaffold crash! Dempsey Wilson out with faulty magneto, Eddie Russo crash. Eddie Johnson pit stop. Jim Rathmann finally wins!
  • 1961 Race - A.J. Foyt wins his first 500 in stirring duel with Eddie Sachs! Don Davis' spin on main straightaway starts spectacular five-car pileup!
  • 1962 Race - Cars of Bob Christie and Don Davis. A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones with J.C. Agajanian, Rodger Ward, Bobby Marshman, Len Sutton and Eddie Sachs. Four-car crash on the 18th lap involving Bob Christie, Jack Turner, Chuck Rodee and Allen Crowe is shown. Turner shown being extracted from his wrecked # 45 Bardahl Special.
  • 1963 Race Preview - Ward, Foyt, Jim Clark, the new Lotus Fords, Dan Gurney, Sachs, Parnelli, Hurtubise and the #83 car of Duane Carter. Shown qualifying are Pedro Rodriguez, Clark, Foyt and Parnelli Jones, who grabs the pole for the second year in a row!
  • 1963 Race - Parnelli Jones, Foyt, Ward, Colin Chapman, Jim Clark, Duane Carter, Al Miller and Agajanian. Also the cars of Hurtubise, Carter and Dan Gurney. Bobby Unser's crash.
  • 1964 Race Preview - Foyt, George Bignotti, Hurtubise, Ward, Clark, Chapman, Gurney and Marshman. Shown qualifying are Ward, Gurney, A.J. Foyt and Parnelli.
  • 1964 Race - Short clip of Sachs-MacDonald disaster, narrated by Mel Allen.
  • 1964 Race - Jim Clark and his #6 Lotus Ford. Clark and Marshman each take early leads, but both suffer mechanical failure and fail to finish. Foyt wins his second 500!
  • 1965 Race Preview - Bob Mathouser's unusual car # 87 M/T Challenger Special, which failed to qualify. Rodger Ward, Dan Gurney, Don Branson and Al Miller. Shown qualifying are Parnelli Jones, Jim Clark and pole-winner A.J. Foyt.

To get your own DVD on the Roadster Era, send $44.95 plus $5.00 shipping (Illinois residents must add $4.00 sales tax) to:

"RARE SPORTSFILMS N", 1126 Tennyson Lane, Naperville, IL 60540 (630) 527-8890


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