Crash Drive ** (1959, Dermot Walsh, Wendy Williams, Ian Fleming, Anton Rodgers, Grace Arnold, Ann Sears) – Classic Movie Review 12,189

Director Max Varnel’s 1959 British racing car film Crash Drive stars Dermot Walsh as an international racing driver who is confined to a wheelchair and severely depressed after being paralysed from the waist down in a crash in this Danziger Brothers’ support drama from the late Fifties.

His separated wife Ann (Wendy Williams) returns to support him and try to cure him of his despair, and he gains further comfort from a fellow patient, dancer Tomson (Anton Rodgers).

A good cast and a clever little story partly written by The Avengers producer Brian Clemens add up to an involving little item that is a bit tentative and underpowered here but could easily have been developed into a successful major movie.

Back in the day voted the world’s most famous artist in a poll the UK, Rolf Harris enjoys an early minor support role as Bart.

The cast are Dermot Walsh as Paul Dixon, Wendy Williams as Ann Dixon, Ian Fleming as Dr. Marshall, Anton Rodgers as Tomson, Grace Arnold as Mrs Dixon, Ann Sears as Nurse Phillips, George Roderick as Manotti, Garard Green as Forbes, Geoffrey Hibbert as Henry, Rolf Harris, Geoffrey Hibbert, Garard Green, Hal Osmond, Diana Daneman, Hazel Wright, Victor Maring, Malcolm Ranson, and Russell Cardon as boy pushing wheelchair.

Crash Drive is directed by Max Varnel, runs 65 minutes, is made by Danziger Productions, is released by United Artists, is written by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard, is shot in black and white by Jimmy Wilson, is produced by Edward J Danziger and Harry Lee Danziger, is scored by Albert Elms (composer stock music), and designed by Norman G Arnold.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,189

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