When I saw this photograph, I have to confess the eyes were immediately drawn to my heart-throb from the ‘60s, Julie Christie. We see her here in 1962 posing with her co-star of the film ‘The Fast Lady’ – a 1927 Bentley 4.5 litre Red Label Speed short chassis speed model with Vanden Plas fabric body, painted of course in British Racing Green.
Julie Christie rose to fame with her performances in such films as Doctor Zhivago, Darling and Far from The Madding Crowd and the Bentley also enjoyed fame. The film company had bought the car for filming, and at the wrap party offered it to actor Leslie Philips for £500 – he said No !
The car was sold in 2010 for £550,000 amidst great fanfare. Who could resist it after seeing this marketing video? And who can resist Julie Christie after watching her in this sequence with Terence Stamp in Far from The Madding Crowd?
(Text Robin Batchelor, photo courtesy acertaincinema.com)