Duel at the wheel

Movie
German title	Duel at the wheel
Original title	Hell Drivers
Country of production	Great Britain
original language	English
Publishing year	1957
length	108 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Cy Endfield
script	John Kruse Cy Endfield
production	Benjamin Fisz Earl St. John
music	Hubert Clifford
camera	Geoffrey Unsworth
cut	John D. Guthridge
occupation
Stanley Baker : Tom Yately Herbert Lom : Gino Rossi Peggy Cummins : Lucy, Hawlett secretary Patrick McGoohan : C. 'Red' Redman William Hartnell : Cartley, Hawlett manager Wilfrid Lawson : Ed, Hawlett mechanic Sid James : Dusty, truck driver Jill Ireland : Jill, waitress Alfie Bass : Tinker, Truck Driver Gordon Jackson : Scottie David McCallum : Jimmy Yately Sean Connery : Johnny Kates George Murcell : Tub, Truck Driver Marjorie Rhodes : Ma West

Duel at the wheel (Original title: Hell Drivers ) is a British drama film directed by Cy Endfield from 1957. The film was produced by the Rank Organization and Aqua Film Productions. Starring Stanley Baker , Herbert Lom , Peggy Cummins and Patrick McGoohan .

action

Joe 'Tom' Yateley is an ex-convict. Trying to put his past behind him, he decides to work for the Hawlett Trucking company that transports gravel. It's an aggressive company where the speed at which drivers are asked to move their cargo is everything. Those who make too few trips in one day are out of business.

Red is the most experienced and ruthless trucker. He can organize 18 trips in a day with his car and he does not tolerate any rivals next to him. No means are too dirty for him to obstruct or harass his competitors or to sabotage their vehicles.

Tom soon befriends Lucy, the company's secretary, and Gino, one of the decent drivers. But Red's record fascinates him and he wants to break it. Gino advises against it, but he still helps with the daring venture. The coup succeeds and soon afterwards the trouble begins when Red and the other drivers form a united front against Tom.

Just when Tom has had enough and decides to pack his bags, Lucy tells him that Gino had a terrible accident. She also tells about the corruption of the Hawlett Trucking Company. The shipping company that Tom hired doesn't obey the rules.

Red, the best because the most unscrupulous driver, and Cartley, the manager, have five fictional drivers on their payroll. The other employed truckers are supposed to get these trips in by means of breakneck drives so that the fraud is not noticed, while Red and Cartley split the wages of the fake drivers among themselves. When his friend Gino dies in the hospital as a result of the accident manipulated by Red, Tom challenges Red to a final fatal duel behind the wheel.

Reviews

"In its uncompromising attitude, it is a remarkable action ripper with a socially critical background."

- Lexicon of international film

Production notes

The ending scene, in which one of the cars drives over the edge of a quarry, was reused in the episode "The Heiress" of the Rank Organization TV series Interpol Calling .

DVD

One single DVD and one double DVD were released by Hell Drivers for the 50th anniversary of this star-studded British film classic in 2007 with many extras, including documentaries, but only with original English sound. A German DVD version of the film, which had its first screening in Germany on November 29, 1957 and has already been shown many times on television, was released on February 19, 2016 by the DVD label Pidax.

Web links

• Hell Drivers in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Duel at the wheel in: Cinema
• Hell Drivers (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Duel at the wheel. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .