The Lively Set (1964)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

William Alland (story)
Mel Goldberg (writer)

Release Date:

24 October 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Action

Tagline:

THEY LIVE THESE THRILLS! Car-of-tomorrow turbine in endurance race! Dragster duels at 3 miles a minute! Bonneville world speed record run!

Plot:

Casey Owens (James Darren), a young mechanic, has developed a design for a turbine car engine, paving...

Plot Keywords:

Automotive Technology | Automobile Racing | Drag Racing | Beautiful Woman | Road Racing

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

James Darren	...	Casey Owens
Pamela Tiffin	...	Eadie Manning
Doug McClure	...	Chuck Manning
Joanie Sommers	...	Doreen Grey
Marilyn Maxwell	...	Marge Owens
Charles Drake	...	Paul Manning
Peter Mann	...	Stanford Rogers
Carole Wells	...	Mona
Frances Robinson	...	Celeste Manning
Greg Morris	...	Highway Patrol Officer
Ross Elliott	...	Ernie Owens
Russ Conway	...	Dave Moody
Martin Blaine	...	Prof. George E. Collins
Max Schumacher	...	Himself (as Captain Max Schumacher)
Dick Whittinghill	...	Himself

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Arroyo Seco Parkway, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Chrysler supplied the turbine car for this movie in order to build up interest in their turbine project car.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Casey punches Chuck, he punches his right eye. Chuck spins around, and when he stands up and is holding his left eye. The next day, his left eye is the one that's black.

Soundtrack:

Boss Barracuda

it's all about the cars!

The main reason I love this movie is because it shows off the Chrysler Turbine Car to great effect. The scene where the camera zooms in on the exposed turbine engine during the road race still gives me goosebumps when I see it. Back in the sixties that was like saying, "Here's the Future, folks; get a close-up look at it in action!"

The rest of the movie is admittedly a bit stilted and obvious, but Darren and McClure are earnest and believable, and the race scenes are well staged and filmed. Seeing the actual race drivers in their younger days is kind of fun, too.

I was shocked upon a recent viewing because when I saw this film as a kid I remember believing that the evening desert scenes were actually filmed outdoors! Now the studio lighting and backdrops are painfully obvious to adult eyes.

I always wondered why such a Chrysler-oriented movie would have so many Mercurys hanging around (Pam's convertible Comet, most notably.) Were there some hard feelings between the studio and Chrysler, for some reason, which may have caused the director to populate the sets with competitor's cars? I would much rather have seen Furys and 300 Letter cars in this instance. However, those two great Engel Imperials are worth the price of admission for me.