Winning (1969)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

James Goldstone

Writer:

Howard Rodman (written by)

Release Date:

22 May 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Winng is... everything

Plot:

Frank Capua is a rising star on the race circuit who dreams of winning the big one--the Indianapolis 500...

Plot Keywords:

Indianapolis 500 | Racecar Driver | Trophy | Punched In The Face | Adopted Son

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Frank Capua
Joanne Woodward	...	Elora Capua
Robert Wagner	...	Luther "Lou" Erding
Richard Thomas	...	Charley Capua
David Sheiner	...	Leo Crawford
Clu Gulager	...	Larry the Mechanic
Barry Ford	...	Bottineau
Karen Arthur	...	Miss Dairy Queen
Bobby Unser	...	Himself
Tony Hulman	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby Grim	...	Himself
Dan Gurney	...	Himself
Roger McCluskey	...	Himself

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (UK release) (unconfirmed) | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

Jennings Lang

Trivia:

The winning car of Frank Capua (Paul Newman) is painted to resemble the #3 Rislone Special driven to victory in the 1968 Indy 500 by Bobby Unser. Unser makes a cameo appearance, congratulating Capua on his victory.

Quotes:

Charley: Hey, Frank. You know what? What about a little sugar in his gas tank? That'll fix him. I read that in a magazine about how the saboteurs work.
[laughing]
Charley: You think I'm drunk?
Frank Capua: I don't need any sugar in his gas tank 'cause I'm gonna beat that son-of-a-bitch anyway!

Paul and Joanne are great together, the movie less than great.

The feeling I had during the movie is: this could have been better if it was totally different: More relations between characters and less cars. And even when there is a race, we get weird 60's shots of people not even watching the race. How about more about the rivalry between Newman and Wagner. What does Joanne do- is she a housewife, raising by herself a child since he was three? Richard Thomas (Charlie) and Newman should have had more scenes before Charlie is sad of the breakup; I would have been sad losing a father like Newman, but we should see why Charlie is sad. Newman puts as much character to Frank as the script allows. Too long, not too predictable (not that there are any big surprises, other than the credits coming a bit early in the last scene). Paul and Joanne are great together, see Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990).