Stars and Their Cars – Leslie Phillips and The Fast Lady

This is a slightly unusual “Stars and Their Cars” feature, as 61 years ago, Leslie Phillips did not buy the 1927 Bentley 3-litre Speed Model Open Tourer by Vanden Plas that he co-starred with in The Fast Lady. The actor may have been a keen motorist, even taking his advanced driving test during shooting. Yet he spurned the chance to purchase chassis number ML1505, one of just 513 Three Litre ‘Speeds’, for just £500.

Many readers know that the Bentley registration TU 5987 bore the ‘Red Label’ radiator badge. The Blue Label denoted the standard chassis, and the ‘Supersports’ wore a Green Label. Mr. G. F. Holmes of Macclesfield was the Bentley’s original owner, and after the Second World War, it gained the engine and gearbox from a 1930 4½ litre. By 1962 it had starred in The Fast Lady, the third of three comedies directed by Ken Annakin and starring Phillips, Stanley Baxter and James Robertson Justice. The female lead was an up-and-coming young actress named Julie Christie.

TU 5987 may have even been submerged in Frensham Great Pond during the filming but behaved impeccably apart from needing a replacement gearbox. Meanwhile, if Justice looked quite at home in the hill climb sequence, this is probably because he competed at Brooklands before WW2. In addition, the British Racing Drivers’ Club elected him a member in 1933. The actor’s views echoed the curmudgeons he so often played on screen - “There is nothing so exasperating as a pedestrian who dodders”.

The Fast Lady went on general release in February 1963 and was one of that year’s 12 most popular box office attractions in the UK. With Baxter and Phillips in the Bentley, the producers arranged a Regent Oil-sponsored road safety rally hosted by Graham Hill for additional publicity. The film also marked one of the first screen roles for the Mini Cooper, with Julie Christie’s character, ‘Claire Chingford’, driving a Morris-badged version.

As for the Bentley, Fiskens auctioned it for £550,000 in 2010, and the Red Label is fit, well and very much enjoyed by its owner. Meanwhile, it may be appreciated in the best British automotive comedy since Genevieve, in the company of our finest light comedy actors. Some people, including this writer, even prefer The Fast Lady to The Italian Job.