Racing Films

In 2021 the 1971 motorcycle racing film ‘On Any Sunday’ turned 50 and to celebrate a remastered version of the film was released to the world.  Directed by Bruce Brown, ‘On Any Sunday’ became a franchise with two more films released in 1981 and 2014.   The 2014 film ‘On Any Sunday – The Next Chapter’ was directed by Bruce Brown’s son DanaBrown.

As it happens 1971 was a good year for classic films, Clockwork Orange, Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, Diamonds are Forever just to name a few.  Of course, the stand out film of 1971 was ‘Octaman’, where a team of explorers become the target of a humanoid octopus with murderous intentions.  Terrifying.

For motor racing films it was also the year that the classic Steve McQueen racing film ‘Le Mans’ was released.  Steve McQueen must have been pretty busy in 1971 as he was also cruising around racing motorcycles and appears regularly in ‘On Any Sunday’.  In 1971 McQueen was a bit of an outlier as the film points out that over 4 Million Americans now ride motorcycles at a time when the population of the USA was 207 million.   

‘On Any Sunday’ sets about trying to promote the positive aspects of motorcycle culture.  During the late 1960s motorcycle culture had been taking a bit of a reputational battering due to the rise of outlaw motorcycle clubs and their violent behaviour.  One of the most prominent incidents was the murder of a man during a Rolling Stones set at a festival held at Altamont Speedway outside of San Francisco in 1969.  This incident came after a string of other prominent incidents which had been gaining national attention since the 1947 Hollister riot. 

In 1947 motorcycle culture was taking hold in the USA following the return of veterans from WWII who sought out adventure and comradery through bike culture.  They started groups with terrifying names such as; the Boozefighters, the Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington and the Galloping Goose Motorcycle Club .  The 1947 Hollister riot occurred at an American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) event called the Gypsy Tour motorcycle rally.  The event gained national media attention and fuelled public fear of people who rode motorcycles.  The sentiment of both the bikers and the wider public was beautifully captured in a photo which was published in the San Francisco Chronicle depicting a biker, astride his bike, beer in hand and surrounded by a large pile of empty bottles. 

Following the event, it was reported that the AMA tried to distance themselves from the riot and stated that “the trouble was caused by the one per cent deviant that tarnishes the public image of both motorcycles and motorcyclists”.  This statement is attributed as being the origin of the “one percent” or “one percenter” label that outlaw bikers associate with to this day. 

Given this context, ‘On Any Sunday’ would have had a lot of work to do to convince the wider public that motorcycling is enjoyed in a fun and family friendly way by millions of Americans.  Essentially this film is about the 99 per cent, outlaw motorcycle culture is not referenced anywhere in the film.  The film focuses on the true heroes of motorcycle racing at the time, portraying them as hard working and talented athletes who completely immersed in building and racing motorcycles.  Steve McQueen is thrown in there to add a true household name to beef up the credibility of the family friendly motorcycle community image.

The film follows the 1970 AMA championship focusing on 1969 Grand National Champion Mert Lawwill.  In 1969 the AMA championship was gruelling with riders competing in 23 events right across the USA in four different disciplines TT, Road Race, Flat Track and Short Track.  The series ran from February to September which is where I assume the film draws it’s title highlighting that for most of the year on any Sunday these people will be racing somewhere.  Lawwill’s routine is largely prep-the bike to race, race, drive a vast distance to the next race and prep the bike again.  He does this with minimal support only really travelling with a single crew member to help with the driving and some of the bike prep.

While the film is intent on focusing on the positive aspects of motorcycle culture and the heroes that race them it does not ignore the risk.  At the time bike development was advancing at a much greater rate than safety improvements.  The tracks, particularly the flat tracks, were unforgiving with solid barriers and fans extremely close to the racetrack edge.  As the film advances through the 1970 season a few the main drivers are injured in crashes.  As it turned out the 1970 season was particularly dramatic which provided an opportunity to highlight the different personalities of the riders from those like Lawwill who were precise and disciplined to others who were more carefree.  Both approaches tasted victory during the season and if anything, Lawwill's drive for perfection and pushing the machine to it’s technical limits cost him the championship due to various reliability issues.

Ultimately, ‘On Any Sunday’ is seen as possibly the most important filmabout motorcycles ever made.  It achieved it’s goal of casting a different light on motorcycle culture and shifting public opinion on the people that ride them.  The film is beautifully shot for its time, director Dana Brown had already mastered the art of close up slow motion through his surfing films and applies this with spectacular effect with motorcycles. Dana Brown also does the narration for the film which is mostly delivered in completely dead pan fashion so as not to distract the viewer from the visual spectacle.  I am not entirely sure what sort of technical enhancements were made for the 50th anniversary edition but it feels like the film is transporting you back in time.  I can see that any kid watching this would immediately want to become a motorcycle hero.

50 years on the film still creates an inspirational feel good vibe.  It portrays motorcycling as an antidote to a lot of woes replacing sorrow with a sense of fun and freedom.  Ultimately this is what that the war veterans who started the early motorcycle clubs were looking for.  This is summed up in the film narration by Dana Brown “Every time I start thinking the world is all bad, then I see people out there having a good time on motorcycles and I take another look”.