The Endangered List (Case File #163)

In the early morning of September 9th, 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah, Mickey Thompson became the fastest man in the world. Behind the wheel of his Challenger 1 - a long, sleek streamliner powered by four GMC 6-71 supercharged Pontiac engines (one for each wheel) – he broke the land speed record by going 406.6 miles per hour. If you’re having a difficult time wrapping your head around that number, think of it this way: he traveled the length of two football fields in one second flat. By the time his autobiography was published by Prentice Hall in January 1964, he had amassed close to 200 international and American land speed records and established himself as not only one of the most innovative and competitive people in racing but an extremely successful businessman.

Anyone interested in learning how one documentary about Thompson (THE MAN IN THE IRON CAGE) became another documentary about Thompson (MICKEY THOMPSON: MAN IN THE STEEL CAGE), both of them so obscure that neither is listed in the Internet Movie Database, then we highly recommend the article "Rage in the Cage: The Making of a Mickey Thompson Documentary," which can be found in the new issue of The Journal of Interstitial Cinema (#6). Order it here!

THE MAN IN THE IRON CAGE (1983)

Starring
Mickey Thompson
Larry Huffman
Pat Buttram

Appearing in
"The Celebrity Challenge"
James Brolin
Ruth Buzzi
Troy Donahue
Dan Haggerty
Kent McCord
Martin Milner
Ken Norton
Ted Nugent
Denver Pyle
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Dick Smothers
Elke Sommer
Clint Walker

Produced and Directed
by
Ed Forsyth

Associate Producer
Gary Crutcher

Photographed by
Gary Foster
Henning Schellerup

Music Composed
and Conducted
by
Bill Loose

Special Music
by
Ted Nugent

Assistant to the Producer
Gary Foster

Additional Cinematographers
Craig Stewart, Jr.
Fred Bailey
Jeff Nolke
Marty Zimmerman
Don Wyman
Garry Oversby
Pete Kallion
Glen Roland
Rick Hasselo
David Waelder

Camera Assistants
Marty Bivens
Don Hale

Still Photographers
Gene Esquivel
Bill Groves

Production Sound Mixers
John Vincent
David Bruno

Post Production Supervisor
Lee Frost

Sound Effects Editors
Eddie Gilbert
Cal Haas
Stan Markel
Derek Scott

Music Editing
High Note Productions

Negative Cutters
Brian King
Ted Sawicki

Unit Manager
Marland Proctor

Historian
Collene Campbell

Technical Advisor
Gary Campbell

Titles and Opticals
Title House

Sound Re-recording
Glen Glenn Sound

Laboratory
Consolidated Film Industries

An
M.T. - A.E.
presentation

Running time: 86 minutes

MICKEY THOMPSON: MAN IN THE STEEL CAGE (1985)

Starring
Mickey Thompson

Hosted by
Larry Wilcox

Narrated by
Thomas Brown

Directed by
Lee Frost

Produced by
Gary Foster

Music Composed by
Bill Loose

Presented by
RLF Enterprises

MPAA rating: PG

Want to learn more about THE MAN IN THE IRON CAGE and MICKEY THOMPSON: MAN IN THE STEEL CAGE? Don't miss "Rage in the Cage: The Making of a Mickey Thompson Documentary," an exciting article that can be found only in the latest issue of The Journal of Interstitial Cinema (#6). Order it here!