Genevieve has been a true staple of the Run since its Hollywood days . the Hyde Park departure sequences .
Sourcing the eponymous heroine was more of a challenge , as owners were understandably wary of subjecting an elderly vehicle to the rigours of a film shoot . Fortunately , one of the crew saw Reeves ’ s Darracq on display at his Ford showroom not far from Pinewood Studios . The car ’ s custodian agreed to loan his prized vehicle to the production on condition that Cadby be in constant attendance . As for the Darracq ’ s sparring partner , Rose envisaged a 1904 Oldsmobile 7HP , and Cornelius also considered using a Lanchester , until a taxi driver named Frank Reece offered his Spyker 14 / 18 HP .
Both veteran cars behaved impeccably during the shoot , but Genevieve did not prove a straightforward production . Cornelius approached Ealing Studios , but their Managing Director , Michael Balcon , turned him down , due to a lack of space . The Rank Organisation eventually agreed to provide 70 % of the limited £ 115,000 budget , with the National Film Finance Corporation providing the remainder . The studio ’ s Head of Production , Earl St . John , was markedly unenthusiastic about the project , believing “ we may get a few car nuts to go along and see it ”.
The studio ’ s Head of Production , Earl St . John , was markedly unenthusiastic about the project , believing “ we may get a few car nuts to go along and see it ”.
Such a restrictive budget meant Cornelius could only afford to pay his two principal actors £ 2,000 each , ruling out his original casting choices of Dirk Bogarde and Claire Bloom as the McKims , and Guy Middleton as their friend and rival Ambrose Claverhouse . These financial restrictions obliged the director to hire John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan as the McKims , with Kenneth More as the bombastic Spyker driver Claverhouse , and Kay Kendall as his girlfriend , Rosalind Peters .
Cornelius faced the additional challenge of “ internal accountancy ”, ruling out the use of Pinewood ’ s sound stages . Instead of the back-projected scenes used by so many 1950s British comedies , the film crew would , according to the cinematographer Christopher Challis , “ take advantage of whatever turned up ” on location . The production team at one point suffered a near miss with a bus that “ apparently materialised from nowhere ,” and also arranged fake Sussex road signs in Surrey . Another interesting geographical moment
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