Coolest uncle ever?
I was intrigued to read Andrew Roberts’ synopsis of Where the Spies Are in the April issue (Books). My uncle, John Heseltine, built the Cord 810 that was used in the film – or rather he constructed one using two donor cars.
Andrew mentioned that the star David Niven had trouble with the gearbox. According to my uncle, the scene in which the car comes to a halt with steam billowing out from under the bonnet wasn’t planned. It was merely that Niven drove the car in first and wouldn’t change up, so it eventually boiled over. Director Val Guest decided to use the footage in the film.
It wasn’t my uncle’s only brush with the film world: he later helped build several vehicles that appeared in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Richard Heseltine
Via e-mail