The Oily Rag - British Saloon Car Club

A Place of Fame in the Movies – and Sharon Stone’s Bum
Andrew Templer
A few years ago I received a call from a Mr. Adam Luc in Montreal, mentioning that they were looking for a British car
for a movie and that he had heard from a Mr. Tony Fox that I might have a suitable vehicle. What they needed was a
right-hand drive car and, to add to the excitement, they might also be needing a driver to appear in the movie.
Aha, I thought, my chance for fame and glory, and unlike the previous time, this time I would not miss my chance to
appear in lights. The previous time my Wolseley had been filmed was for an HBO documentary on the life of the
(in)famous Jimmy Hendricks. The car represented a police car in the final weeks of Jimmy’s life in London. The
actual filming took place on a suitably English-looking piece of Front Street East in Toronto and I missed my chance of
dressing the police part to drive my car.
Adam mentioned that they were shooting part of a espionage thriller in Montreal called, “A Different Loyalty”??and
needed a car of the type that senior police or government in Britain might have used in the ‘60s. I naturally felt quite
touched at the prospect of my car playing the role of an exotic Q-car in the vein of James Bond’s DB3, but I suppose
the more accurate image would be of the ‘60s equivalent of today’s blacked out CIA SUV. Anyway, when he
mentioned that they would transport the car, cover all expenses, offer a modest shooting fee and have me as the
shady government driver --- my heart fluttered with excitement.
We arranged the pickup of the Wolseley from our cottage in Grand Bend where the car spends the winters. This was
all very easy and I was most impressed at the professional driver in the exotic closed trailer – very definitely Aston-
Martin service I thought. The entire operation was painless and within the hour I saw the last of my car disappear in
the trailer towards Montreal.
But then the schedule started getting deferred and I could see my place in the sparkling lights start slipping away. It
appeared that “some of the actors from Europe” were not available when promised and I the piece I would be driving
for would now be split over a couple of days. This would require my taking several days of vacation and staying over
in Montreal. Sadly I had to Adam know that I would not be available and they would have to let one of their own
seconds drive my beloved car.
This need for “flexible scheduling” is the downside. On the positive, my car was returned a few weeks later in
beautiful shape – perhaps even cleaner than it had been when it left. Mind you, I didn’t see those shots of heart
stopping action driving that took place in the hidden areas of the movie set and the insured value of my car might
halve if my broker recognizes the car in the movie!
Overall, I feel it is worth it. This is part of what sharing the fun of British classics is all about. Also, it will give me
another movie I can tell someone about when they see my car and say “what on earth is that –never seen one of
those before”. To this point I have only been able to tell them that it is the car you see the British cops driving in Pink
Panther movies. While A Different Loyalty was not shown in theatres in Canada, having viewed it myself I can affirm
that: Sharon Stone’s bum was most certainly placed on my Wolseley’s back seat!!
*****
A Different Loyalty is a 2004 film inspired by the story of British traitor Kim Philby's love affair and marriage to
Eleanor Brewer in Beirut and his eventual defection to the Soviet Union. The story takes place in the 1960s and stars
Sharon Stone and Rupert Everett.
??
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A Different Loyalty is based on the life of Eleanor Philby, whose husband, Kim Philby, was a spy who infiltrated British intelligence for
the Russians before defecting to Moscow in 1963. See the web for details of its release next year.