#motorcar

1. The movie was based on a children's novel by Ian Fleming. Yes, that Ian Fleming. The script was co-written by the director, Ken Hughes, and Roald Dahl. Yes, that Roald Dahl.

2. The name was inspired by a real racing car - in fact, a series of four racing cars - that were nicknamed Chitty Bang Bang. All were designed and raced by a man known as Count Louis Zborowski. (His title was fake but his name was genuine.) Zborowski was killed in a crash at the 1924 Italian Grand Prix, but he was not driving any of the Chitty Bang Bangs at the time.

Zborowoski at the wheel of Chitty Bang Bang #1.

3. There are three theories about the origin of the cars' name. One, that it was after the engineer Letitia Chitty. Two, that it was inspired by the sound of an aero engine idling. (All four Chitty Bang Bangs had aero engines, designed for either aeroplanes or airships.) Three, that it was from a rather naughty WWI song.

4. Speaking of airships, Baron Bomburst's dirigible wasn't just a prop - she actually flew! The airship (also named Chitty Bang Bang for some reason) was a replica of a 1904 Lebaudy, which was a semi-rigid airship. Unlike the original Lebaudy, her twin propellers were powered by a Volkswagen Beetle engine. Unfortunately she was destroyed in a storm.

A postcard picture of the original Lebaudy airship in flight.

5. Baron Bomburst's castle (viewed from the outside) is Schloss Neuschwanstein, in the Alps. The castle (really a palace) was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1869. Ludwig disliked the duties required of him as head of state but he was very keen on building castles. Neuschwanstein was intended to be a private retreat (and a tribute to Richard Wagner) but it wasn't yet finished when he died in 1886. It was opened to the public shortly thereafter and has been a tourist trap ever since.

6. The village surrounding Baron Bomburst's castle is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, also in Bavaria. Rothenburg is known for its beautiful mediaeval town. Unfortunately the charming and traditional German aesthetic made it appealing to the Nazis as an ideological tool. Would that they were as easily defeated as Baron and Baroness Bomburst.

7. Moving on, quite literally: The train that the Potts family passes in their car is apparently the Hunslet WD ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No.196 with some added features, running on the Longmoor Military Railway. This doesn't mean much to me but I respect people who know things about trains.

8. The song Posh references the popular folk etymology for the word: Port Out Starboard Home. There is in fact no evidence that this is the origin of the word posh. No one really knows where it came from.

9. Baron Bomburst was played by German actor Gert Fröbe, who also played Colonel von Holstein in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Fröbe joined the Nazi Party in 1929 (age 16) but quit in 1937, having apparently changed his mind about them. When Fröbe's movies were banned in Israel (due to his party membership), a Holocaust survivor came forward to reveal that Fröbe had assisted him and his mother.

10. The Child Catcher was played by Sir Robert Helpmann, a famous Australian ballet dancer and actor. In real life the movie's child actors were very fond of Helpmann, describing him as kind and generous and great fun. Heather Ripley (Jemima) said that he was "the least scary person I have ever met in my life". When Helpmann passed away in 1986 (age 77) he was given a state funeral.

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Motorimpressions - stalled at an intersection

Motorimpressions, 1914 model