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Snapshot, 1970: Cheer up Steve, it might never happen...

It’s 1970, and filming on the set of Le Mans, Steve McQueen’s motorsport passion project, is paused once again while the Hollywood actor struggles to convey his vision for the film to director John Sturges – the man who propelled him to stardom in The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven...

Le Mans is both over schedule and over budget, with no clear plan in place for its completion. Sturges will soon grow so frustrated with McQueen that, much to the actor’s personal disdain, he’ll quit, along with the production company. An incomplete script and indecisive (not to mention womanising) McQueen can be partly to blame, though perhaps this project was doomed from the beginning. After finding a replacement production company and a new director in Lee H. Katzen, the film will eventually be completed, though its critical acclaim will take decades to garner. 

Photo:Cinema Center via Rex/Shutterstock

Relive the good old days with our series of vintage snapshots.