A little background information for our younger MyStarCollectorCar readers: ‘The Yellow Rolls Royce’ was a 1965 (US release date) movie that starred a large herd of famous actors and actresses from that era.
More importantly for car guys, the flick also starred a 1932 Phantom II Barker-Bodied Sedanca de Ville Rolls Royce, a legendary automotive name in British luxury rides–then and now.
Jim Sutherland
The movie is divided into three separate chronological segments that trace the fictional history of the movie’s Rolls Royce limousine over the years. As mentioned, the movie had a stellar international cast that included Ingrid Bergman, Rex Harrison, George C. Scott, Shirley MacLaine, Omar Shariff, Jeanne Moreau and even Art Carney, to name the more famous actors and actresses in ‘The Yellow Rolls Royce’.
The ’32 Rolls Royce was the common thread throughout the movie and helped test the boundaries of film ratings because the car was Ground Zero for three separate romantic interludes, including some infidelity moments. The curtains in the limo’s passenger area (and the director) kept the cameras away from the action and ensured the movie was not upgraded from PG to an over-18 rating at the time. Nevertheless, the adult message was strong in ‘The Yellow Rolls Royce’.
The end of the movie showed the stately Rolls Royce limo off-loaded onto a dock in the United States, a country where the right-hand-drive British classic intersected with a real part of its history because the Rolls was indeed sent to the US at some point in its past.
Neal Kirkham had seen the movie and became very interested in the automotive star after he watched it. The late vintage vehicle collector was a hands-on car guy who liked vintage European vehicles because of their build quality, classic engineering and overall design.
Neal’s search for a 1932 Rolls Royce Phantom II took a very pleasant turn in 1989 when he discovered the actual movie car in Florida. Neal bought the famous Rolls and began a long restoration process to bring the car back to its original glory.
Neal was a gifted restorer who paid close attention to every detail behind a total restoration. He dismantled the car to establish where the ’32 Rolls limo needed repairs in what can only be described as a car guy version of a microscopic level of scrutiny.
Bear in mind, Neal was also able to juggle several meticulous classic restorations at the same time, a super-human feat in car guy world. His car guy buddy Mike Cesario witnessed Neal’s total dedication to automotive restoration perfection, including his movie star ’32 Rolls Royce, one of several Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance Award vehicles in Neal’s collection. Mike is still in awe of Neal’s unsurpassed attention to detail for each of his restoration projects.
The 1932 Rolls Royce limousine was ahead of its time in so many ways, including its 50-mph cruising speed, a go-fast standard that was very high during the front nine of the Dirty Thirties and would likely have resulted in a massive piston jailbreak in most cars from that era.
The ’Yellow Rolls Royce’ was a movie with a series of broken relationships, but the real-life relationship between the late Neal Kirkham and his 1932 Rolls Royce limo was the unbroken stuff of legends in car guy world. From all reports, Neal was a class act who wanted the same for his movie star car.
Mission accomplished on both counts for the likeable Mr. Kirkham.
Jim Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
- CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER
- CLICK HERE to Like us on Facebook
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Twitter
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Pinterest
Please re-post this if you like this article.
