DOCUTAH screens “Boys of Bonneville”
An exhilarating film about an unknown American hero and the fastest car on earth
By Della Lowe
Dixie State University’s DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival is proud to offer a screening of the exhilarating film “Boys of Bonneville: Racing on a Ribbon of Salt.” Hosted by director Curt Wallin, the screening will take place Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Eccles Fine Arts Center Main Stage Theater in St. George.
This documentary tells the thrilling story of an unsung hero and self-made man, David Abbott Jenkins, who with almost superhuman stamina and boyish charm set out to single-handedly break every existing land speed record. The fruits of his vision became known as “The Mormon Meteor,” the fastest car on earth. The film is narrated by Patrick Dempsey.
“Boys of Bonneville” is that rare animal: an exhilarating film about an unknown American hero, which leaves its audience cheering to the rafters and grabbing for their cell phones demanding to know “Who is this guy, and where can I see this car?” Well, grab all your motorhead friends and enthusiasts, because the audience can see this amazing car outside the Eccles on the evening of the screening in St. George.
“The Mormon Meteor” races on a ribbon of salt. But it is more than a story of a car. It is a story of an America that has all but disappeared, when lucrative business deals were cemented by a handshake and state-of-the-art automobiles were designed on the backs of envelopes. Seventy years later, many of “Ab’s” records remain unbroken, and the legacy lives on in his custom car. Looking like something Batman would have owned, the story comes full circle when Ab’s son Marv restores the 12-cylinder, 4,800-pound “Mormon Meteor” to its glory days for a ceremonial lap on the salt.
Using vintage newsreel footage from the 1930s–1950s, photos, letters, and diaries of Ab and Marv during their 20-year run on the Salt Flats, Utah-based filmmakers are bringing these heroes back to life for a modern day audience. In addition to the pristine archival materials, the film will feature scenics and interviews shot entirely on high-definition cameras, including those with Jay Leno, Andy Green (current holder of the land speed record), Marv Jenkins, Ab’s grandchildren, and a rich assortment of racing heroes and historians.
In addition, this one-of-a-kind racing phenomenon is in better shape than when Ab took it out on the Salt Flats 70 years ago, and the filmmakers hope to take the Meteor to select film festivals to allow a new generation of filmmakers and racing enthusiasts to touch and feel the real deal.
Tickets for the St. George screening are $10 cash at the door. Reservations are required and can be made here.
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