Seven Second Love Affair
Notes on the making of
Seven Second Love Affair
Written by the Director/Producer
Bob Abel upon release of the film.
...risking life for a few seconds of glory in a makeshift dragster's wild west
In 1965, The Civil Rights movement was in full swing, the Viet Nam War had escalated into an all-out fight for survival, and to the average American, these events, and many other events that marked experience and entertainment in America were TV experiences "except for a small minority of blue-collar workers, who, on the weekends, left their day-time jobs to put their reputations and their life on the line for seven seconds, and a few weeks of immortality. They were called Drag Racers" and they raced in everything from hopped up "Mercs" (like James Dean had in Rebel without a Cause) to Supercharged "Rail Dragsters" that could accelerate to over 220 miles/hour in a mile.
Most of these "drag-racers" were descendants of migratory field hands and mechanics who left the Texas and Oklahoma "dust-bowls" of the 30’s and had come to California to find work. One day they discovered that building a race car was almost as exciting as "Striking Oil." They proved to be America’s last "backyard inventive geniuses", who anonymously traveled in the foot-steps of Edison and Ford.
George Stevens Jr., then head of the USIA Film Department, and the son of Director George Stevens (Giant), called Seven Second Love Affair: "The last great Cowboy movie" the ultimate shoot-out". And it’s a love-story that defies definition or comparison, "its" gritty, truthful, and wonderfully inspiring, like James Stewart in a Frank Capra film."
The greatest Drag Racer in History, Don "Big Daddy" Garlits said: "It is the quintessential film on drag racing"there was never one before it, and they’ll never be another like it."
The film follows the life of Rick "The Iceman Stewart" as he attempts to grab the second half of the two-part world’s speed record. To push the envelope, Stewart’s team uses a highly dangerous concentration of "Nitro-methane" instead of gasoline. When asked if he ever got scared, Rick replied: "Hell yes, I get scared" if you don’t get scared, that car will turn on you, and kill you; But hell, its worth the risk, "cause after all, I’m just a skinny little x-ray technician with no power or claim to fame, until I get in that car "then I’m God".
David L. Wolper, then the dean of documentary filmmakers said: This "kid" (Abel) never studied History, yet he has a better sense of drama and Destiny than any scholar I’ve seen". Wolper then hired Abel to Write, Direct, and Produce John F. Kennedy’s Nation of Immigrants (which won an Emmy Award).
This "Cinema -Verite" documentary film went on to Win the Edinburgh film Festival, and many other Prizes, including an Oscar nomination for Best Feature Documentary.
The music is by the legendary Canned Heat Blues Band.
Running length: 52 minutes



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