Downhill Racer (1969)
Director: Michael Ritchie Run Time: 101 min. Release Year: 1969
Starring: Camilla Sparv, Gene Hackman, Jim McMullan, Karl Michael Vogler, Robert Redford
Screenings will feature a special video introduction from Joe Jay Jalbert, the film’s Technical Director, Actor, and Robert Redford’s stunt double. Moderated by Michael Morin, RiverRun’s new Executive Director.
An ambitious young skier, determined to break all existing records, is contemptuous of the teamwork advocated by the US coach when they go to Europe for the Olympics. An early lead role for Robert Redford, and while not officially credited, he acted almost as a producer for this film, pushing it to the finish line. Featuring the always-great Gene Hackman as the coach, and the debut film of the underrated director Michael Ritchie, who would go on to an eccentric career with films like Prime Cut, The Candidate, The Bad News Bears, and Fletch.
“Some of the best moments in “Downhill Racer” are moments during which nothing special seems to be happening. They’re moments devoted to capturing the angle of a glance, the curve of a smile, an embarrassed silence. Together they form a portrait of a man that is so complete, and so tragic, that “Downhill Racer” becomes the best movie ever made about sports — without really being about sports at all.” ~ Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Screening January 27 + 30
Joe Jay has been involved with the ski industry world his entire life. He began to ski at the age of 5 at Lookout Pass, Idaho in the Northern pan-handle. He was tutored in — what at the time was– one of the largest ‘free ski schools’ in the country. Ski lessons and free bus transportation were subsidize by the rich mining companies of the Silver Valley (Wallace-Kellogg-Mullan). Racing soon became his passion as he won his first every race, a mighty mite downhill, at the young age of 8. From then on, he pursued ski racing with a passion. His parents drove the two lane highways for years, carting he and friends to the regional PNSA sanctioned races of the Northwest. Jay was selected at the age of 15 to compete in the Junior Nationals in Aspen, CO in 1960. He was subsequently selected to the JR team in 1961(Sugarloaf), 1962(Big Mountain), 1963(Jackson Hole). At Big Mountain, Joe Jay was 4th in the downhill, even though he fell several hundred yards from the finish line, and tumbled through. He dominated the PNSA races his senior year with multiple wins however he was severely hampered with a sprained ankle during the JR’s in Jackson Hole.
As an honor student and Valedictorian at Mullan High School, it was academic scholarships that took him to the University of Washington in the fall of 1963. Although a place on the UofW ski team was not his priority,(mom and dad put academics first), he was recruited by the head ski team coach Karl Stengle. He won many of the first Northwest collegiate races he competed in and was named team captain, being given that leadership role for four consecutive years. He was granted a combined Tyee academic and athletic full ride scholarship after his first Freshman semester and the skied for the Huskies four years. He competed in four NCAA Championships(Franconia, NH-Crystal Mt., WA—Crested Butte, CO—Sugarloaf, ME) with the UofW, and was named as a first team All American in the 1996 season. At the Championship, he consistently placed in the top 5 and was the Huskies top alpine threat. He competed in 3 Senior Nationals. He won the fabled Silver Skis Downhill two consecutive years at Crystal Mountain. He competed in several Roach Cups in Aspen, the Harriman Cup in Sun Valley, and raced in the precursor (to the World Cup) in Sun Valley and Jackson Hole in the spring of 1967. The French were represented by Jean Claude Killy, Guy Perriat, and Leo Lacroix. The Austrian’s had Schranz, Zimmerman to mention a few. He trained under Coach Bob Beattie, at Vail camps in 1964 & 1965, toured with a B team to races in Colorado and the East in 1967.
Upon graduation from UofW, he initiated his mandatory Army commitment by enrolling in a Seattle reserve while awaiting boot camp assignment and a tour of duty in Vietnam.
As he was told, he missed making the 1968 Grenoble US Olympic team by one slot, but Army commitments were inevitable. He was waiting for his orders and working odd jobs in the Seattle area and coaching skiing in the winter months of 1968. In the fall of 1968, he was contacted by Paramount Pictures and Wildwood Productions. He met with lead actor Robert Redford and directory Michael Ritchie, in October and within two months Joe Jay had been hired as the Technical Director for Downhill Racer, he was cast into a bit part in the movie, and was designated as Redford’s skiing stunt double. This stint took him to Europe for 4 months then back to Colorado and Utah to finish film for another two months. His army assignment was put on hold, however he would need to report to a Germany based US Army Division to do reserve duty once a month.