Based on Erich Maria Remarque's 1961 novel Heaven Has No Favorites, it is about a famous American race car driver on the European circuit who falls in love with an enigmatic Swiss woman who is terminally ill.[2] Pacino was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.

During a visit to the survivor, Deerfield's world is further set askew when he meets Lillian Morelli, a quirky, impulsive woman who is racing against time after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

[6] Critics panned Bobby Deerfield as an over-the-top melodrama with a plodding story line; audiences reportedly laughed at scenes intended to be dramatic.

However, the action footage was filmed by racing cinematographers during the 1976 Formula One season and featured actual drivers, including Carlos Pace, Tom Pryce, James Hunt, Patrick Depailler and Mario Andretti.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times said that it "may turn out to be the year's most cynical movie made by people who know better, including Sydney Pollack, the director, and Alvin Sargent, who wrote the screenplay".