F-0133

Title:

The Great Race

Category:

S

Produced:

1965

Country:

USA

Released:

Jul 1965 (film, USA); Jul 1994 (VHS); Jun 1996 (VHS); Dec 2000 (CD); Jun 2002 (DVD)

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writer:

Blake Edwards (story); Arthur A. Ross (story & screenplay)

Actors:

Jack Lemmon (Professor Fate / Prince Hapnik); Tony Curtis (Leslie 'The Great Leslie' Gallant III); Natalie Wood (Maggie DuBois); Peter Falk (Maximillian 'Max' Meen); Keenan Wynn (Hezekiah Sturdy); Arthur O'Connell (Henry Goodbody); Vivian Vance (Hester Goodbody); Dorothy Provine (Lily Olay); Larry Storch (Texas Jack); Ross Martin (Baron Rolfe von Stuppe); George Macready (General Kuhster); Marvin Kaplan (Frisbee); Hal Smith (Mayor of Boracho); Denver Pyle (Sheriff); William Bryant (Baron's guard); Ken Wales (Baron's guard)

Description:

Comedy about an early 20^th century car race across three continents. Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention. The Blake Edwards style of slapstick and song originated with this movie. A dedication to Laurel and Hardy appears at the beginning of the film. Edwards' tribute to Stan and Ollie can be seen most clearly in the interaction between Professor Fate and his cohort Max, as well as in the operatic Pottsdorf pie fight. (Jeanne Baker)

Director Blake Edwards, fresh from the success of the first two Pink Panther movies, indulged his love of classic slapstick comedy with this long free-for-all, which throws in everything but Laurel and Hardy's kitchen sink. The film reunites Some Like It Hot stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, ably aided by a spunky Natalie Wood. The subject is a New-York-to-Paris auto race in the early years of the 20^th century, pitting the Great Leslie (Curtis), a goody-goody dressed all in white--even his teeth sparkle--against the malevolent Professor Fate (Lemmon), whose coal-black heart is reflected in his handlebar mustache. He looks like a bill collector from a silent- movie melodrama. Lemmon does double duty, also playing the pampered, drunken king of a small European country, whose laugh sounds like the wail of a cat in heat. The film may be too long for its own good, and you really have to love Jack Lemmon to put up with his over-the-top performance, but it's side-splitting in spots. It's one of those movies, if seen in childhood, that stays in your mind for years afterward. Some of the bigger routines, such as a pie fight of epic proportions, don't work as well as the simple chemistry between the perpetually exasperated Professor Fate and his much-abused assistant, Max (a terrific Peter Falk). Push the button, Max. (Robert Horton, Amazon.com)

Language:

English

Bach's Music:

Toccata & Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565

Film Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Format:

Color (Technicolor) film | VHS (Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC) | VHS (Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC) | VHS (Pal) | DVD (Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, NTSC) | CD (Soundtrack)

VHS/DVD Label:

RCA Fs Imports (CD) | Warner Home Video (VHS, DVD)

TT:

160 min | 163 (VHS)

Comments:

Watch selections:

Buy movie at:

Amazon.com [VHS] | Amazon.com [VHS] | Amazon.com [VHS] | Amazon.com [DVD] | Amazon.com [CD]

Source/Links: IMDB
Contributor: Aryeh Oron (November 2007)