The Great Race (1965)

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Arthur A. Ross (screenplay)
Blake Edwards (original story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 July 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Musical | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

THE GREAT LAUGH SHOW OF ALL TIME!

Plot:

Comedy about an early 20th century car race across three continents.

Plot Keywords:

Race | Car | Newspaper | New York | Reporter

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Professor Fate / Crown Prince Frederick Hoepnick
Tony Curtis	...	The Great Leslie
Natalie Wood	...	Maggie Dubois
Peter Falk	...	Maximilian 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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Alexander	...	Man in Saloon (uncredited)
Greg Benedict	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Paul Bryar	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Robert Carson	...	Vice Chairman (uncredited)
Charles E. Fredericks	...	Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
Harry Harvey	...	Executive Board Member (uncredited)
Chester Hayes	...	Man in Bear Suit (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Bob Herron	...	Palace Guard (uncredited)
Charles Horvath	...	Texas Jack's Henchman / Baker in Pie Fight (uncredited)
Clegg Hoyt	...	Man in Saloon (uncredited)
Roy Jenson	...	Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Patricia King	...	Woman in West (uncredited)
Frank Kreig	...	Starter (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Bettor (uncredited)
Philo McCullough	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Russian (uncredited)
J. Edward McKinley	...	Chairman (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	...	Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
Richard Mosier	...	Boy Eating Popcorn (uncredited)
Joyce Nizzari	...	Woman in West (uncredited)
Joe Palma	...	Conductor (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	...	Cowboy Shooting Gun in Saloon (uncredited)
Raoul Retzer	...	Mayor-Domo (uncredited)
Hal Riddle	...	Baker (uncredited)
Christopher Riordan	...	Cowboy / Dancer (uncredited)
Maria Schroeder	...	Woman in Tobelsk (uncredited)
Charles Seel	...	Freight Agent (uncredited)
Sarah Selby	...	Townswoman (uncredited)
Johnny Silver	...	Baker (uncredited)
Paul Smith	...	First Employee (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Bishop at Coronation (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Art Stewart	...	(uncredited)
Frank D. Strong	...	Trombonist in Marching Band (uncredited)
John Truax	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	...	Driver-Contestant in Green Car, #3 (uncredited)

Directed by
Blake Edwards

Writing credits
Arthur A. Ross		(screenplay) (as Arthur Ross)
Blake Edwards		(original story) &
Arthur A. Ross		(original story) (as Arthur Ross)

Produced by
Dick Crockett	....	associate producer (as Richard Crockett)
Martin Jurow	....	producer

Original Music by
Henry Mancini

Cinematography by
Russell Harlan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph E. Winters

Production Design by
Fernando Carrere

Art Direction by
Fernando Carrere		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
George James Hopkins

Costume Design by
Donfeld		(as Don Feld)

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair styles creator: Miss Wood
Jean Burt Reilly	....	supervising hair stylist

Production Management
Clem Beauchamp	....	unit production manager
Chuck Hansen	....	unit production manager (as Charles Hansen)
Jack McEdward	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Cunningham	....	assistant director
Richard Landry	....	assistant director (as Dick Landry)
Mickey McCardle	....	assistant director

Art Department
Reg Allen	....	decorative consultant
Jack Stevens	....	decorative consultant
Mentor Huebner	....	conceptual artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
M.A. Merrick	....	sound
Treg Brown	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Johnny Borgese	....	special effects (uncredited)
George Brown	....	special effects (uncredited)
Danny Lee	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Linwood G. Dunn	....	photographic effects (as Linwood Dunn)
James B. Gordon	....	photographic effects (as James Gordon)
Albert Simpson	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Odile Astie	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Baxley	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Catching	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Catron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Philip Crawford	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Crockett	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Dick Crockett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Howard Curtis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Dial	....	stunt actor (uncredited)
Stephanie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard Farnsworth	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Geary	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	....	stunts (uncredited)
Duke Green	....	stunts (uncredited)
Johnny Hagner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Donna Hall	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Hickman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hicks	....	stunts (uncredited)
Charles Horvath	....	stunts (uncredited)
Robert F. Hoy	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Hudkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roy Jenson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carey Loftin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sharon Lucas	....	stunts (uncredited)
Troy Melton	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Moio	....	stunts (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	....	stunts (uncredited)
Regis Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Robotham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ronnie Rondell Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Rose	....	stunts (uncredited)
Wally Rose	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alex Sharp	....	stunts (uncredited)
David Sharpe	....	stunt double: Tony Curtis/Ross Martin (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mary Statler	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Summers	....	stunts (uncredited)
Helen Thurston	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Verbois	....	stunts (uncredited)
Al Wyatt Sr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Yrigoyen	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Harold E. Wellman	....	photographer: second unit (as Harold Wellman)
Richard Doran	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Bobby Greene	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Michael A. Jones	....	rigging gaffer (uncredited)
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	clothes: Miss Wood

Music Department
Richard Nash	....	musician: trombone soloist
Bob Bain	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)
Vinton Vernon	....	score mixer (uncredited)
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer (uncredited)
Jackie Ward	....	singing voice: Natalie Wood (uncredited)
John Williams	....	musician: piano (uncredited)

Other crew
Betty A. Griffin	....	script supervisor (as Betty Abbott)
Hermes Pan	....	choreographer
Ken Wales	....	dialogue supervisor
Dean Jeffries	....	car designer (uncredited)
Ken Mundie	....	title designer (uncredited)

Thanks
Oliver Hardy	....	dedicatee (as Mr. Hardy)
Stan Laurel	....	dedicatee (as Mr. Laurel)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Patricia
• Jalem Productions
• Reynard

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (presents) (as WB)
• Warner Bros. (1965) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1970) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• Impulso Records (2009) (Spain) (DVD)
• Pioneer Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)

Special Effects

• Film Effects of Hollywood (photographic effects)

Other Companies

• DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (DFE)  titles (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Blake Edwards' The Great Race" - UK (complete title), USA (complete title)

Runtime:

160 min | Spain:146 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Sound System) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

South Korea:All | USA:Approved | Spain:T | Norway:7 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:TV-PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

A moose head appears to hang on the wall of Professor Fate's (Jack Lemmon's) oddly-decorated dining room. However, when the Professor and Max run out the front door you can see that the rest of the moose stands in the foyer, with just his head poking through a hole in the wall. Ernie Kovacs originally did this gag on one of his TV shows. The fact that Jack Lemmon was a great friend of Kovacs' suggests that this wasn't a coincidence. In addition, the gag goes back at least as far as the 1946 Warner Bros.' cartoon "Kitty Kornered," in which a cat clinging to a moose head is being pulled by Porky Pig, and as a result pulls the entire moose out of the wall.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When The Great Leslie is lifted by an airplane flown by Max, the plane resembles a Curtiss Headless Pusher. This plane was not designed and built until 1912, four years after the 1908 period of the movie. In July of 1908, Glenn Curtiss flew his June Bug design which was the first public exhibition of flight in the US. (The Wrights had not yet flown publicly.) The 1908 June Bug and the 1912 Headless Pusher bear little resemblance to each other. In reality, the June Bug was not as nimble and stable as the Pusher so it is understandable why the 1912 design was used in the movie.

Quotes:

Professor Fate:What is the word for "friends"?
Maggie DuBois:Professor...
Professor Fate:Shut up!
Max:I don't know the language.
Professor Fate:Well, get the dictionary!
Max:Dictionary. Right.
[Max flips through the pages]
Max:I got it, I got it.
Professor Fate:What is it, what is it?
Max:[frowns] I can't pronounce it.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Home Improvement: The Great Race II (#3.25)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

The Sweetheart Tree

The Greatest Epic Comedy

Although "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was the first comedy to get the epic film treatment, "The Great Race" is in my opinion the best epic comedy. It's just a much funnier film with so many laughs in its first half that the more serious part dealing with the palace intrigues and the straight sword fight acts more as a breather for the viewer before it revs up again with the funniest pie fight of all time and the smashing (literally) finale. Jack Lemmon shows why he was probably the most versatile comic actor of the 50-60s next to Peter Sellers (this is a long ways from the Lemmon of "The Apartment" or "Irma La Douce"!). Peter Falk, a decade before "Columbo" is hysterical too, while Natalie Wood never looked more sexy (except for the last part of "Gypsy") than she does here.

They don't make this kind of simple comedy devoid of crudity any longer. That's what makes a film like "The Great Race" something to keep coming back to and enjoying again and again.