Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes (1965)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Ken Annakin

Writers:

Ken Annakin (written by)
Jack Davies (written by)

Release Date:

16 June 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Action

Tagline:

or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes

Plot:

Sabotage efforts damage an international air race.

Plot Keywords:

Air Race | Prize | Beautiful Woman | Heroism | Paris

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Stuart Whitman	...	Orvil Newton
Sarah Miles	...	Patricia Rawnsley
James Fox	...	Richard Mays
Alberto Sordi	...	Count Emilio Ponticelli
Robert Morley	...	Lord Rawnsley
Gert Fröbe	...	Colonel Manfred von Holstein (as Gert Frobe)
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Pierre Dubois
Irina Demick	...	Brigitte / Ingrid / Marlene / Françoise / Yvette / Betty
Eric Sykes	...	Courtney
Red Skelton	...	Neanderthal Man
Terry-Thomas	...	Sir Percy Ware-Armitage
Benny Hill	...	Fire Chief Perkins
Yûjirô Ishihara	...	Yamamoto (as Yujiro Ishihara)
Flora Robson	...	Mother Superior
Karl Michael Vogler	...	Captain Rumpelstoss

Also Known As:

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | German | Italian | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Booker Airfield, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Most of the aerial scenes were filmed before 10 am each day when the air was least turbulent.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Modern ferries are visible in Dover harbour when the competitors go for a swim in the sea at Dover and later as the planes fly over the cliffs at Dover.

Quotes:

Colonel: [Having helped Richard Mays return to the race] I think I'll get one of those Muriel
Colonel's Wife: I shouldn't Willie, you're near enough to your wings as it is.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Castle of Fu-Manchu (#4.23)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

LA CALUNNIA UN VENTICELO

fun flick for young kids and parents

Fox played this movie today and I watched it. Preceding the movie was a collection of scary, gory clips that I couldn't show my kids. So when I channel-flipped back to it I was doubly shocked at how enjoyable this film was. This is one of many films that America is incapable of producing due to it's optimism, emphasis on living and view of the future. It is just a fun movie so perhaps I shouldn't make it sound so serious. There are plenty of disasters but all seem done in fun and humor. The race is started by a bunch of people who [by and large] want to win at any cost. In the end... the moral of the story seems to be that those who live with honor win in the end. It's a sort of reminder about points like this. It is refreshing to see a film like this once in awhile. It is long... but make sure and watch at least half of it. Especially if you have kids. Oh- it is also somewhat funny. I would say that it's a comedy but contains neither slapstick nor 'sophisticated' humor. Little things such as seeing the dog flying shotgun in the back seat of an old plane with the sign saying something like 'I am the first dog ever to fly in an airplane' or so are typical of the silly going ons.

If you've seen + liked films such as 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' or 'It's a Mad Mad Mad World' then know this film is different but you may like it.