The Great Race (1965)

A grand adventurous race takes place between the heroic Leslie and the despicable Professor Fate across three continents.

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Arthur A. Ross (screenplay) (as Arthur Ross), Blake Edwards (original story)

Stars:

Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Borracho
Denver Pyle	...	Sheriff
William Bryant	...	Baron's Guard (as Bill Bryant)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

race | car | newspaper | new york | reporter | 

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Taglines:

TOTAL LAUGHTER! The funniest motion picture ever made...about the most remarkable auto race ever!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance | Sport | Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 1965 (UK)

Also Known As:

Blake Edwards' The Great Race

Filming Locations:

Salzburg Cathedral, Salzburg, Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$25,333,333

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Patricia,Jalem Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

160 min 146 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 1908 New York-to-Paris Race was billed as the "Greatest Auto Race." It was the first such world race, crossing three continents (about 22,000 miles). The movie route approximates the actual race route. For a good article about the race, see the Smithsonian Magazine article of March 7, 2012, "Paris or Bust: The Great New York-to-Paris Auto Race of 1908."

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Goofs

Professor Fate's car, the Hannibal Twin 8, has the ability to elevate the chassis above the ground. However, whenever this function is used, both the engine and drive train of the vehicle also rise, leaving the wheels on the ground with no method of propulsion nor steering. So the car is driving around on wheels apparently not powered by anything. Note that while the car is being driven around the castle courtyard, small boxes are visible next to the rear wheels: these are almost certainly batteries for an electric motor. And in this example, with there being no ability to steer, the wheels were almost certainly fixed to drive in a circle.

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Quotes

Professor Fate: Sh-sh-sh-sh-shut up!

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Crazy Credits

The Warner Bros logo, opening credits, intermission and closing credits all appear in the form of a magic lantern slideshow (an early form of cinema), with each credit having a custom slide.

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Connections

Referenced in Private Screenings: Robert Osborne (2014)

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Soundtracks

Tales from the Vienna Woods
(uncredited)
Written by Johann Strauss
Performed at the Potzdorf Ball

User Reviews

The Great Race Is A Great Comedy

This is director Blake Edwards salute to the early days of films. It is quite long, but worth the time to see this masterpiece, and appropriate for all ages. Its basically the good guy vs the bad guy and the heroine theme but the roles are mixed up in a wonderful way to where each main character is both at different times. I love Maggie DuBois(Natalie Wood) the most because she is such a strong intelligent woman, and yet beautiful and sexy. She would do anything to stay in the race, and did. Professor Fate and Max are not Laural and Hardy but evoke their comedy team spirit strongly. They are the ones that make the bumbling mistakes that make them more human than the perfect Leslie(Tony Curtis). The prince is a silly compliment to Professor Fate, both brilliantly played by Jack Lemmon. Also worth seeing is Vivian Vance as the wife of the newspaper owner, and Larry Storch as the gunfighter. I really liked the submarine, rocket sled, pedaled air balloon, and the vintage cars. Visually, this movie is a work of art, and the music is perfect. The score features Henry Mancini's "The Sweetheart Tree." Yes, there's lust, love and romance here too. This is the quintessential epic comedy of the 60's.