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The Great Race

  • 1965
  • Passed
  • 2h 40m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
19K
YOUR RATING
Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon in The Great Race (1965)
Trailer for this comedy starring Jack Lemon
Play trailer2:51
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureComedy

In the early 20th century, two rivals, the heroic Leslie and the despicable Professor Fate, engage in an epic automobile race from New York to Paris.In the early 20th century, two rivals, the heroic Leslie and the despicable Professor Fate, engage in an epic automobile race from New York to Paris.In the early 20th century, two rivals, the heroic Leslie and the despicable Professor Fate, engage in an epic automobile race from New York to Paris.

  • Director
    • Blake Edwards
  • Writers
    • Arthur A. Ross
    • Blake Edwards
  • Stars
    • Tony Curtis
    • Natalie Wood
    • Jack Lemmon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    19K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Blake Edwards
    • Writers
      • Arthur A. Ross
      • Blake Edwards
    • Stars
      • Tony Curtis
      • Natalie Wood
      • Jack Lemmon
    • 188User reviews
    • 39Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 3 wins & 14 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Great Race
    Trailer 2:51
    Watch The Great Race

    Photos307

    Natalie Wood in The Great Race (1965)
    Natalie Wood in The Great Race (1965)
    Natalie Wood in The Great Race (1965)
    Natalie Wood in The Great Race (1965)
    Natalie Wood in The Great Race (1965)
    Natalie Wood in The Great Race (1965)
    Tony Curtis, Peter Falk, Jack Lemmon, Blake Edwards, and Keenan Wynn in The Great Race (1965)
    Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis, and Keenan Wynn in The Great Race (1965)
    "Great Race, The" Jack Lemmon Photo taken in 1964 / Warner Bros.
    Jack Lemmon with his mother on the set of "Great Race, The" Photo taken in 1964.
    Jack Lemmon in character as Professor Fate in Warner Bros. film "Great Race, The" posing with model for LIFE magazine.
    Jack Lemmon in character as Professor Fate for a fashion layout for LIFE. Photo taken in 1964 on the Warner Bros. set of "Great Race, The."

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tony Curtis
    Tony Curtis
    • The Great Leslie
    Natalie Wood
    Natalie Wood
    • Maggie Dubois
    Jack Lemmon
    Jack Lemmon
    • Professor Fate…
    Peter Falk
    Peter Falk
    • Maximilian Meen
    Keenan Wynn
    Keenan Wynn
    • Hezekiah Sturdy
    Arthur O'Connell
    Arthur O'Connell
    • Henry Goodbody
    Vivian Vance
    Vivian Vance
    • Hester Goodbody
    Dorothy Provine
    Dorothy Provine
    • Lily Olay
    Larry Storch
    Larry Storch
    • Texas Jack
    Ross Martin
    Ross Martin
    • Baron Rolfe Von Stuppe
    George Macready
    George Macready
    • General Kuhster
    Marvin Kaplan
    Marvin Kaplan
    • Frisbee
    Hal Smith
    Hal Smith
    • Mayor of Boracho
    Denver Pyle
    Denver Pyle
    • Sheriff of Boracho
    William Bryant
    William Bryant
    • Baron's Guard
    • (as Bill Bryant)
    Ken Wales
    • Baron's Guard
    Victor Adamson
    Victor Adamson
    • Barfly
    • (uncredited)
    Richard Alexander
    Richard Alexander
    • Barfly
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Blake Edwards
    • Writers
      • Arthur A. Ross(screenplay) (original story)
      • Blake Edwards(original story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The pie fight scene lasts four minutes and was shot in five days. It is the longest pie fight sequence in movie history. At first, the cast had fun filming the pie fight scene, but eventually the process grew wearisome and dangerous. Natalie Wood choked briefly on a pie which hit her open mouth. Jack Lemmon got knocked out a few times: "a pie hitting you in the face feels like a ton of cement". At the end of shooting the fight, when Blake Edwards called "Cut!" he was barraged with several hundred pies that members of the cast had hidden, waiting for that moment.
    • Goofs
      The large American flag hanging outside a window (with the French flag) near the beginning of the race has 48 stars. In 1908, when this movie supposedly takes place, there were only 46 states (New Mexico and Arizona were admitted in 1912, and Alaska and Hawaii were admitted in 1959). Many flags (perhaps all, it's hard to tell) being waved by the crowd have 46 stars.
    • Quotes

      [On a melting iceberg]

      Leslie: [measures the base] 37 inches to go.

      Fate: Oh, 37 inches to go. Huzzah! At the rate we've been melting, that's good for about one more week!

      Leslie: You'd better keep it to yourself.

      Fate: Oh, of course I'll keep it to myself.

      [Leslie walks away]

      Fate: [muttering] Until the water reaches my lower lip, and then I'm gonna mention it to SOMEBODY!

    • Crazy credits
      Jack Lemmon is only credited as Professor Fate and not for his second role as Crown Prince Hapnik.
    • Alternate versions
      The Great Race has been re-released in France in 1996. However, after the race starts, all scenes involving people from the newspaper in New York have been cut. The French authorities or distributors took them as a mockery of the French suffragette's, feminist's and women's lib movements.
    • Connections
      Edited into Lo schermo a tre punte (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      The Sweetheart Tree
      Words by Johnny Mercer
      Music by Henry Mancini
      Performed by Natalie Wood (dubbed by Jackie Ward) (uncredited)
      Robert Bain guitar accompanist (uncredited)

    User reviews188

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    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.
    helpful•91
    19
    • Eric-62-2
    • Sep 4, 1999

    FAQ4

    • Is this movie based an an actual event?
    • Was "The Great Race" eventually turned into a cartoon series?
    • What happened to the cars driven by The Great Leslie and Professor Fate? Were they real cars? Are they still around?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 17, 1965 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • Russian
      • Latin
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Blake Edwards' The Great Race
    • Filming locations
      • Anif Palace, Anif, Salzburg, Austria(Baron von Stuppe's castle)
    • Production companies
      • Patricia Productions
      • Warner Bros.
      • Jalem Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $12,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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