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

Sabotage efforts damage an international air race.

Director:

Ken Annakin

Writers:

Jack Davies, Ken Annakin

Stars:

Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, James Fox

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	The Neanderthal Man / Passenger on Airport
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 Rumpelstrosse

Storyline

In the early days of the 20th century, a British Newspaper offers a prize for the winner of a cross channel air race which brings flyers from all over the world. There are many sub-plots as the flyers jockey for position and the affections of various women.

---

Plot Keywords:

competition | air race | prize | english channel | dover england | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family

---

Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French German Italian Japanese

Release Date:

16 June 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ces merveilleux fous volants dans leurs drôles de machines

Filming Locations:

Fulmer Hall, Fulmer, Slough, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$5,600,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$31,111,111

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Passat Ornithopter airplane in this movie was given to Cole Palen for promoting this movie. It can now be seen at the Old Rhinebeck Areodrome.

---

Goofs

Newton supposedly loses his trousers after using his belt to repair a wing strut. It is impossible for trousers to fall off over boots.

---

Quotes

Sir Percy Ware-Armitage: You dirty rotter! I had hoped I'd be dealing with a gentleman.
Trawler Skipper: So had I.

---

Crazy Credits

Closing credits: Those Magnificent Men - and Women - were ...

---

Connections

Referenced in Rewind This! (2013)

---

Soundtracks

Ride of the Valyries
Written by Richard Wagner
Heard when Von Holstein is trying to control the motorcycle from the side car

User Reviews

Up We Go!

An interesting collection of early aircraft in a lighthearted comedy. Set in the early 1900s, an "international" air race, from England to France, and of course across the English Channel, was proposed, ostensibly to advance aviation. Naturally, the film presents cultural/national stereotypes, but not maliciously.

Spoilers in the following.

One stereotype is the German team leader, played be Gert Frobe, who is so systematized that when his pilot is sick, feels that simply following the instruction books would enable him to fly the German entry. And it works, for a while. (Aside: taking off and guiding such ragwings could possibly work, but textbooks or no, the landings probably would be worth watching on something like America's Funniest Home Videos.) His antics, as his aircraft gets into trouble, thumbing frantically through his manuals, is classic.

The very end of the film (not counting the Red Skelton epilogue)is amusing. When it was filmed, the contrast of the early aircraft with modern jets was rather neat, but watching those antique jets now is rather quaint.