Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (1969)

An international car rally across Europe is complicated by smuggling, cheating, love at first sight, etc. etc.

Directors:

Ken Annakin, Sam Itzkovitch

Writers:

Jack Davies (original story and screenplay), Ken Annakin (original story and screenplay)

Stars:

Bourvil, Lando Buzzanca, Walter Chiari

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bourvil	...	Monsieur Dupont
Lando Buzzanca	...	Marcello
Walter Chiari	...	Angelo
Peter Cook	...	Maj. Dawlish
Tony Curtis	...	Chester Schofield
Mireille Darc	...	Marie-Claude
Marie Dubois	...	Pascale
Gert Fröbe	...	Willi Schickel / Horst Müller (as Gert Frobe)
Susan Hampshire	...	Betty
Jack Hawkins	...	Count Levinovitch
Nicoletta Machiavelli	...	Dominique
Dudley Moore	...	Lt. Barrington
Peer Schmidt	...	Otto
Eric Sykes	...	Perkins
Terry-Thomas	...	Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage

Storyline

In an international car rally, competitors must travel from various points in Europe to Monte Carlo, then race their cars. Things are complicated by smuggling, cheating, honor, inventions, medicine, and love at first sight...

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Plot Keywords:

smuggling | cheating | race | monte carlo | road movie | 

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Taglines:

...the original Road Runners!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK France Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1969 (UK)

Also Known As:

Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies

Filming Locations:

Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arthur Conn,Basil Keys Productions,Champion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Allegedly Tony Curtis and Susan Hampshire had a brief relationship during the making of the film.

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Goofs

At the Paris checkpoint modern cars and trucks can be see across the river.

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Crazy Credits

Closing sequence: Revolving Automobile Tire segues into the Paramount Logo.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Projected Man (1998)

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Soundtracks

Those Daring Young Men in their Jaunty Jalopies
Music and Lyrics by Ron Goodwin
Sung by Jimmy Durante

User Reviews

A Total Dud

This one is a misfire on all counts. Most of the cast is lousy, the story is dull, the direction nonexistent, and the film is too long. It drones on and on cutting from one group in the car rally to another. The Germans and Italians and the "girls" are almost impossible to understand, so that cuts what you can follow to three groups. But all the little subplots go nowhere and the special effects are hideously bad. Location shooting mixes with bad studio shots and the bizarre mix of 60s fashion in a 1920s setting is stupid. Other than the cars, nothing in this film would remind anyone of the 1920s. To be fair, Susan Hampshire is bright, Terry-Thomas is always good, and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore seem to find the right comic voice for this type of farce. Tony Curtis is dreadful. Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques are wasted in nothing parts. Jack Hawkins is dubbed. Even the usually reliable Gert Frobe is defeated by the unfunny script. Not a sequel to THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES and nowhere near its equal in charm or comedy. Jimmy Durante for some reason sings the lame theme song but does not appear in this film. The film barely broke $1M at the US box office so I assume this was a huge flop ... and deservedly so.