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The Great Race (1965)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:04 pm    Post subject: The Great Race (1965) Reply with quote

____


A clever, big-budget, laugh-filled comic adventure, starring Tony Curtis as The Great Leslie, daredevil extraordinaire, and Jack Lemmon as the dastardly Professor Fate, black-garbed villain who competes with Curtis in a New-York-to-Paris auto race.





Both competitors have super automobiles worthy of this globe-spanning trip which takes them across the American West, through the arctic and Siberia, and into the fictitious country of Potsdorf, where they become embroiled in a delightful parody of The Prisoner of Zenda, complete with one of the best climactic sword fights ever put on film.





The rich music by Henry Mancini supports both the slapstick comedy and the epic adventure. Mancini is responsible for some of the best 1950s sci-fi scores. The superb cast does a consistently excellent job under the direction of Blake Edwards.

Peter Falk might have stolen the show as Lemon's sidekick if the competition hadn't been so stiff. Ross Martin (The Colossus of New York) is superb as the sword-wielding villain in the swashbuckler parody.

The gorgeous Natalie Wood never looked better as the feminist spitfire and worthy heroine for Curtis' bigger-than-life hero.








Keenan Wynn is Curtis' gruff-but-loyal sidekick. Honorable mention to Larry Storch (TV's F Troop) as Texas Jack, and to Dorothy Provine (It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) as Lily O'Lay. The film may be a trifle overlong for some viewers, but it is consistently entertaining.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Aug 13, 2022 2:38 pm; edited 9 times in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 1:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What fun, epic comedy movie this is to enjoy. IAMMMMW is the best in the comedy epic category, but TGR is next.

The Hannibal 8 auto for Dr.Fate remains one of my all time favorite movie/TV cars.The Black Beauty, Astin Martin, Lotus are next.

Jack Lemmon owns the role of Professor Fate. And the rest of the cast does a fine job.

The saloon brawl & pie fight are outstanding.
Very Happy
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Krel
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 4:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Originally, Charlton Heston was suppose to play the Great Leslie. Unfortunately, the filming of "The Agony and the Ecstasy" went way over schedule.

I love Tony Curtis in the movie, but it would have been real interesting to see Charlton Heston in the role.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 7:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
Originally, Charlton Heston was suppose to play the Great Leslie. Unfortunately, the filming of "The Agony and the Ecstasy" went way over schedule.

I love Tony Curtis in the movie, but it would have been real interesting to see Charlton Heston in the role.

Oh dear me, no no no no no . . .

Moses as The Great Leslie? That just seems really really wrong. Now, Tony Curtis as Michelangelo -- THAT would have livened up a movie that is a triffle dull.

Remember the scenes in which Rex Harrison kept asking Charlton Heston how much longer he was going to keep working on the Sistine Chapel?

Rex Harrison: "Michelangelo! When you make an end?"

Tony Curtis: "When I'm finished, for God's sake! Get off my back, will ya! Geez!"




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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great movie from a great era. When films like this were lushly colored and just fun to watch, especially on the big screen.

And Natalie Wood was sexy and a fun girl ( Far cry from Maria in West Side Story! ).
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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 9:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The pie fight was absolutely one of the best ones ever put on film.

I kept thinking that maybe Moe, Larry, & Curly Joe would put in a cameo appearance.
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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2017 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jack Lemmon's son, Chris, said that Professor Fate was one of his dad's favorite roles.
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Krel
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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2017 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a joke in the movie that was lifted from Ernie Kovacs. It is the scene where Prof. Fate, and Max are having dinner, with a moose head mounted on the wall with an archway on either side. The alarm goes off, and Fate and Max, each run though an arch. On the other side of the wall is the rest of the moose, standing on boxes!

Jack Lemmon was a good friend of Ernie Kovacs, and I always wondered if Jack Lemmon had the gag put in the movie to honor his friend. I like to think so, even though it does fit Blake Edwards brand of humor.

The movie is based on a real race from the early 1900s, and some of the participants were still alive to see the movie. They were not amused.

A few years back, there was a commercial that used the moose gag. You see a rich guy in his luxurious office, with a moose head mounted on the wall behind him. The camera cuts to the other side of the wall, where the rest of the moose is, standing on a desk with a poor guy, seated under the moose body, doing work on his computer.

David.
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MetroPolly
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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2017 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, this is one of my absolute faves!!! My mom turned me on to this one, and I'm grateful.

Still one of the best pie fights ever, and the fencing work was done beautifully; of course, Ross Martin was a fencer IIRC.

And yeah, it was based on a real race, and I think the Leslie special was based on Horatio Jackson Nelson's Winton.

True it's a bit long (I got ribbed by the CHFB for the running time) but it doesn't flag too much.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2017 10:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe that in it's first run it had an intermission to break up the running time. It was shown with designated seating also.

They did it up BIG in those days ! And it was done as a special event.
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Krel
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PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 7:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MetroPolly wrote:

and the fencing work was done beautifully; of course, Ross Martin was a fencer IIRC.

I think the Leslie special was based on Horatio Jackson Nelson's Winton.

Both Tony Curtis, and Ross Martin came up in the studio system where they were taught how to sing, dance, ride horses, fence, handle firearms, etc..

Ross Martin was very talented, he did fencing in a couple of episodes of "The Wild, Wild West", and according to Robert Conrad, Ross Martin designed and applied most of the disguises that he used in the show.

You are right, I read that the Leslie Special is based on the winning automobile in the race, but I don't remember the car's name.

David.
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PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

3 actors that appeared in The Great Race starred previously in that other epic comedy classic It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"(1963).

Dorthy Provine, Marvan Kaplan, & Peter Falk.

It has been reported that Ernie Kovacs was to have starred in IAMMMMW alongside his wife Edie Adams but died in a tragic car accident prior to the movie being filmed.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

It's no surprise that this marvelous movie has some interesting trivia items on IMDB.
________________________________

When Prof. Fate, Max and Maggie DuBois drive into the Russian town, Maggie repeats to the professor what she had already argued in her first interview with The Great Leslie, that she speaks French, Russian and Arabic. She then speaks a full sentence to the townspeople in Russian. Natalie Wood, who plays Maggie DuBois, was of Russian descent (her real name is Natasha Gurdin) and spoke fluent Russian.

Note from me: Natasha? Holy Smoksky, vee must tell Moose and Squirrel about this! Very Happy:

Natalie Wood reportedly did not like making this film, and would seize upon any excuse to miss a day's filming. Her main complaint was the fact that she felt she was being sexually harassed by both Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

Note from me: Okay, I am NOT condoning sexual harrassment, but I can certainly understand the temptation these guys felt!






Hal Smith played the mayor of the western town in which Leslie stops to refuel. The town is called "Boracho", which in Spanish means "drunkard". Smith had played Otis, the town drunk, on The Andy Griffith Show (1960).

Note from me: A subtle and clever touch on the part of the filmmakers. Very Happy

In June 1963, it was announced that Burt Lancaster would be playing the Great Leslie opposite Jack Lemmon and Natalie Wood.

Note from me: This might have worked a little better than Charleton Heston in the role (as stated in another IMDB item), but I think Tony was the best choice.

The actual 1908 New York-to-Paris race was anything but comedic to the drivers who took part. But a record of the race, with its various diversions, mishaps and shenanigans reads like a good comedy. See the Smithsonian Magazine article of March 7, 2012, Paris or Bust: The Great New York-to-Paris Auto Race of 1908.

Note from me: I embedded the link to the article mentioned above. I read a little of it, and it sounds fascinating!

In the real 1908 Great Race, the German car arrived in Paris four days earlier than the American Thomas Flyer. But, it was penalized 30 days for not going to Alaska and for shipping part way by rail.

Note from me: I love the fact that Professor Fate tried to cheat by driving on a train track to shorten the official route, and one of the real racers tried to cheat even worse! Laughing

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Aug 27, 2017 1:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I read that Natalie Wood's problems came from the divorce she was undergoing at the time with Robert Wagner .

Deleting duplicate information.

Screen Archives Entertainment has a new CD set of the soundtrack to the movie. It is several CD's of the movie's soundtrack, including the original soundtrack from the movie's release.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
Ross Martin was very talented, he did fencing in a couple of episodes of "The Wild, Wild West", and according to Robert Conrad, Ross Martin designed and applied most of the disguises that he used in the show..

One of Ross Martin's most moving roles was in a movie he only appears in for the first fifteen minutes, after which he only did voice-over work.

The Colossus of New York



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~ The Space Children (1958)
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