The Great Race

1965 "The movie with 20,000-miles or one-million-laughs guarantee!"
7.2| 2h40m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 01 July 1965 Released
Producted By: Warner Bros. Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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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.

Genre

Adventure, Comedy

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The Great Race (1965) is now streaming with subscription on Max

Director

Blake Edwards

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

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The Great Race Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Portia Hilton Blistering performances.
Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
w22nuschler I cannot think of another movie where the top 5 billed stars are actors and actresses are people I love. Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk and Keenan Wynn. Add Dorothy Provine who steals the movie with her song! I love when Tony Curtis asks her is she is a native of Baracho and she answers "I ain't no native, I was born here! This movie is just fun to watch. I think watching Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk as the funny bad guys is what makes the movie work. There are also many funny action sequences. The fight in the saloon after Dorothy Provine sings is great. Later on the pie fight is the best pie fight ever put on film. Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood also are great as the hansome leading man and beautiful leading lady. Jack Lemmon also plays a dual role in the film that is equally funny. I love it when his second character says "Raw, Raw Raw! I am a big fan of all of the main 5 actors and the comedies they have made, but this one tops anything else they have ever done. Buy the Blu Ray or DVD today!
Alyssa Black (Aly200) Blake Edwards was a reigning king of comedy during the 1960s with the immense success of "The Pink Panther" films. The director outdid himself with this zany comedy about two competing stuntmen (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) who enter an around-the-world race to prove who is the better man. The competing racers have to deal with the numerous booby traps set by one of them, the natural elements of the global terrains their vehicles traverse and a persistently pesky suffragette reporter (Natalie Wood) who soon falls in love with the good guy stuntmen.The film's leading players are all hilariously entertaining from Tony Curtis as the straight-man (similiar to his role in "Some Like It Hot") 'The Great Leslie', Jack Lemmon as the outlandish and hysterically wacky Professor Fate, Peter Falk as Lemmon's bumbling assistant Max and a lovably snarky Natalie Wood as persistent and pretty Maggie DuBois. A colorful set of supporting characters like Keenan Wynn as The Great Leslie's friend and assistant, there's Maggie's newspaper boss who is reluctant to hire a woman but does due to his suffragette wife as well as wildly eccentric minor characters along the global race. Henry Macini's zany musical score fits perfectly with the film's humor. It is cartoonish at times, but is complimented with lush melodies for tender moments. The score is boosted by Johnny Mercer's Oscar nominated 'Sweetheart Tree' which is sung by Maggie (sung by another actress, not star Natalie Wood) after a zany escape. The best comedic lines from the film are uttered by comedy legend Jack Lemmon as Professor Fate as his schemes humorously fail and he constantly berates Peter Falk's Max. There are memorable exchanges between straight-man Tony Curtis and the snarky Natalie as they spar in a verbal battle of the sexes (just watch the 'duel' scene). You can't walk away from this film without quoting certain lines, particularly Jack Lemmon's iconic "Push the button, Max!"
reisen55 I love slapstick. Laurel and Hardy and Inspector Clouseau. My wife cannot stand either but will tolerate some Stan and Ollie on occasion so here I have a personal note. I am a 10 year old fan of this film, saw it in 1965 and in later years since. BluRay now. Such is time. Now at the age of 61, I watch it with my wife every September 11 as I am also a survivor of the South Tower, 101st floor, so my hand is on the selection button for that night. I enjoy it immensely - Fate under the Curtiss pusher, the torpedo, race, the saloon fight and all. Right back to Laurel and Hardy in WAY OUT WEST. So here is a personal note for me here for this group - it has flaws but immensely entertaining. Watch it, laugh and enjoy fine performances from a time long ago.
MissSimonetta Are grand slapstick films like this even made any longer? It seems even the children's comedies nowadays are vulgar and cynical. Not that I'm saying vulgar and cynical can't be entertaining, but it would be nice if there was still room for fare like The Great Race (1965), one of the breeziest comedy spectacles ever made. It's no exaggeration when I say that this is a film that will make you feel like a kid again.The plot itself is like a Saturday morning cartoon of old: a daredevil named the Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) is partaking in an automobile race from New York to Paris, joined by his lackey Hezekiah (Keenan Wynn) and the reporter Miss Maggie DuBois (Natalie Wood). On the journey, he has to contend with his mustache-twirling rival Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) and his minion Max (Peter Falk), both willing to do anything to make sure they beat Leslie. The film is episodic, covering their misadventures across the globe.Though It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) is what comes to mind when people think of the short-lived genre of epic comedy, The Great Race is far superior due to focusing on five main characters and running at twenty minutes under three hours. Unlike the earlier film, this one knows when to give you a breather before delivering another volley of gags. The look of the movie itself is easy on the eyes, colorful and warm. The costumes are the stuff of cartoons: Leslie is always in an immaculately white suit and cap, Fate is head to toe in black, and Miss DuBois' outfits (which are wont to change even within the same scene!) come in every color on the rainbow.All the players are great, but the one everyone always remembers is Jack Lemmon's outrageous mustachioed villain, Professor Fate. He leaves much more of an impression then the film's white clad hero, but then again, don't the bad guys usually do? You can tell Lemmon is having the time of his life and consequently, so do we.A perfect film for a rainy day.