From director Blake Edwards (The Pink Panther films) this is a great comedy, reuniting the stars of Some Like It Hot. Basically Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis, like Peter Perfect) has a special car made to race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) and help promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the moustached and black-attired Professor Fate (Golden Globe nominated Jack Lemmon, like Dick Dastardly) with cohort Max (Columbo's Peter Falk, like Muttley, without wheezing snickering) vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention. The film was good, until I realised the length (20 minutes under 3 hours!), and they had to bring in a dragging thing with Fate fooling everyone to crown him a King, instead of the man who has a close resemblance, drunk Prince Hapnik (Lemmon, again). It does pick up again though with the pie fight, and Leslie loses on purpose, to Fate, to prove his love for companion Maggie DuBois (Natalie Wood). It is pretty much a live action cartoon, or episode of Wacky Races, with tributes to Laurel and Hardy. It won the Oscar for Best Sound Effects, and it was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Song for "The Sweetheart Tree" (also nominated the Golden Globe) and Best Sound, and it was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy and Best Original Score for Henry Mancini. Very good!
Review of The Great Race
