I used to enjoy this comedic caper as a kid, but now I find it far less appealing, the broad humour and juvenile slapstick no longer hitting the spot; I guess I really have become more mature as I've gotten older (despite what some people might think). The live-action predecessor to Wacky Races, The Great Race stars Tony Curtis as dashing daredevil The Great Leslie, who proposes an epic automobile race from New York to Paris. Also taking part in the challenge, Leslie's arch rival Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) and his co-pilot Maximilian Meen (Peter Falk), and sexy suffragette Maggie Dubois (Natalie Wood).
160 minutes of silly sight gags and over-the-top farce, with Lemmon as the Dick Dastardly-style villain whose plans always backfire, this film really tries the patience, especially when it turns into a Prisoner of Zenda-style adventure in the final act. Lemmon is particularly hard to take in his dual role as Professor Fate and drunken Crown Prince Frederick Hoepnick. Wood has a sexy scene where she emerges soaking wet from a lake, and, towards the end of the film, there is a huge cake fight in a Parisian patisserie, with the actress, dressed in corset, stockings and suspenders, getting covered from head to foot in cream: I suppose there is something to appeal to the grown-up me after all.
When I was young, I would have rated this an 8/10; now it would struggle to get a 4. I'll be generous and split the difference for IMDb—6/10.
160 minutes of silly sight gags and over-the-top farce, with Lemmon as the Dick Dastardly-style villain whose plans always backfire, this film really tries the patience, especially when it turns into a Prisoner of Zenda-style adventure in the final act. Lemmon is particularly hard to take in his dual role as Professor Fate and drunken Crown Prince Frederick Hoepnick. Wood has a sexy scene where she emerges soaking wet from a lake, and, towards the end of the film, there is a huge cake fight in a Parisian patisserie, with the actress, dressed in corset, stockings and suspenders, getting covered from head to foot in cream: I suppose there is something to appeal to the grown-up me after all.
When I was young, I would have rated this an 8/10; now it would struggle to get a 4. I'll be generous and split the difference for IMDb—6/10.