Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Director:

Ken Hughes

Writers:

Roald Dahl (screenplay) &
Ken Hughes (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 December 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy | Musical | Fantasy

Tagline:

The most fantasmagorical musical entertainment in the history of everything!

Plot:

An eccentric professor invents wacky machinery, but can't seem to make ends meet. When he invents a revolutionary car...

Plot Keywords:

Children | Car | Inventor | Baron | Candy

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Dick Van Dyke	...	Caractacus Potts
Sally Ann Howes	...	Truly Scrumptious
Lionel Jeffries	...	Grandpa Potts
Gert Fröbe	...	Baron Bomburst (as Gert Frobe)
Anna Quayle	...	Baroness Bomburst
Benny Hill	...	Toymaker
James Robertson Justice	...	Lord Scrumptious
Robert Helpmann	...	Child Catcher
Heather Ripley	...	Jemima
Adrian Hall	...	Jeremy
Barbara Windsor	...	Blonde
Davy Kaye	...	Admiral
Alexander Doré	...	First Spy (as Alexander Dore)
Bernard Spear	...	Second Spy
Stanley Unwin	...	Chancellor
Peter Arne	...	Captain of Guard
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Coggins
Victor Maddern	...	Junkman
Arthur Mullard	...	Big Man
Ross Parker	...	Chef
Gerald Campion	...	Minister
Felix Felton	...	Minister
Monti DeLyle	...	Minister (as Monti de Lyle)
Totti Truman Taylor	...	Duchess
Larry Taylor	...	Lieutenant
Max Bacon	...	Orchestra Leader
Max Wall	...	Inventor
John Heawood	...	Inventor
Michael Darbyshire	...	Inventor
Kenneth Waller	...	Inventor
Gerald Taylor	...	Inventor
Eddie Davis	...	Inventor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Audreson	...	Peter (uncredited)
John Baskcomb	...	Chef (uncredited)
Eunice Black	...	Courtier (uncredited)
Sadie Corre	...	Field Worker (uncredited)
Harry Fielder	...	Soldier at castle (uncredited)
Gary Graham	...	Child in Castle (uncredited)
Robert Jenner	...	Field Worker (uncredited)
Nigel Kingsley	...	Child in Castle (uncredited)
Connel Miles	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Joseph Ross	...	Child in Castle (uncredited)
Peter Ross	...	Child in Castle (uncredited)
Richard Wattis	...	Secretary at Sweet Factory (uncredited)

Directed by
Ken Hughes

Writing credits
Ian Fleming		(novel) uncredited
Roald Dahl		(screenplay) &
Ken Hughes		(screenplay)
Richard Maibaum		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Albert R. Broccoli	....	producer
Stanley Sopel	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Richard M. Sherman
Robert B. Sherman

Cinematography by
Christopher Challis

Film Editing by
John Shirley

Production Design by
Ken Adam

Art Direction by
Harry Pottle

Costume Design by
Joan Bridge		(colour costume designer)
Elizabeth Haffenden		(colour costume designer)

Production Management
David Middlemas	....	production supervisor
Hubert Fröhlich	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gus Agosti	....	assistant director
Richard Taylor	....	second unit director

Art Department
Robert W. Laing	....	assistant art director (as Bob Laing)
Peter Lamont	....	assistant art director
Jack Stephens	....	associate art director
Michael White	....	assistant art director
John Chisholm	....	prop man (uncredited)

Sound Department
Fred Hynes	....	sound recordist
Harry Miller	....	dubbing editor
John W. Mitchell	....	sound recordist (as John Mitchell)
Les Wiggins	....	dubbing editor
Maurice Askew	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Graham V. Hartstone	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)
Peter Lacey	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Anthony Sloman	....	assistant dialogue editor (uncredited)
Dan Wallin	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John Stears	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Cliff Culley	....	matte effects
Roy Field	....	visual effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Vic Armstrong	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ken Buckle	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Leech	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Mike Reid	....	stunt driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Harris	....	camera operator
John Jordan	....	aerial cameraman
Skeets Kelly	....	cameraman: second unit
Martin Body	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Mike Fox	....	focus puller: second unit (uncredited)
George Pink	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jackie Cummins	....	wardrobe supervisor
Keeley 'Wyn' Ellen Winifred	....	wardrobe mistress (uncredited)

Music Department
Marc Breaux	....	stager: musical numbers
Robin Clarke	....	music editor
Irwin Kostal	....	conductor
Irwin Kostal	....	music supervisor
Richard M. Sherman	....	music & lyrics by
Robert B. Sherman	....	music & lyrics by
Dee Dee Wood	....	stager: musical numbers
Irwin Kostal	....	musical director (uncredited)
Irwin Kostal	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Albert R. Broccoli	....	presenter
Rowland Emett	....	Potts inventions created by
Frank Ernst	....	location manager
Peter R. Hunt	....	production associate (as Peter Hunt)
Angela Martelli	....	continuity
Peter R. Hunt	....	title sequence (uncredited)
Peter Ross	....	stand-in: Adrian Hall (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dramatic Features (as A Warfield - D.F.I. Picture)
• Warfield (made by) (as Warfield Productions)

Distributors

• United Artists (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (released thru)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• UA (1968) (Japan) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox (video)
• Fox Video (video)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Time-Life Video (video)

Other Companies

• Ford Motor Company  grateful acknowledgements
• Ford Motor Company  the producer gratefully acknowledges the assistance and co-operation of (as The Ford Motor Company)
• Todd-AO Studios  recorded at (as Todd-AO)

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:o.Al. | Australia:G (alternate rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Norway:5 (video rating) | Norway:7 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:G (Approved No. 21682)

Filming Locations:

Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Dramatic Features

Trivia:

Phil Collins claims he was one of the children storming the castle at the end of the film but was edited out because of a rather large and unsightly bandage on his head that was covering a cyst.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When everyone is pushing the car, Mr. Potts looks over to Grandfather and says "comfortable grandpa?" His mouth movements do not match the dialog.

Quotes:

Caractacus Pott: You'll find a slight squeeze on the hooter an excellent safety precaution, Miss Scrumptious.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in War of the Worlds (2005)

Soundtrack:

Hushabye Mountain

Now available as "special edition" DVD ... go get it.

Well it's been 2 years since I last posted a review for this movie... I have just purchased the "Special Edition" version mainly because at last there is a wide-screen DVD version now available! This was one movie that suffered very greatly from a standard T.V format transfer ..... Now in wide-screen,it is possible to see the cinematography as it was intended to be viewed from the original Super Panavision format,even though there is still some "enhanced" format alteration to bring it into line with 16:9 ratio and luckily it was shot in Technicolor,which was easily the best analogue colour system around. Perspectives can now be seen as intended and the beautiful sets and the dance routines look vastly better... you can actually see all the dancers ! Take for instance one scene in Caractacus Potts windmill laboratory,where he shows Truly Scrumptious one of his inventions with which he intends to transmit "pictures and sound".....in the standard format half of the shot is missing so the machine cannot be fully seen and it makes no sense.. however in wide-screen you can see the "picture" and also the whole machine; so now you can enjoy one of Emmet Rolands fantasy machine creations in full. All through the movie the scenery and sets are set up framed with objects in the foreground and back ground which lend to perspective and depth of the image. The sound track seems also to have been worked on .. in previous releases the children's voices seemed to "squeak" but now they sound much more natural. You can see how much we have been missing with previous releases and it is a lot. The Special Edition also has some featurettes on the making of the movie and other related information plus a lovely booklet as well.

As to the movie itself .... it has never lost it's magic for me. I see reviews which pan the musical numbers or say it's too long or that

after seeing it as an adult they were disappointed from what they remember as a child ... but is that not the point ? It is a movie for children and/or those adults who can still view it remembering the child in themselves. It has no coarse language , no mindless violence (except the pantomime variety).. no cynicism ...just fun. In short it is a type of movie that Hollywood can no longer make because they no longer know how ... so it should be treasured more for it. People criticize Dick Van Dykes "American" accent but I find it not intrusive at all ... in fact he would probably have been better off using his normal voice in "Mary Poppins" than attempting the cockney accent which he obviously had some difficulty with.

Kids love this movie .. let them be the judges.

Thank-you Cubby Broccoli ..we miss you. Thank-you Ian Fleming / Roald Dahl / Richard Maibaum and Ken Hughes. Thank-you Ken Adam ... a genius in design for Chitty.