Introduction
Welcome to my corner! Last week, I shared my thoughts on the film, The Two Mrs. Carrolls. This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film The Great Race.
The TCM television channel played The Great Race on June 3 for Tony Curtis' 100th birthday. Enjoy!
The Great Race
the Great Race is a 1965 American Technicolor epic slapstick comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood, written by Arthur A. Ross (from a story by Edwards and Ross) and with music by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Russell Harlan. The supporting cast includes Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, Arthur O'Connell and Vivian Vance.
The movie cost $12 million (equivalent to $90 million in 2023), making it the most expensive comedy film at the time. The story was inspired by the actual 1908 New York to Paris Race. It was co-produced by Lemmon's Jalem Productions, Curtis' Reynard Productions and Edwards' Patricia Productions.
It is known for one scene that was promoted as "the greatest pie fight ever." It was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects.
Plot: A spectacular land race from New York to Paris in the early 20th century is planned, the two main competitors being the handsome, dashing hero in white, The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis), and the dastardly, black-suited Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon). While Fate's sidekick, Max (Peter Falk), attempts to sabotage Leslie and the other racers, Leslie finds an unlikely ally in Maggie DuBois (Natalie Wood), a suffragette and journalist-turned-racer whose car breaks down halfway through the event.
Acting: The casting choices seemed odd to me at first, but I think all of them did great work.
Jack Lemmon played Professor Fate and Prince Friedrich Hapnick. I love him, enough said. His four most notable films are: The Apartment, Some Like it Hot, Grumpy Old Men and Glengarry Glen Ross. I reviewed Some Like it Hot, back in March. My all-time favorite Lemmon movie is Grumpy Old Men. It's a classic in my family.
Tony Curtis played Leslie Gallant III, aka The Great Leslie. We've seen him here before too, haven't we? His four most notable appearances are in: Sweet Smell of Success, Some Like it Hot, The Persuaders! television series, and Spartacus (1960). Some Like it Hot is my favorite Tony Curtis movie so far.
Natalie Wood played Maggie DuBois. Wood is apparently unhappy with filming the movie and the movie in general. Her sister Lana Wood thought that Wood looked the prettiest she ever had, but Lana sensed that the film "was physically taxing" for Wood. On Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, Wood wrapped the last bit of dialog work, then went home and swallowed a bottle of prescription pills. Groggy from the drugs, she called her friend Mart Crowley who took her to the hospital for emergency treatment. Despite how unhappy she seemed to be with it, her acting was superb. Her four most notable films are: Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass, and Love with a Proper Stranger. My favorite film of hers is Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
Perter Falk Played Maximillian Mean ("Max"). I knew I recognized him from something, Columbo and The Princess Bride! His four most notable appearances are in: Columbo television series, The Princess Bride, Murder by Death and Undisputed. The Princess Bride would have to be my favorite out of his long list of shows and movies.
Technical Aspects: Because of the success of Edwards' previous films Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark, the film's budget started at $6 million. Mirisch Productions initially financed the film for United Artists. the film's escalating costs led UA to drop the film, but the project was picked up by Warner Brothers.
Edwards wanted Robert Wagner to play the leading man, but studio executive Jack L. Warner insisted on Tony Curtis, possibly because of Wood's recent divorce from Wagner. Working with Warner, Curtis's new agent Irving "Swifty" Lazar negotiated $125,000 for Curtis—more than Edwards and Lemmon, who were to receive $100,000 each. After Warner signed the Curtis contract, Lazar reasoned that Edwards and Lemmon should make $125,000 and Warner upped its compensation to match Curtis.
Julie Andrews was first approached for the role of Maggie DuBois. Andrews, having admired the work of Edwards, wanted to work on the film, but was forced to bow out due to delays on The Sound of Music. Andrews would eventually marry Edwards and act in several of his films afterward. Natalie Wood did not want to make The Great Race, but Warner talked her into it. Wood was unhappy with her career and her personal life, having been divorced from Robert Wagner in April 1962. Warner asked Curtis if he would give a percentage of his film royalties to Wood as an enticement, but Curtis refused. He said, "I couldn't give her anything to make her want to do the movie." Instead of more money, Warner promised Wood that if she completed The Great Race, she could star in Gavin Lambert's drama Inside Daisy Clover, a role she greatly wished to have. (Which she did get to do. That movie came out in 1965 as well).
Music for the film was by henry Mancini and the costumes were designed by Edith Head. Production design, setting the period and augmenting the visual humor, was by Fernando Carrere who had designed The Great Escape and The Pink Panther for Blake Edwards. The unique slideshow-style title design was by Ken Mundie. (I particularly liked this part of the movie.)
The Technicolor scene for the pie fight in the royal bakery was filmed over five days. The first pastry thrown was part of a large cake decorated for the king's coronation. Following this was the throwing of 4,000 pies, the most pies ever filmed in a pie fight. The scene lasts four minutes and 20 seconds and cost $200,000 ($1.5 million in 2023 dollars) to shoot; $18,000 ($140,000 in 2023 dollars) just for the pasty. Shooting was halted while the actors took the weekend off. Over the weekend, the pie residue spoiled all over the scenery. When the actors returned Monday morning, the set stank so badly that the building required a thorough cleaning and large fans to blow out the sour air. The missing pie residue was recreated carefully with more pies and shooting resumed.
Final Thoughts: What a fun watch that was! I have never seen a movie where Jack Lemmon was the "villain". He's always fun to watch. Going into it, I had no idea The Great Race was meant to be a slapstick comedy. I generally don't enjoy slapsticks, but I did enjoy this movie. It was like a live action cartoon from start to finish. If that sounds like your cup of tea then I recommend it to you.
Where to watch it: According to Google, The Great Race is currently available to watch on Tubi and Fandango at Home. Or, you can purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
