Review of The Great Race (1965) by Jacob M — 18 Aug 2013

In 1965, there were two epic racing comedies released in the same year. There's Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, a film about an epic plane race from London to Paris. And then there's The Great Race, directed by legendary comic director Blake Edwards (of Pink Panther fame), about an epic automobile race from New York to Paris and was meant to pay tribute to slapstick silent comedies. Of the two, The Great Race is far more superior due to the slapstick tribute.

The Great Race is about two daredevil performers, The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis), the heroic one, and the villainous Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon), who both intend to outdo one another in their stunts. The two decide to compete in a long, epic automobile race from New York to Paris in order to prove who's the better daredevil. Things get complicated when female reporter Maggie Dubois (Natalie Wood), decides to join the race in order to inspire women's rights. The race leads them to the Wild West, Alaska, and in the European kingdom of Calpurnia, they find themselves in a case of mistaken identity with the kingdom's drunken prince (also played by Jack Lemmon).

The Great Race also features Peter Falk as Fate's assistant, Keenan Wynn as Leslie's assistant, Arthur O'Connell as a newspaper boss against woman's rights, Vivian Vance as the boss's wife, Dorothy Provine as a sassy saloon gal, Larry Storch as the tough Texas Jack, Ross Martin as the evil Baron von Stuppe, and Denver Pyle as the cowardly Western sheriff.

The Great Race is brilliant. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Many genres are rolled up into one here, and while that sounds like a misfire, the multiple genres in The Great Race delivers. There's an epic story, loads of slapstick comedy in style of silent comedies, romance, exciting action, some memorable musical numbers, and scenes of suspenseful drama. You didn't see these multiple genres in Magnificent Men.

But even with all these multiple genres in the film, The Great Race is mostly a comedy, which is the most remembered, and the comedy is flat-out hilarious. There's some insane stuntwork, including a huge dive down a moat, crazy crashes, a highly insane barfight, and in the most famous comedic sequence, the largest, biggest, grandest pie fight ever displayed in a film. The pie fight is a riot and is definitely worth seeing in The Great Race.

Tony Curtis delights as The Great Leslie. While the brightened smiles might annoy some, the attractiveness in his character delights, especially in the women crowd, and Curtis was a highlight. He provided most of the stunts, including an epic swordfight in the film's action sequences, and I was impressed with his work. Natalie Wood is a beauty, and is often very hilarious, especially in her opening sequence where she handcuffs herself to a door in order to make a point about women's rights. The women's right subplot might offend some, but under the leadership of Natalie Wood, it's very memorable. Her chemistry with Curtis often delights and is very, very entertaining. But the reason why The Great Race succeeds in it's comedy can be summed up in two words: Jack Lemmon. Like in his role in Some Like it Hot, Lemmon, without a doubt, steals the show as Professor Fate. Lemmon got the most physical slapstick and humor and delivers in the "villainy." While Lemon's character is a villain, I was rooting for Lemmon to win the race, not Curtis. Lemmon also plays a drunken prince who looks like the evil professor, and delights as well, even if he could be considered over-the-top to some.

Henry Mancini, who just made the list of my top ten film composers in my recent blog, scores the film, and it delivers in the suspense and the comedy. The themes are very memorable, especially the Professor Fate theme. There's also a memorable dance number from the saloon gal, which delights, and the hit song "The Sweetheart Tree", performed by Natalie Wood in sing along (but her voice was probably dubbed, like in West Side Story).

The Great Race is more than a great movie; it's stupendous, featuring very memorable performances, especially Jack Lemmon, loads of memorable comedy, some epic action. and a very catchy Mancini score. While Magnificent Men delivers in the crazy plane stunts, The Great Race is far more superior at being a grand epic comedy, and is one of the few "cartooney" comedies that's very, very, funny.