Review of The Great Race (1965) by Rebecca H — 28 Apr 2009

Basically a two and half hour long live action cartoon. Take from that whether you will enjoy it or not.

Yes, it's long, and since it is a journey from a to b, huge swathes may feel cuttable, but that's simply the nature of the narrative and how could you pick between the different sections? With the cartoon humour and endless sense of fun, just let it sweep you along through a huge western brawl, a melting ice floe and a doppelganger prince's coronation (two Jack Lemmons? Better and better).

The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis), the perfect white-clad hero with shining teeth and women throwing themselves at him, sets up a car race from New York to Paris. Top hatted, moustachioed Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) and doting assistant Max (Peter Falk) want to prove they are better daredevils than Leslie, and they want to do it in as underhand a way as possible. Throw into this the suffragette reporter Maggie DuBois (Natalie Wood) who will complete the race by any means and prove men and women are equal and you have your cast and your plot.

Maggie and Max are both likeable supporting leads but unfortunately, Leslie is quite boring as the humour of his perfection comes mostly from outside sources. Still, Jack Lemmon is fantastic as Professor Fate and makes every second worth watching and hilarious.

The music and direction perfectly complement the film, and this has surprising depth as characters form alliances and double cross each other to survive, not just to win the race. And however needlessly long it is, it is always a pleasure to see the Professor and Max. The best of fun.