June 13th: THE GREAT RACE (Blake Edwards, 1965)
NOTE: This film will be projected in the high-definition Blu-ray format.
At the turn of the century, two rival daredevils and a women's rights activist take part in the longest auto race in history, from New York City to Paris. Hijinks ensue.
Writer-director Blake Edwards was riding high in Hollywood by the mid-1960s, having already released the huge successes of Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther earlier in the decade. This allowed him to pursue a more ambitious project with a higher budget, in this case a tribute to silent era comedies as well as the films of comedic duo Laurel & Hardy. While drawing inspiration from a real-life New York to Paris race in 1908, most of the events and characters were totally fictional. Edwards developed the story with television writer Arthur A. Ross, who wrote the screenplay.
Cast in the leads roles were the duo from hit Some Like It Hot, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, who had both previously worked with Edwards and were big box office comedy draws by this point. The third major role went to Natalie Wood, also a major star after her recent appearances in West Side Story and Splendor in the Grass, who reluctantly agreed to do the film as a favor to Warner Bros studio head Jack L. Warner. Other roles went to Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, and Vivian Vance (Ethel from TV's I Love Lucy).
Most of the film was shot on the Warner Bros lot in Burbank, other regional locations included Death Valley, Railroad 1897 Historic Park, Big Bear Valley, Lake Arrowhead, Stockton, and Sonora, all in California. Additional shooting was done in Frankfort, Kentucky, and overseas in Salzburg, Austria and Paris. Behind the camera was veteran cinematographer Russell Harlan (Rio Bravo, To Kill a Mockingbird). The production design and art direction were by frequent Edwards collaborator Fernando Carrere of Mexico. 8-time Oscar-winner Edith Head did the costumes for Wood.
The budget for the film quadrupled over time, and eventually became the most expensive comedy made up to that point. Extravagances include a number of custom cars build specially for the film, and an epic pie fight that took five days to shoot and went from fun to grueling for the actors. Despite not wanting to make the film, Wood threw herself in the role by taking fencing and horseback riding lessons. Various Hollywood genres are referenced and parodies during the story.
The eclectic score and several songs were written by Henry Mancini, another longtime Edward collaborator, who had already scored hits for his compositions of "Moon River" and "The Pink Panther Theme". The film was released during the summer, and despite mixed reviews, was a huge success at the box office, but due to the production cost the film did not initially turn a profit.
The Great Race received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Film, as well as Academy Award nominations for cinematography, editing, score, sound, and original song, and won for its sound effects. Lemmon claimed he received more fan mail for this role than any other. The 1968 children's cartoon Wacky Races (and its characters of Penelope Pitstop and Dastardly & Mutley) was said to be inspired by the film.
Running time is approx. 2 hrs, 30 min.
At the turn of the century, two rival daredevils and a women's rights activist take part in the longest auto race in history, from New York City to Paris. Hijinks ensue.
Writer-director Blake Edwards was riding high in Hollywood by the mid-1960s, having already released the huge successes of Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther earlier in the decade. This allowed him to pursue a more ambitious project with a higher budget, in this case a tribute to silent era comedies as well as the films of comedic duo Laurel & Hardy. While drawing inspiration from a real-life New York to Paris race in 1908, most of the events and characters were totally fictional. Edwards developed the story with television writer Arthur A. Ross, who wrote the screenplay.
Cast in the leads roles were the duo from hit Some Like It Hot, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, who had both previously worked with Edwards and were big box office comedy draws by this point. The third major role went to Natalie Wood, also a major star after her recent appearances in West Side Story and Splendor in the Grass, who reluctantly agreed to do the film as a favor to Warner Bros studio head Jack L. Warner. Other roles went to Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, and Vivian Vance (Ethel from TV's I Love Lucy).
Most of the film was shot on the Warner Bros lot in Burbank, other regional locations included Death Valley, Railroad 1897 Historic Park, Big Bear Valley, Lake Arrowhead, Stockton, and Sonora, all in California. Additional shooting was done in Frankfort, Kentucky, and overseas in Salzburg, Austria and Paris. Behind the camera was veteran cinematographer Russell Harlan (Rio Bravo, To Kill a Mockingbird). The production design and art direction were by frequent Edwards collaborator Fernando Carrere of Mexico. 8-time Oscar-winner Edith Head did the costumes for Wood.
The budget for the film quadrupled over time, and eventually became the most expensive comedy made up to that point. Extravagances include a number of custom cars build specially for the film, and an epic pie fight that took five days to shoot and went from fun to grueling for the actors. Despite not wanting to make the film, Wood threw herself in the role by taking fencing and horseback riding lessons. Various Hollywood genres are referenced and parodies during the story.
The eclectic score and several songs were written by Henry Mancini, another longtime Edward collaborator, who had already scored hits for his compositions of "Moon River" and "The Pink Panther Theme". The film was released during the summer, and despite mixed reviews, was a huge success at the box office, but due to the production cost the film did not initially turn a profit.
The Great Race received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Film, as well as Academy Award nominations for cinematography, editing, score, sound, and original song, and won for its sound effects. Lemmon claimed he received more fan mail for this role than any other. The 1968 children's cartoon Wacky Races (and its characters of Penelope Pitstop and Dastardly & Mutley) was said to be inspired by the film.
Running time is approx. 2 hrs, 30 min.
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