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The Great Race Overview:

The Great Race (1965) was a Action - Adventure Film directed by Blake Edwards and produced by Martin Jurow and Dick Crockett.

Academy Awards 1965 --- Ceremony Number 38 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best CinematographyRussell HarlanNominated
Best Film EditingRalph E. WintersNominated
Best Music - SongMusic by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Johnny MercerNominated
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The Great Race BlogHub Articles:

Film Albums: The Great Race : Music from the Film ( 1965 )

By The Metzinger Sisters on May 20, 2022 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film Lovers

Blake Edward's classic zany comedy The Great Race featured a great cast of actors ( Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk, etc ), great location filming, great set design, AND a great soundtrack....by none other than Henry Mancini. This talented composer was at his peak in the 1960s and... Read full article

The Great Race (1965)

By Beatrice on Sep 18, 2018 From Flickers in Time

The Great Race Directed by Blake Edwards Written by Arthur A. Ross from an original story by Ross and Blake Edwards 1965/USA Warner Bros./Patricia/Jalem Productions/Reynard First viewing?/Netflixrental Any movie dedicated to “Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy” has set itself a high standard.  No... Read full article

The Great Race (1965)

on Feb 25, 2015 From Journeys in Classic Film

Director Blake Edwards wanted to craft a tribute to Laurel and Hardy films, turning out the 1965 road movie, The Great Race. It fits the “road movie” moniker in two ways: characters are literally on the road, and it also boasts a lengthy runtime (complete with intermission) as part of it... Read full article

New From Warner Archive: The Great Race (1965) on Blu-ray

By KC on Sep 22, 2014 From Classic Movies

To get in the proper mood for The Great Race, you need only read the title card at the beginning of the film that respectfully announces, "for MR. LAUREL and MR. HARDY." While the classic comedy duo never attempted a 160 minute comic epic in brilliant color, if they had, it might have turned out a b... Read full article

Professor Fate of "The Great Race" ( 1965 )

By The Metzinger Sisters on Apr 26, 2014 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film Lovers

Blogathon season is in full force and Speakeasy, Shadows and Satin, and Silver Screenings have teamed up to devise the fiendishly clever Great Villain Blogathon to add to the mix. In our opinion there is no dastardly scheming archetypal villain greater than Professor Fate and so, naturally, we have ... Read full article

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The Great Race Quotes:

The Baron: He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. So, until another day, Mr. Leslie.
[repeated line]
Professor Fate: Push the button, Max!
Professor Fate: The eternal struggle takes time, Max.
[repeated line]
Professor Fate: [shouts] Maaaax!
Professor Fate: Sh-sh-sh-sh-shut up!
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The Great Race Facts
Professor Fate's Rocket Car, torpedo, and one of the Hannibal 8's produced for this movie, are located at the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois. As of January 2010, these three items were for sale for $350,000.
This movie is loosely based on an actual 1908 New York-to-Paris race.
Features the largest pie fight ever staged, with a running gag that The Great Leslie remains clean while everyone else is covered in pie. Tony Curtis was required to change clothes several times when he was accidentally splattered with debris from a pie that had hit someone else. The pies used during the pie throwing scene were real, containing fruit, custard, whipped cream and other ingredients. Following this scene the crew devoured more than 300 leftover pies.
Though not specifically stated, this movie takes place between 1901-1909. This was the period Theodore Roosevelt held presidency which in turn is hinted at by Maggie Dubois during her capture in the Potsdorf dungeons.
Charlton Heston was originally offered the role of The Great Leslie. He considered it a "funny script" but had to turn the part down when the production schedule for The Agony and the Ecstasy was delayed. Tony Curtis then got the part.
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