THE GREAT RACE question
John Heiden UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO COMPUTER CONSULTANT
I have never seen it listed on anyone's list of good comedies. Blake Edwards
was considered a good director at that point in time. And Jack Lemmon, Tony
Curtis, and Natalie Wood were all widely respected actors. Plus it has a long
list of cameos by many greats like Larry Storch, Ross Martin, Dorothy Provine
and the great Peter Falk.
What was wrong or perceived wrong with THE GREAT RACE?
(I have seen the film too many times to count, and love almost the entire film.
The world's largest pie fight was classic as was Texas Jack and the sword
fight. I have weekness for the film obviously.)
--
John Heiden
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SEMPER UBI SUB-UBIO
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John Heiden
csco...@uoft02.bitnet
csco...@uoft02.utoledo.edu
john reece
csco...@uoft02.utoledo.edu (John Heiden UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO COMPUTER
CONSULTANT) writes:
> Perhaps somebody can tell me what was wrong with the film THE GREAT RACE.
> What was wrong or perceived wrong with THE GREAT RACE?
I believe critics disregard it because it is extremely derivative of IT'S
A MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES.
John Reece
Not an Intel spokesman
jre...@yoyodyne.intel.com
Dave Elliott
It's been a long time since I've seen this movie (it came out around '66?).
I think that some of the problems were in the movies itself and some were due
to changing tastes and to comparisons with other movies. I remember the
characterizations (particularly Curtis') as being somewhat silly and stilted.
I think the material was somewhat beneath the actors involved (this wasn't
"Some Like It Hot", for example). The music was heavy and outdated (remember
"The Sweetheart Tree"? ugh!). It wasn't as funny as "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad,
Mad World".
I agree that the pie fight scene was excellent. On a personal note, my dad
worked on the publicity photos for this film. He was flown out to LA (from NY)
to attend the premiere and got a chance to chat with Natalie Wood! He still
has a "Great Race" beer stein that was given to him as a souvenir.
Sorry to criticize one of your favorite movies, but you asked...
-- Dave Elliott
da...@hpda.hp.com
Auburn University Planning & Analysis
utoledo.edu (John Heiden UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO COMPUTER CONSULTANT) writes...
>What was wrong or perceived wrong with THE GREAT RACE?
>(I have seen the film too many times to count, and love almost the entire film.
>The world's largest pie fight was classic as was Texas Jack and the sword
>fight. I have weekness for the film obviously.)
One of the all-time greats. The slapstick nature, the wooden, melodramatic
characters, and the length (it runs almost three hours) probably worked against
it (although it was a brilliant sendup of old movie serial melodramas). I first
saw it on a Saturday and took an entire group back to see it the next night.
(I'm giving away my age, here.) Everyone I know who has seen it loves it.
I have a friend who's been trying to find it for years on video, but it doesn't
seem to be available. (The version that shows up frequently on TBS/TNT has
been cut down.)
Some favorite scenes/quotes follow. (The quotes are not verbatim.) Anyone
who has ever seen TGR will likely recognize them.
1. Professor Fate (multiple times): "I'd like to see The Great Leslie try
that one."
2. Max to Profesor Fate, after one of the sabotaged race cars has been wrecked:
"The wheels were supposed to fall off."
3. Mayor of Boracho (multiple times): "Citizens of Boracho..."
4. The recurring sequences where the newspaper editor gradually loses all
control of his company to his wife.
5. Leslie to Natalie Wood (can't recall her character's name): "I was the
*men's* fencing champion."
6. Professor Fate to Max: "Raise (lower) the periscope, Max."
7. Professor Fate to reporters: "It is my intention to cover the measured mile
in under one minute." (Much chuckling and sniggering among the reporters.)
8. Crown Prince (after the pie fight): "Goodbye. Goodbye, you good Leslie,
you!"
9. Leslie to "Natalie" in Paris: "If I had turned left there, we'd have ended
up on the Montmartre steps."
10. Crown Prince to Prime Minister: "And you're a lousy tucker-inner."
11. And one of the all-time great movie exchanges:
Prime Minister: "Leslie escaped with a small friar."
Professor Fate: "Leslie escaped with a *chicken*?
If you hung around this long, you're a true TGR fan.
--Sam Lowther
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Auburn University |BITNET: slowther@auducvax | I play one on r.a.t.s."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
George Lindholm
|> In article <1990Nov13....@uoft02.utoledo.edu>, cscon134@uoft02.
|> utoledo.edu (John Heiden UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO COMPUTER CONSULTANT) writes...
|>
|> >What was wrong or perceived wrong with THE GREAT RACE?
|> seem to be available. (The version that shows up frequently on TBS/TNT has
|> been cut down.)
It is available on video now. I rented it about a month ago. The beginning is
very funny, then it starts to slow down.
lind...@ucs.ubc.ca George_...@mtsg.ubc.ca USE...@UBCMTSG.BITNET
University of British Columbia Computing Services
6356 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, B.C.
Canada, V6T 1T7
(604) 228-4375
Debora E. Brooks
(Auburn University Planning & Analysis) writes:
(stuff deleted)
>I have a friend who's been trying to find it for years on video, but it
>doesn't seem to be available. (The version that shows up frequently on
>TBS/TNT has been cut down.)
this is one of my all time favorite movies, too. i have probably seen it 50
or 60 times (no joke). back when i was a kid, i taped it off tbs (yes it was
cut) and watched it enough to ruin the tape, but about 3 years ago, i bought
the video. i think it was $29.95 from warner home video (i got it from a
video club), so it is definitely out there.
>Some favorite scenes/quotes follow. (The quotes are not verbatim.) Anyone
>who has ever seen TGR will likely recognize them.
since i know this whole movie by heart, i thought i'd fix a couple of
your quotes.
>1. Professor Fate (multiple times): "I'd like to see The Great Leslie try
> that one."
>2. Max to Profesor Fate, after one of the sabotaged race cars has been
> wrecked; "The wheels were supposed to fall off."
"that's not supposed to happen to number 6. i fixed it so the wheels would
come off."
>3. Mayor of Boracho (multiple times): "Citizens of Boracho..."
>4. The recurring sequences where the newspaper editor gradually loses all
> control of his company to his wife.
some classic lines from this thread:
goodbody: "i want you to run over to city hall and bail out mrs. goodbody."
frisbey: "yes, sir."
goodbody: "in about 2 hours."
mrs. goodbody: "mr. frisbey, until my husband is realeased from happy acres,
i am in charge here."
>5. Leslie to Natalie Wood (can't recall her character's name): "I was the
> *men's* fencing champion."
it's maggie dubois.
"now, if you'd won the *men's* international fencing championship."
>6. Professor Fate to Max: "Raise (lower) the periscope, Max."
acutally more like: "up, up, up, idiot, up, up"
>7. Professor Fate to reporters: "It is my intention to cover the measured
> mile in under one minute." (Much chuckling and sniggering among the
> reporters.)
>
"gentlemen i intend to cover the measured mile in approximately 12 seconds."
>8. Crown Prince (after the pie fight): "Goodbye. Goodbye, you good Leslie,
> you!"
"goodbye. farewell, you good leslie, you. i hope you win. i hope you
win."
>9. Leslie to "Natalie" in Paris: "If I had turned left there, we'd have
> ended up on the Montmartre steps."
"if we turned right back there, we'd end up on the montmartre steps."
>10. Crown Prince to Prime Minister: "And you're a lousy tucker-inner."
"oh no, your're the sloppiest tucker-inner in all of potsdorf, and if
there's anything i abhor it's a sloppy tucker-inner."
then there's this one at the pie fight:
"i don't care. i don't care. your're banished. i'm getting a new tucker-
inner. banished. banished. banished."
>11. And one of the all-time great movie exchanges:
> Prime Minister: "Leslie escaped with a small friar."
> Professor Fate: "Leslie escaped with a *chicken*?
this is defitnitely one the best exchanges in all of moviedom, though
actually it's the general, not the prime minister.
fate: "escaped?!"
general: "with a small friar."
fate: "leslie escaped with a chicken?"
here are some additional ones i like.
12. the baron is getting ready to torture hezekiah with a hot poker, but
all hezekiah is worried about as the poker gets close to his face (i
love keenan wynn; he always plays the perfect sidekick):
"not the moustache."
13. when frisby is hanging off the ledge, trying to get the pidgeon in,
the editor says:
"frisby, next time be more careful you feel yourself falling, let
go of the bird."
14. after fate and mac enter boracho and don't want to attend the party,
the mayor says:
"or by jump stop harry, you're going to be guest of honor at a necktie party"
and max says:
"necktie? well, what kind of cheap present is that?"
15. leslie to lily in boarcho:
"are you a native of boracho?"
lily:
"i ain't no native; i was born here."
16. in frozen alaska, max, fate, maggie, and leslie are in leslie's car
under the blanket.
fate: "what's so funny? is something wrong?"
maggie: "what happened to your moustache?"
max: "i broke it off"
leslie: "you what?"
max: "i broke it off; it was frozen. look." breaking off the other half
making fate look like hitler
17. on the iceberg.
max: "i'm hungry."
fate: "she's getting it."
max: "how long does it take to open a can of beans."
fate: "the eternal struggle takes time, max."
max: "what struggle? she's got a canopener."
18. another alaska exchange.
max: "where are you?"
fate: "behind the rock."
max: "behind which rock?"
fate: "this rock, you idiot" as max is tripping over fate
19. i really like the scene where fate takes the train tracks to save 15
miles. they disappear aroung some trees, then a train comes around
pushing the car in front of it. the funny part, is that the car is
turned around when it comes back.
20. i also like the way at the beginning of the movie, fate kept ending
up crashing into that old guy's farm.
21. the way women are always throwing themselves at leslie, it's almost
like he is james bond. it must be those sparkles in his eyes and
teeth.
22. a good goof is when hezekiah is playing the guitar, he is playing it
left-handed, but maggie plays the same guitar right-handed (of course
natalie wood does not actually sing or play)
23. one thing i never could figure out is where does maggie keep all her
luggage? she changes clothes many, many times but only has 2 small
suitcases. the strange thing is, though she has enough of a wardrobe
to change into 3 or 4 outfits on the iceberg, she wears the same one
for the start and end of the race (that pink thing with the matching
goggles) though she wears a green outfit right to the outskirts of
paris.
24. the ending is classic.
fate: "relaz. this time i'm going to win it my way. push the button,
max." and boom goes the eiffel tower.
>If you hung around this long, you're a true TGR fan.
amen to that. i am glad this movie is getting some discussion. i thought
i was the only person who liked this movie. i make all my friends watch
it eventually, and they just don't seem to get it. this has made me want
to watch it again. maybe after the football. now if we could just get a
discussion of my other favorite comedy "zorro, the gay blade."
>
>--Sam Lowther
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>Auburn University |BITNET: slowther@auducvax | I play one on r.a.t.s."
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Debora E. Brooks
d...@cs.brown.edu
Computer Science
Brown University
The Crystal Singer
>In article <901120232...@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> SLOW...@DUCVAX.AUBURN.EDU
>(Auburn University Planning & Analysis) writes:
etc. etc. etc. ...
I loved loved LOVED this movie. I've watched it hundreds of times.
My all time favourite scene is the pie fight, especially when they're
all absolutely covered in cream and pie fillings the color of the rainbow,
and Leslie is just walking around in his immaculate whites, with nary a stain
on him. And when he finally does get a pie thrown at him, it's a WHITE one!
I love that.
I also really love that corny scene with Wood at the beginning of the
movie, when he's pouring champagne and his eyes are doing that sparkle.
Ugh, it's so corny it's funny.
But my favourite quote is when Professor Fate is masquerading as the
Crown Prince and he's in the bedroom with all those revolting little
dogs:
"Get off the bed! I hate you." said with a beautiful sort of malevolence.
(I think so anyway.)
And who can forget the scene where Maggie Dubois shows off her legs to
whatisname (the newspaper editor):
"A woman's leg clad in a silk stocking can be very alluring"
(Someone correct me on this, I don't think I've got the quote right."
Maybe we should form a Great Race fan club ...
Debora E. Brooks
(stuff deleted)
>
>And who can forget the scene where Maggie Dubois shows off her legs to
>whatisname (the newspaper editor):
>
>"A woman's leg clad in a silk stocking can be very alluring"
>(Someone correct me on this, I don't think I've got the quote right."
This is probably one of my very favorite scene. I love the way Maggie uses
both a militant women's right stand and her female attractiveness to
accomplish her goal. Poor Henry Goodbody (the editor) never had a chance.
Just for your amusement, here is the whole scene:
(Mr. Goodbody is at his desk working, and Frisbey comes in.)
Frisbey:Mr. Goodbody.
Henry: What is it Frisbey?
Frisbey:You've got to come right away.
Henry: What's the matter?
Frisbey:Well, it's a young lady, sir.
Henry: Well, what about the young lady?
Frisbey:Ah, she's handcuffed herself to the door.
Henry: Handcuffed herself to the door?
Frisbey:Of the men's room.
Henry: What?!
(Mr. Goodbody goes storming out into the hall with Frisbey following where a
crowd of men has gathered around Maggie.)
Henry: Gentlemen.
Frisbey:Gentlemen.
Henry: Gentlemen. Gentlemen. Gentlemen.
Frisbey:Gentlemen. Gentlemen. Gentlemen.
Henry: Return to your assignments. This is a newspaper office.
Frisbey:Return to your assignments. This is a newspaper office.
Henry: There will be no lollygagging in this hallway.
Frisbey:There will be no lollygagging in this hallway.
Henry: Frisbey!
Frisbey:Yes, sir.
Henry: Now young lady, who are you?
Maggie: I am a female, past the age of consent. I was the first woman to edit
the newspaper at my college, and I shall remain handcuffed to this
door until I become the first female reporter of the New York Sentinel.
Henry: Over my dead body. Unlock those handcuffs, and get out.
Maggie: I will unlock the handcuffs when you give me the job.
Henry: Never.
Maggie: Never?
Henry: Never.
Frisbey:But, sir, if she remains here handcuffed to the men's room, the men,
the men...
Henry: The men may use the washroom on the next floor.
Frisbey:Oh, sir.
Maggie: They can't keep running upstairs forever.
Henry: They can until you get hungry.
Maggie: Oh that would make quite a story for your competition - "Woman Starves
to Death in the Men's Room of the New York Sentinel."
Henry: You wouldn't dare.
Maggie: I would dare anything for women's rights.
Henry: Ha!
Frisbey:Ha!
Maggie: Give me an assignment. If I fail, fire me.
Henry: You're fired.
(Mr. Goodbody retreats into his office with Frisbey scampering after him and
slams the door. Maggie unlocks the handcuffs and chases after them.)
Henry: Frisbey, post a bulletin: Suffragettes are not permitted...
(Maggie bursts into the office.)
Maggie: Let me cover the Great Race.
Henry: It's being covered by experienced reporters.
Maggie: No, I mean really cover it - from start to finish, mile by mile.
Henry: Reporters are not permitted on the trip - only contestants; those are
the rules.
Maggie: Break them.
Henry: We are running a newspaper, not a school for revolutionaries.
Maggie: Enter the race. Enter your own car.
Henry: We are running a newspaper, a newspaper, not an automotive agency.
Maggie: Are you afraid of losing? Give me the money, and I will enter the race.
Henry: I despise suffragettes.
Maggie: Oh, I am not just trying to get the vote for women. I am out to
emancipate them from the drudgery of being either servants or saints.
Out of the laundry rooms and off the pedestals.
Henry: You're mad, young woman, mad.
Maggie: And you, sir, are a slave to your puritanism. Does your wife wear silk
stockings?
Henry: Ah! I won't discuss such an intimate subject.
Maggie: She does, and they're very expensive, but has she ever raised her skirt
for you and shown her calf?
Henry: Ah!
Maggie: A woman's calf in a silk stocking can be quite alluring.
Henry: Shhh! Miss...Miss...
Maggie: DuBois. Maggie Dubois. I can see that you have never seen a woman's
leg in a silk stocking. Never, never in your whole life.
(Maggie pulls up her skirt and puts her leg in Mr. Goodbody's face.)
Henry: Frisbey, leave the room.
Frisbey:Yes, sir.
Maggie: Well, what are you thinking? Come on, there isn't anything men and
women can't discuss if they are civilized and mature and emancipated.
Henry: Anything?
Maggie: You see you can't discuss it, and that's the problem. Women have to
emancipate men, so they can emancipate men, so they can emancipate
each other where it counts the most. Fifty dollars for every exclusive
story of the race I send back and a hundred dollars for every
photograph.
(Mr. Goodbody signs the contract Maggie has put before him almost like a
zombie.)
Maggie: You're a fine man. A timid man, but a worthwhile one. Have a cigar?
Henry: Eh?
Maggie: Don't smoke?
(Maggie dramatically lights up a cigar, takes her contract, and strides
toward the door with a flourish.)
Maggie: The Sentinel will scoop the world!
>
>Maybe we should form a Great Race fan club ...
Sounds good to me.
Nick Rothwell
>Sounds good to me.
Me too, this being one of my very favourite films. Unfortunately, since a lot
of the humour is purely visual (like the *wonderful* sequences of the
competitions at the beginning), and depends on Lemmon's facial expressions,
USEnet discussion isn't too helpful...
"Max. Activate the rockets."
"Push the button, Max."
"Max.... *we're* car number eight."
Favourite scene - Prof. Fate doing the "spaghetti western" trick of striking
a match against his teeth, and then realising that it hurts...
"Hey, Professor...!" *splat splat splatsplatsplatsplat...*
--
Nick Rothwell, Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science, Edinburgh.
ni...@lfcs.ed.ac.uk <Atlantic Ocean>!mcsun!ukc!lfcs!nick
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
"You ain't seen nothing yet. I can take this floor out too, no trouble."
Debora E. Brooks
>"Max.... *we're* car number eight."
>
not to nitpick, but if you're going to quote my favorite comedy, get
it right.
max.... we're number five.
>Nick Rothwell, Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science, Edinburgh.
> ni...@lfcs.ed.ac.uk <Atlantic Ocean>!mcsun!ukc!lfcs!nick
>~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
> "You ain't seen nothing yet. I can take this floor out too, no trouble."
Debora E. Brooks
Adams Douglas
at one point Charlton Heston was given the script to see if he was interested
in playing The Great Leslie (that _would_ have been interesting). In his
published work journals he later wrote that he turned it down for more
interesting offers, but added "..besides, Lemmon really has the better part."
--
====================================================================
Adams Douglas
3206 Raintree Circle -sometime I'll think of a good quote for here-
Culver City, CA 90230
crash!adamsd