The Great Race
1965 · Movie · NR · 160 min · ★ 7.1 · 72% critics
A white-suited daredevil tries to sell a grand New York-to-Paris auto race for early car makers, betting on showmanship and speed across America and beyond. His black-clad rival competes in a car of his own invention, turning the journey into a nonstop battle of tricks, rivalries, and chaos along the way.
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Details
- Years
- 1965
- Release date
- 1965-07-01
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 160 min
- Critic score
- 72/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.1/10 (369 votes)
- Box office
- $25,333,333
- Budget
- $12,000,000
About
You’ll probably enjoy this if you like brawny, vintage road-race comedy with lots of slapstick spectacle and big-cast energy; Not for you if you prefer tight runtimes or subtle humor like Operation Petticoat or It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Pros: hilarious set pieces; lovable cast chemistry; big vintage-car fun | Cons: too long overall; pacing drags later; some jokes miss
Themes
- new york city
- paris, france
- car race
- inventor
- slapstick comedy
- wager
- steampunk
- daredevil
- cross country race
- turn of the century
- evil genius
- mad professor
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Sound Editing · 1966
- Academy Award — Best Sound · 1966 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Film Editing · 1966 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Cinematography, Color · 1966 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Sound Editing · 1966 · nominated
Cast & crew
Jack Lemmon
as Professor Fate
Tony Curtis
as The Great Leslie
Natalie Wood
as Maggie Dubois
Peter Falk
as Max
Keenan Wynn
as Hezekiah
Arthur O'Connell
as Henry Goodbody
Vivian Vance
as Hester Goodbody
Dorothy Provine
as Lily Olay
Larry Storch
as Texas Jack
Ross Martin
as Rolfe Von Stuppe
Directed by Blake Edwards