The Great Race [Blu-ray]

Director: Blake Edwards Blake Edwards

Overview

Tony Curtis stars as The Great Leslie, a hero among heroes whose purity of heart is manifested by his spotlessly white wardrobe. Leslie's great rival, played by Jack Lemmon, is Professor Fate, a scowling, mustachioed, top-hatted, black-garbed villain. Long envious of Leslie's record-setting accomplishments with airships and sea craft, Professor Fate schemes to win a 22,000-mile auto race from New York City to Paris by whatever insidious means possible. The problem is that Fate is his own worst enemy: each of his plans to remove Leslie from the running (and from the face of the earth) backfires. Leslie's own cross to bear is suffragette Maggie Dubois (Natalie Wood), who also hopes to win the contest and thus strike a blow for feminism. The race takes all three contestants to the Wild West, the frozen wastes of Alaska, and, in the longest sequence, the mythical European kingdom of Carpania. This last-named country is the setting for a wild Prisoner of Zenda spoof involving Professor Fate and his look-alike, the foppish Carpanian king. When Leslie and Fate approach the finish line at the Eiffel Tower, Leslie deliberately loses to prove his love for Maggie. Professor Fate cannot stand winning under these circumstances, thus he demands that he and Leslie race back to New York. The supporting cast includes Peter Falk as Fate's long-suffering flunkey Max, Keenan Wynn as Leslie's faithful general factotum, Dorothy Provine as a brassy saloon singer, Larry Storch as ill-tempered bandit Texas Jack, and Ross Martin as Baron Von Stuppe. The film also yielded a hit song, Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer's The Sweetheart Tree. The Great Race was dedicated to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy".

Product Details

Release Date:	08/26/2014
UPC:	0888574077624
Original Release:	1965
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	2:40:00
Sales rank:	11,152

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tony Curtis	The Great Leslie
Jack Lemmon	Prof. Fate
Natalie Wood	Maggie DuBois
Peter Falk	Max
Arthur O'Connell	Henry Goodbody
Keenan Wynn	Hezekiah
Vivian Vance	Hester Goodbody
Dorothy Provine	Lily Olay
Larry Storch	Texas Jack
Ross Martin	Baron Rolfe Von Stuppe
George Macready	Gen. Kuhster
Marvin Kaplan	Frisbee
Hal Smith	Mayor of Boracho,Employee
Denver Pyle	Sheriff
William Bryant	Baron's Guard
Ken Wales	Baron's Guard
J. Edward McKinley	Chairman
Art Stewart	Man
Maria Schroeder	Woman in Tobelsk
Patricia King	Woman in Western Scene
Joyce Nizzari	Woman in Western Scene
Greg Benedict	Soldier
Chuck Hayward	Soldier
Francis McDonald	Russian
Richard Alexander	Extra
Robert S. Carson	Vice Chairman,Vice Chairman
Frank Kreig	Starter
Charles Fredericks	M.C.
Clegg Hoyt	Man
Charles Steel	Freight Agent
Joe Palma	Conductor
Paul Bryar	Policeman
Chester Hayes	Man in Bear Suit
John Truax	Prison Guard
Johnny Silver	Baker
Hal Riddle	Baker
Victor Adamson	Barfly
Leon Alton	Townsman
Brandon Beach	Man in Hallway at Sentinel
Herman Belmonte	Barfly
Owen Orr	Soldier
Bill Borzage	Townsman
Blake Edwards	Actor
Henry Mancini	Composer

Technical Credits

Blake Edwards

Arthur Ross

Blake Edwards	Director,Screenwriter
Martin Jurow	Producer
Arthur Ross	Screenwriter
Tregoweth Brown	Sound Effects,Sound Effects
Linwood G. Dunn	Special Effects