Blake Edwards was a madman. Honestly, there’s no other way to describe a director who convinces a major studio to hand over $12 million in 1965—which is roughly $115 million today—to film a movie about a turn-of-the-century car race from New York to Paris. It was the most expensive comedy ever made at the time. It was bloated. It was chaotic. It was loud.
And yet, The Great Race movie remains a absolute masterclass in physical comedy that CGI simply cannot replicate.
People forget how massive this production was. You’ve got Jack Lemmon playing a double role, Tony Curtis looking impossibly clean in all-white spandex, and Natalie Wood as a suffragette who manages to change outfits every five minutes despite being in the middle of a wilderness trek. It’s a love letter to the era of silent films, specifically dedicated to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy." But it isn't just a parody; it’s a high-octane, slapstick epic that defined the "road movie" genre for decades to come.
The Absolute Chaos of the Pie Fight
Let's talk about the scene everyone remembers. If you say "The Great Race movie" to a cinephile, they immediately picture the Royal Bakery in the fictional kingdom of Potzdorf. This wasn't just a food fight. It was a four-day ordeal involving 4,000 real pies.
Edwards insisted on using real pastry. No fake foam or shaving cream. The smell on that set by day three was apparently nightmarish because the custard started to sour under the hot studio lights. Jack Lemmon famously said that a pie to the face feels like being hit with a wet cement bag. The sheer logistics of this four-minute sequence are staggering. They had to keep track of the color of the pies—mostly blueberry, cherry, strawberry, and lemon—to ensure the "color palette" of the mess looked right on the Technicolor film.
There’s a legendary bit of trivia where Natalie Wood, who stayed remarkably clean for most of the fight, finally gets nailed. That wasn't just a lucky shot; it took dozens of takes and precise choreography. It cost $200,000 just for that one scene. That’s more than the entire budget of some independent films from that same year.
Professor Fate vs. The Great Leslie: A Study in Archetypes
The dynamic between Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon is what keeps the engine running.
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Tony Curtis plays The Great Leslie. He is perfect. He is boringly perfect. He has a sparkling tooth that literally "pings" when he smiles. On the flip side, you have Professor Fate. Jack Lemmon leaned so hard into the mustache-twirling villainy that he basically created the blueprint for every cartoon antagonist of the next thirty years, including Dick Dastardly from Wacky Races.
Lemmon’s performance is actually a dual one. He also plays Prince Frederick Hoepnick, a drunken, bumbling royal. The contrast is brilliant. While Fate is all screeching energy and "PUSH THE BUTTON, MAX!", the Prince is a soft, giggling mess. It allowed Lemmon to flex every comedic muscle he had.
Peter Falk as Max is the secret weapon here. Before he was Columbo, he was the ultimate "straight man" to a lunatic. Their chemistry is the heart of the movie. Max is the only one who seems to realize how ridiculous their inventions are—like the Hannibal 8, a car with a retractable drill and a smoke screen that usually just chokes them.
Real Locations and the $12 Million Gamble
They didn't just stay on a backlot.
The production traveled to Salzburg, Austria, and various locations across California to mimic the trek across continents. This was 1965. There were no green screens. When you see the cars driving through a blizzard, those actors are actually freezing. When the car floats on an ice floe in the Bering Strait, that was a massive practical set piece that nearly went sideways several times.
Warner Bros. was terrified. The movie ran over schedule. It ran over budget. But Blake Edwards had just come off the success of The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark, so he had the leverage to keep going. He wanted the movie to feel "big." He wanted the intermission. He wanted the orchestral overture by Henry Mancini.
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Mancini’s score is actually a huge part of why the movie works. "The Sweetheart Tree" became a legitimate hit, but it’s the character themes that stick in your brain. Professor Fate has a theme that sounds like a collapsing circus, while Leslie’s music is all trumpets and triumph.
The Suffragette Subplot and Natalie Wood
Maggie DuBois, played by Natalie Wood, is an interesting character to look back on. She’s a journalist and a suffragette, constantly fighting for her right to be taken seriously while being trapped in a movie that is essentially a "boys' club" adventure.
Some modern critics find the gender dynamics a bit dated—there’s a lot of "you're a woman, you can't do this"—but Maggie usually gets the last laugh. She’s the smartest person in the race. She speaks multiple languages, knows how to fix a car, and is the only one who actually finishes the race with any dignity. Wood reportedly didn't have the best time on set—she felt the comedy was too broad and she struggled with the physical demands—but her performance provides a necessary grounding force. Without her, it’s just two guys yelling at each other in weird cars.
Why We Don't See Movies Like This Anymore
Big-budget slapstick is a dead art form.
Today, if a studio spends $150 million, it’s on a superhero movie or a sci-fi sequel. Comedy is relegated to smaller budgets because "humor doesn't always translate globally," or so the executives say. But The Great Race movie proves that physical comedy is universal. You don't need to speak English to understand a man falling through a roof or a car exploding because of a poorly timed stick of dynamite.
The craftsmanship is what’s missing now. Look at the Hannibal 8 and the Leslie Special. Those were real, functioning vehicles. The Hannibal 8 actually worked, powered by a Corvair engine. It had six wheels and could actually "lift" its body up. Collectors still drool over those cars today. The Petersen Automotive Museum has hosted the Hannibal 8 because it’s a genuine piece of engineering history, not just a prop.
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Key Takeaways for Film Lovers
If you're going to revisit this classic or watch it for the first time, keep an eye out for a few specific things that elevate it:
- The Background Gags: In the Western town of Boracho, the sheer amount of destruction happening in the background while the main characters talk is incredible.
- Jack Lemmon’s Voice: Pay attention to how he switches between the gravelly Fate and the high-pitched Prince. It’s a vocal masterclass.
- The Costumes: Edith Head designed the clothes. Natalie Wood has 20 different outfits in a movie where she’s supposedly stranded in the wilderness. It’s absurd and wonderful.
- The Editing: The timing of the "ping" on Tony Curtis’s teeth is perfect every single time.
How to Experience The Great Race Today
Don't watch this on a phone. The scale is too big. This is a "living room theater" movie.
- Find the Blu-ray Restoration: The Technicolor needs to pop. The desert yellows and the "Leslie White" are essential to the visual experience.
- Watch the Roadshow Version: If you can find the version with the original overture and intermission, do it. It sets the pace.
- Look for the Wacky Races Connection: If you grew up on cartoons, try to spot every trope that Hanna-Barbera "borrowed" for their animated series. It’s basically a live-action version of that show.
The movie ends with a giant explosion of the Eiffel Tower (accidental, of course), which is the only way a film this size could possibly end. It’s a reminder that movies used to be allowed to be "too much." They were allowed to be silly, expensive, and indulgent. The Great Race movie isn't just a comedy; it's a monument to a time when Hollywood was willing to spend a fortune just to see a man get hit in the face with a blueberry pie.
And honestly? We could use a bit more of that energy today.
Next Steps for Classic Film Fans
To truly appreciate the era that birthed The Great Race, you should look into the "Big Comedy" trend of the 1960s. Start by comparing this film to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). While both are star-studded road epics, the pacing and "vibe" are wildly different. Following that, track down the "Professor Fate" episodes of various 60s talk shows where Jack Lemmon stayed in character—it shows just how much he loved the role. Finally, check out the Petersen Automotive Museum's digital archives to see the actual mechanical specs of the Hannibal 8. It was a legitimate marvel of 1960s custom car building.