Just the year before the release of this raucous comedy, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood had starred in the risque-sounding titled "Sex and the Single Girl", in which Tony tries to prove that Natalie, as the author of a book of the same title, was actually naïve about sexual matters, then he hoped to score with her. In the present film, Tony and Natalie are again the romantic leads, and periodically discuss the pros and cons of women's suffrage(this being scripted as 1908), of which Natalie is an ardent supporter. Also, the last portion of the former film featured a Keystone Cops-like auto race to the airport, featuring a number of cars, with changing drivers, which is a compatible lead into the present film, which features a burlesque version of the actual1908 auto race from NYC to Paris, via the Bering Strait, featuring much silent- screen-like slapstick. Near the end, we are treated to the biggest, longest, pie fight you will ever see on screen! ......... I would not be surprised if the main inspiration for this screenplay was "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World", released just 2 years before. Also, somebody knew their auto history........While Tony basically plays himself, as the romantic lead, Jack Lemmon is the dramatic lead, requiring much acting talent. He plays 2 roles. Primarily, he is Professor Fate: made up to look like the archetype villain in silent movies, and plays of that era. He is the primary rival to Tony, usually accompanied by Natalie, in the epic race. Fate's assistant Max(Peter Falk) tinkered with the other cars to make them break down , in slapstick fashion, soon after the race began. Lemmon is consistently loud, especially his frequent raucous laugh. Unfortunately, some reviewers find this characterization annoying, but it much helped to accentuate his villainous nature. When the autos reach Eastern Europe, Lemmon plays the dual roles of Fate, and Crown Prince Hoepnick. .........The actual 1908 race, which involved 6 cars, represented a number of counties. The cars were transported by ship across Bering Strait. But, in the film, they crossed on a tiny ice flow.........Get the DVD or stream it, and enjoy a great and perhaps the longest(at 2hr, 40min) comedy in American cinema.
Review of The Great Race
