Following the success of Stanley Kramer’s 1963 classic comedy spectacle It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, other movie makers jumped on the epic-sized bandwagon, including Ken Annakin with this wacky, adventurous tale of a 1910 air race from London to Paris just when aviators were starting to make rapid progress with their amazing array of pioneering aircraft.
The versatile cast has Stuart Whitman as a cowboy who decides to strap into a bi-plane and forsake the horse and saddle, Sarah Miles as the delightful English lass he loves, Gert Frobe as the accident-prone German entrant, Terry-Thomas as a memorable villain, Robert Morley as the newspaper proprietor who sponsors the race and Tony Hancock and Eric Sykes as foiled villains.
Racial stereotypes abound as the French and Germans do their best to humiliate each other, the Italians get excited, the Japanese and Scots are extra polite, the American cowboy bumbles amiably, and the British strive to keep them all in line.
The aerial stuntwork (replica vintage planes were built to fly in the movie) is tremendous, and the goings-on – both in the air and on terra firma – are jam-packed with fun and hijinks.
Co-starring are Gordon Jackson, William Rushton, James Fox, Alberto Sordi, Benny Hill, Red Skelton, Flora Robson, Cicely Courtenidge, Sam Wannamaker and Irina Demick.
Ken Annakin directs, with the excellent camerawork organised by Christopher Challis and the bouncy, bright music from Ron Goodwin.
Orvil Newton
Stuart Whitman Patricia Rawnsley
Sarah Miles Richard Mays
James Fox Count Emilio Ponticelli
Alberto Sordi Lord Rawnsley
Robert Morley Count Manfred Von Holstein
Gert Frobe Pierre Dubois
Jean-Pierre Cassel Brigitte/Ingrid/Marlene/Françoise/Yvette/Betty
Irina Demick Courtney
Eric Sykes Sir Percy Ware-Armitage
Terry-Thomas Neanderthal Man/Ancient Greek Flyer/Medieval Flyer/Winged Bicycle Rider/Winged Car Rider/Jet Pack Tester/Ornithopter Pilot/Passenger in Airport
Red Skelton Fire Chief Perkins
Benny Hill Mother Superior
Flora Robson Harry Popperwell
Tony Hancock Yamamoto
Yujiro Ishihara Captain Rumpelstrosse
Karl Michael Vogler George Gruber
Sam Wanamaker French Postman
Eric Barker Trawler Skipper
Maurice Denham MacDougal
Gordon Jackson French Painter
John Le Mesurier Lieutenant Parsons
Jeremy Lloyd Countess Sofia Ponticelli
Zena Marshall Airline Hostess
Millicent Martin Assistant Fire Chief
Norman Rossington Tremayne Gascoyne
William Rushton Narrator
James Robertson Justice
Director Ken Annakin
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Racial stereotypes abound as the French and Germans do their best to humiliate each other, the Italians get excited, the Japanese and Scots are extra polite, the American cowboy bumbles amiably, and the British strive to keep them all in line.
Orvil Newton
Pierre Dubois
Neanderthal Man/Ancient Greek Flyer/Medieval Flyer/Winged Bicycle Rider/Winged Car Rider/Jet Pack Tester/Ornithopter Pilot/Passenger in Airport
Yamamoto
