The Great Race

“The Great Race” was on television one day when I didn’t want to go out, and I thought it was still funny after all these years.  It was released back in 1965, and the big stars in it were Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood.  Some of the other cast members were Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, Arthur O’Connell, Vivian Vance, Dorothy Provine, Larry Storch, and Ross Martin.  I thought the bits with Professor Fate’s car were funny, and Falk as Max was hilarious.  Natalie Wood’s character, Maggie, got to be annoying, but Wood never looked as beautiful in another movie.  What made the movie run too long as the Prisoner of Zenda sequence, which was not fantastic, but it did end with one of the greatest pie fight scenes ever.  I liked the bright Technicolor photography, and Blake Edwards knew how to comedy better than anyone in 1965.  This was the most expensive comedy ever filmed up to its time, and I think the money was well spent when you consider the results.  The movie must have lost some money because of its cost.  I think it’s one of Blake Edwards’ best films.  I certainly prefer this one over something like “The Man Who Loved Women.”  Edwards’ last five films were “Blind Date” in 1987, “Sunset” in 1988, “Skin Deep” in 1989, “Switch” in 1991, and “Son of the Pink Panther” in 1993.  He died of pneumonia at age 88 on December 15, 2010.  Some of the people who died on June 13 include Benny Goodman (1986), Geraldine Page (1987), Tim Russert (2008), Jimmy Dean (2010), Chuck Noll (2014), Anita Pallenberg (2017), Ned Beatty (2021), and Cormac McCarthy (2023).  Today is a birthday for Kat Dennings (38), Ally Sheedy (62), Hannah Storm (62), Tim Allen (71), Richard Thomas (73), and Malcolm McDowell (81).  According to the Brandon Brooks Rewind radio segment for June 13, the original version of “The Maltese Falcon” was released in 1931.  In 1953, “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” was released.  In 1962, “Jack the Giant Killer” was released.  In 1965, “Fiddler on the Roof” won a Tony Award for Best Musical.  Also in 1965, “The Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” was Number One at the box office.  In 1970, The Beatles’ “Let It Be” was Number One on the album chart.  Also in 1970, “The Long and Winding Road” was Number One on the singles chart.  In 1980, Paul McCartney released “Waterfalls,” his first single ever to miss the Billboard Hot 100.  In 1986, “The Manhattan Project,” starring John Lithgow, was released.  In 1989, a jury in Los Angeles acquitted Michael Jackson on ten counts of child molestation.  Also in 1989, the James Bond film “License to Kill,” starring Timothy Dalton, was released.  In 1992, Billy Ray Cyrus was Number One on the album chart with “Some Gave All.”  In 2010, Jimmy Dean died at age 81 at his home in Virginia.