Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes (1965)

Director:

Ken Annakin

Writers:

Ken Annakin (written by)
Jack Davies (written by)

Release Date:

16 June 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Action

Tagline:

or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes

Plot:

Sabotage efforts damage an international air race.

Plot Keywords:

Air Race | Prize | English Channel | Deception | La Marseillaise

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Stuart Whitman	...	Orvil Newton
Sarah Miles	...	Patricia Rawnsley
James Fox	...	Richard Mays
Alberto Sordi	...	Count Emilio Ponticelli
Robert Morley	...	Lord Rawnsley
Gert Fröbe	...	Colonel Manfred von Holstein (as Gert Frobe)
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Pierre Dubois
Irina Demick	...	Brigitte / Ingrid / Marlene / Françoise / Yvette / Betty
Eric Sykes	...	Courtney
Red Skelton	...	Neanderthal Man
Terry-Thomas	...	Sir Percy Ware-Armitage
Benny Hill	...	Fire Chief Perkins
Yûjirô Ishihara	...	Yamamoto (as Yujiro Ishihara)
Flora Robson	...	Mother Superior
Karl Michael Vogler	...	Captain Rumpelstoss

Also Known As:

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | German | Italian | Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Booker Airfield, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

At approximately 1 hour & 25 minutes a board is seen listing 14 competitors. Number 1: Richard Mays. (Aircraft number 8) Number 2: Sir Percy Ware Armitage. (Aircraft number 12) Number 3: Orvil Newton. (Aircraft number 7) Number 4: Lieutnant Parsons. (Aircraft number 4) Number 5: Harry Popperwell. (Aircraft number 5) Number 6: Capt Rumpelstross. (Aircraft number 11) Number 7: Mr Wallace. (Aircraft number unknown) Number 8: Charles Wade. (Aircraft number unknown) Number 9: Mr Yamaoto. (Aircraft number 1) Number 10: Count Emilio Ponticelli. (Aircraft number 2) Number 11: Henri Monteux. (Aircraft number unknown) Number 12: Pierre Dubois. (Aircraft number 9) Number 13: Mr Mac Dougall. (Aircraft number 6) Number 14: Harry Walton. (Aircraft number unknown) In only twice does the pilots number match the aircraft/race number. The four unknown pilots (Mr Wallace, Charles Wade, Henri Monteux & Harry Walton) must be the pilots of the four missing aircraft/race numbers (3, 10, 13 & 14)

Goofs:

Continuity: Sir Percy climbs to top of the roof of a building to spy on the fliers by scaling a ladder that is laying on the roof. But when he slides off the roof, the ladder under him is gone.

Quotes:

Captain Rumpelstoss: But... how will I learn to fly, Herr Colonel?
Colonel Manfred von Holstein: The way we do everything in the German army: from the book of instructions.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sixty Six (2006)

Soundtrack:

LA CALUNNIA UN VENTICELLO

A Comedy for the Ages; Farce, Beauty Aloft, Humorous Types Below

"Those Magnificent Men" probably looked on story boards like merely a colorful, often humorous and very enactable satire of an era, of its nations and of the early days of manned flight. Its plot line involved an international air race, from England to Paris, for whose prizes competitors in home-made aircraft from all over the world would journey to compete. The racers included Stuart Whitman aided by his brother Sam Wanamaker (Wilbur and Orville) from the U.S., James Fox of England, Albert Sordi from Italy, Gert Frobe and his team from Germany, Jean-Pierre Cassell and his ebullient hard-drinking group from France, plus a Scotsman and his dog, the villainous Sir Percy and his henchman, Terry-Thomas and Eric Sykes, a Japanese entrant and many others. Others in the large cast of the ensuing film also included Robert Morely as the wealthy patrician organizer of the race, a rather weak Sarah Miles as his daughter, beautiful Irina Demick who keeps turning up in every locale (in a new persona) and many more. But what the film's makers forgot was that the bravery and beauty of these canvas-winged and wooden primitive aircraft taking off and actually achieving flight would upstage even the often-hilarious comedy of the well-written proceedings. Using Red Skelton as "every man who has ever dreamed of flight", the producers prepared for the race, staged the race, and awarded the prizes--the climax being the arrival of the racers and what happened near the finish line, plus a justly happy ending. The film was written by Ken Annakin with Jack Davies, and Annakin directed it very competently also. Ron Goodwin's music and title song are well-remembered treats too. Others in the large, attractive cast include narrator James Robertson Justice, Gordon Jackson, Zena Marshall, Karl Michael Vogler, Yujiro Ishihara, Benny Hill, Flora Robson and Jeremy Lloyd. The film's pace is beautifully varied and consistently-maintained; the action includes acts of sabotage by the villains, practice flights gone wrong, low-comedy, a duel between the dour Frobe and devil-may-care Cassell conducted in hot air balloons, national humor at the expense of all concerned and incidents before and during the race. This is a very well-acted film; but the fine technical achievements and subordinate arts here had to take a back seat to the flight of the many wonderful "early birds", who outshone even the amusing national types who flew them. A much-imitated and superior comedy classic of its sort.