The Great Race

The Great Race is a comedy film directed by Blake Edwards in 1965, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, with music by Henry Mancini.

It stars Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood and Peter Falk.

It tells the story of a 22,000-mile car race in 1908 between New York and Paris in which two of the contestants, the evil Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) and his sidekick, Max (Peter Falk), try to get rid of the rest of motorists by means of nefarious sabotage. The only racer who can escape their evil plots is Fate's nemesis, The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis), with the help of his sidekick, Hezekiah, and Maggie DuBois, a spunky journalist/suffragette (Natalie Wood).

"As a very wise English gentleman once said, 'He who fights and runs away may live to fight another day. So, until another day, Mr. Leslie, please excuse me." -Baron von Stuppe, preceding a perfect swan dive through his boat.

The film was a major influence on Wacky Races.