Customer Reviews

Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very funny film with a strong cast of characters, lead by Terry Thomas and Tony Curtis and more than ably supported by Eric Sykes, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Gert Frobe, Susan Hampshire, Walter Chiari and more.

Thomas is at his fiendish best, Curtis is charming, Hampshire gorgeous and Cook and Moore are hilarious.

This is real enjoyable romp.....much better than it's predecessor "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" and almost as good as "the Great Race"

It was such a pleasant surprise to see this one released...FINALLY !!

Even my kids enjoy it, so the comedy has not lost any of its shine over the decades.

Recommended Highly, Have Fun.

Oh where to begin? I've been checking Amazon for YEARS, hoping this beautiful nugget would appear, and was stunned today to see it had. This film is one of my fondest childhood memories, in fact, one of the real reasons I love movies so much, is having seen this as a kid. This is farce cinema at it's finest. Born from "Those magnificent men in their flying machines" the film recreates the era when a big race would capture the imagination of the world. And while it's the sequel to "Magnificent men", it's vastly superior to it's predecessor. The formulas are the same. In so many ways, you're watching the same film, with cars instead of planes, the difference being the cast, which headed by Tony Curtis is superb. Terry-Thomas, Dudley Moore, Susan Hampshire, Gert Frobe all add to the festivities, and make their substories both interesting and vital. The characters in "Jalopies" are so much more interesting than "Flying machines", as are the substories. The scene in the lodge is classic, fun and typical '60's farce. Certainly, it will be a bit dated, as this type of film is not made any more, but that really adds to the entertainment value. I will say this. The danger for me, in buying these older films, cherished memories from childhood, is that the entertainment value is somehow lost. Best example for me is 'Mad mad mad mad world". I was so thrilled when it dropped on DVD, that when I watched it, it wasn't as funny as I'd hoped. The humor didn't translate, and it was so, so long. Of course, these are older films, made in a style we don't see today, and because they are comedies, they stack up differently than old dramas. Comedy is such a different art, so dependent on personal taste, and with comedy, things that seemed funny not so long ago, lose something today. That being said, I do not expect to be disappointed in this film, and you shouldn't either. Directed by Ken Annakin, as was "Magnificent Men", it's a gem. Lastly, I've always wondered if George Lucas named Annakin Skywalker for this director.

This movie is a perfect companion to Tony Curtis' other auto car race movie, The Great Race. The package shows the aspect ratio as 1.78 widescreen, which would fill the whole screen of a HDTV. The actual ratio shows as it should be having been filmed in Panavision as 2.35:1.

I'm reasonably certain that some-one in Hollywood watched this movie and scripted the cartoon series 'wacky races' (i thinks that's what it was called anyway)
4 stars for brilliantly comedic performances from Terry Thomas, Eric Sykes, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore...who are fortunately all fairly heavily featured in this 'episodic' movie which lurches from scene to scene like a badly underfunded and amateurishly cut TV sketch comedy show. Tony Curtis phones in his performance, as does Susan Hampshire..but since they constitute the romantic leads they do get a disproportionately large fraction of screen time.

If i recall correctly, this was a joint British/Italian movie production, with casting from both countries. Frankly it's easy to see why there weren't any follow-on or derivative projects. I don't know if the original print was cared for very well, the 'letterbox' size seems uneven at times, as does the contrast level of some of the scenes. Also prudish parents should be aware that there are a couple of 'benny hill' style opportunities for female cast members to show off their 'bouncy bits'....of which they take mild advantage, without salaciousness.

Having said that, it's a great movie for 6/7-year olds.......who will simply adore it, until they reach the discriminating age of 8!

The whole thing was done SO much better in 'The Great Race' and it was filmed 'no expense spared', whereas the production in this movie was about as pennypinching as possible....so if you're at an age where the candles on the cake have reached double digits......try that title by preference?

Those of us who remember the 70's will enjoy this;one of the last true slapstick comedies. Key features of this film is what I call 'the incompetent villain' & no one does it better that Terry Thomas.Peter Cook as a stiff-upper-lip inventor bound & determined to prove his inventions,Tony Curtis as a less-than-Simon-Pure hero,an excellent supporting cast & wonderful musical score:what's not to like?
True family entertainment.

Adventure films featuring an all-star cast engaged in a great race, gained some notoriety when the adaptation of Jules Verne's Around The World In 80 Days (1956) won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Co-written by Ken Anakin and Jack Davies, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines (1965) which featured planes engaged in a race, was one of several similar racing epics produced during the 1960's. As a follow up to their earlier film, Anakin and Davies came up with a screenplay based on the Monte Carlo Rally, an actual automobile race which began in 1911. An international production, their film Monte Carlo Or Bust (1969) was renamed, Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies (1969), for its American release. The breezy adventure/comedy follows automobiles driven by teams of drivers entered in a rally race, taking one of five different routes across England and Europe, to a rendezvous at Chamberg, France, and then on to Monte Carlo for a decisive concluding race.

Set in the 1920's, the film is mostly a light fun romp, as the racers experience madcap adventures wile on their journeys. Although 156 teams start the race, the focus narrows to basically just six, and the film nicely splits time between them. Major Dawlish (Peter Cook) and Lt. Barrington (Dudley Moore) of the British Army form one team, while Italian policemen Angelo (Walter Chiari) and Marcello (Lando Buzzanca) make up another. Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage (Terry Thomas) and Chester Schofield (Tony Curtis), rival co-owners of Armitage Motors, each head up a team. "Cully" is assisted by Perkins (Eric Sykes), while Schofield's partner is Betty (Susan Hampshire), a woman he picks up. Another team is made up of three women, one of whom is a doctor (Mireille Darc). And Gert Frobe and Peer Schmidt are German criminal types, using the race as a cover for smuggling jewels.

Mostly a series of goofy incidents with no predictable direction, this is the kind of film where you just sit back, and go along for the ride. Early on the film provides a brief overview of the race, and an introduction to the characters, and then cuts them loose. A joint British/French/Italian production, some of the humor reflects certain nationalistic stereotypes, and to some extent satirizes them. The film is well-paced, with lots of action. The special effects are quite good, with many stunts involving real cars, as well as shots featuring models. Rear projection is heavily used for the action shots involving moving cars, and some of the scenic background shots. Most of the time, the technique holds up fairly well.

With character development a little skimpy, you're mostly left to take the odd assortment of racers for what they are, and the ensemble cast generally delivers, with almost everyone overplaying their parts. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore probably have the best chemistry together, with Terry Thomas and Eric Sykes not far behind. Gert Frobe is also quite funny. Tony Curtis and Susan Hampshire seem to get off to a decent start, but the writing involving these characters isn't the greatest, and doesn't suit either actor very well.

Pure 60's ear whimsy and fluff, Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies is mostly a fun ride, if you don't mind the film's very European sensibilities. The action scenes are solid, and the editing and cinematography are quite good, earning a rating of 3.5 stars.

Monte Carlo or Bust.
At least this movie barrels along at a breakneck speed (unlike another race movie I won't mention). Love the theme song sung by Jimmy Durante (found it as a free download on the Internet). The race involves one scoundrel (Terry-Thomas), one crook (Gert Frobe), and one pseudo-femme fatale (Susan Hampshire), a couple of half-wits, 3 women, 2 police officers (off duty), and Tony Curtis (not exactly young or "men" but whatever). It's a fun film mainly due to one team: Peter Cook (as an overly confident major) and Dudley Moore (as his faithful sycophant). No matter what the situation they aren't rattled, instead, they pull out one disastrous invention after another, all impractical all spectacular. There's a strip search and a true cliffhanger before they finally narrow it down to a winner. It's fun. It's a keeper. Glad I bought it.

Glad they finially released this to DVD, great entertainment for the whole family
even my 13 and 14 year old grandsons liked it.

This is one of the movies that was purchased for my husband. He enjoys the older movies too. He was glad when we were able to find it on Amazon.com. We had been unable to locate it anywhere else.

this type of comedy were really popular in the 60's and you can see why: Whacky story, lots of jokes and a fantastic cast formed by the creme of the comedians of the day. In this case, the set is the famous Montecarlo Rally and all kind of characters want to get in and win.

From the always great Terry-Thomas to Tony Curtis, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Gert (Goldfinger) Frobe or Lando Buzzanca, the film is full of easy laughs and funy sitations for all the family