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Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

 

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Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines



 
 
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 comedy film directed by Ken Annakin
Ken Annakin

Ken Annakin, Order of the British Empire is an England film director. His career in films followed his work experience in documentaries. He made his directing debut in 1947 at the Rank Organisation, although the following year he moved to Gainsborough Pictures to helm three films about Here Come the Huggetts, a working class family living in...
. Based on an original screenplay titled Flying Crazy, the story is set in 1910, when Lord Rawnsley, an English press magnate, offers a prize of £10,000 to the winner of the Daily Post air race from London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 to Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, to prove that Britain is "number one in the air".
ough director Ken Annakin
Ken Annakin

Ken Annakin, Order of the British Empire is an England film director. His career in films followed his work experience in documentaries. He made his directing debut in 1947 at the Rank Organisation, although the following year he moved to Gainsborough Pictures to helm three films about Here Come the Huggetts, a working class family living in...
 was not an aviator, he had always been interested in aviation from his early years when pioneering aviator Sir Alan Cobham
Alan Cobham

Sir Alan John Cobham, Order of the British Empire, Air Force Cross was an England aviation pioneer.A member of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, Alan Cobham became famous as a pioneer of long distance aviation....
 had given him a first flight in a biplane
Biplane

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings. The Wright brothers Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation....
.






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Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 comedy film directed by Ken Annakin
Ken Annakin

Ken Annakin, Order of the British Empire is an England film director. His career in films followed his work experience in documentaries. He made his directing debut in 1947 at the Rank Organisation, although the following year he moved to Gainsborough Pictures to helm three films about Here Come the Huggetts, a working class family living in...
. Based on an original screenplay titled Flying Crazy, the story is set in 1910, when Lord Rawnsley, an English press magnate, offers a prize of £10,000 to the winner of the Daily Post air race from London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 to Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, to prove that Britain is "number one in the air".

Origins

Although director Ken Annakin
Ken Annakin

Ken Annakin, Order of the British Empire is an England film director. His career in films followed his work experience in documentaries. He made his directing debut in 1947 at the Rank Organisation, although the following year he moved to Gainsborough Pictures to helm three films about Here Come the Huggetts, a working class family living in...
 was not an aviator, he had always been interested in aviation from his early years when pioneering aviator Sir Alan Cobham
Alan Cobham

Sir Alan John Cobham, Order of the British Empire, Air Force Cross was an England aviation pioneer.A member of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, Alan Cobham became famous as a pioneer of long distance aviation....
 had given him a first flight in a biplane
Biplane

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings. The Wright brothers Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation....
. Along with co-writer Jack Davies, Annakin had been working on an adventure film about transatlantic flights, when the producer's bankruptcy aborted the production. Fresh from his role as director of the British exterior segments in The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)

The Longest Day is a 3-hour-long Academy Award-winning war film with a very large cast, based on the 1959 in literature history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Battle of Normandy on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
 , Annakin pitched the idea of recreating an actual event from the dawn of aviation to Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl Francis Zanuck was an Academy Award-winning Film producer, writer, actor, Film director, and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors ....
, his producer on the wartime opus.

Zanuck agreed to bankroll an "epic" that would be faithful to the era, even deciding upon the name Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. He had come up with the name after Elmo Williams, managing director of 20th Century Fox in Europe told him his wife had written an opening lyric
Those magnificent men in their flying machines,
They go up diddley up-up, they go down diddley down-down!
for a song that Annakin complained would eventually "seal the fate of the movie". However, after being put to music by composer Ron Goodwin
Ron Goodwin

Ronald Alfred Goodwin was a United Kingdom composer and Conducting known for his film scores....
, the Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines song would become the "irresistible" jingle-style theme music for the film and go on to have a "life of its own", even released in singles and on the soundtrack record.

Annakin was born in 1914, just as the pioneer era of aviation depicted in this movie was ending, and even though the movie is a farce, it accurately depicts the international tensions brewing between the European countries prior to World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, as exemplified in the behavior of the various aviators.

Description

The film opens with a brief, comic introductory segment on the history of flight, narrated by James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice

James Robertson Justice was a popular Anglo-Scottish character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s....
 and featuring American comedian Red Skelton
Red Skelton

Richard Bernard ?Red? Skelton was an United States comedian who was best known as a top old-time radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway theatre, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, while pursuing another career as a painter....
 (in a cameo appearance) depicting a recurring character whose aerial adventures span the centuries, in a series of silent blackout
Blackout gag

A blackout gag is a term mainly used in animated cartoons to describe a manner in which a gag or joke is played out.The term refers to a rapidly set-up situation in the cartoon storyline, that may be irrelevant to the rest of the story, that has a quick-fire gag then cuts to the fade-out, or "blackout"....
 vignettes that incorporate actual stock footage
Stock footage

Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that is not custom shot for use in a specific film or television program....
 of unsuccessful attempts at early aircraft. This was Skelton's final feature film appearance; coincidentally he was in Europe filming scenes for the 1964-1965 season of his television series, The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show

The Red Skelton Show is an U.S. variety show that was a television staple for almost two decades, from the early 1950s through the early 1970s....
.

This is followed by a whimsical animated
Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of Motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways....
 opening credit sequence drawn by renowned children's author and illustrator Ronald Searle
Ronald Searle

Ronald William Fordham Searle, Order of the British Empire, Royal Designers for Industry, is an influential England artist and cartoonist. Best known as the creator of St Trinian's School ....
, accompanied by the film's title song. (Another animated sequence closes the film.)

A recurring "gag" suggested by Darryl F. Zanuck concerned his girlfriend, Irina Demick
Irina Demick

Irina Demick , sometimes credited as Irina Demich was a France actress with a brief career in USA films.Born Irina Dziemiach, apparently of Russian ancestry, in Pommeuse, Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, she went to Paris and became a model....
 who sequentially played Brigitte (who is French), Marlene (German), Ingrid (Swedish), Françoise (Belgian), Yvette (Bulgarian) and Betty (British) as a lookalike flirtatious character who is constantly being pursued by pilot Pierre Dubois, played by Jean-Pierre Cassel
Jean-Pierre Cassel

Jean-Pierre Cassel was a France actor.Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite , an opera singer, and Georges Crochon, a doctor....
. The American lead, Stuart Whitman
Stuart Whitman

Stuart Maxwell Whitman is an United States actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967....
 was selected over the first choice of Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke

Richard Wayne ?Dick? Van Dyke is an United States actor, presenter and entertainer, with a career spanning six decades. He is best known for his starring roles in Mary Poppins , Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , The Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis: Murder....
, whose agents never contacted him about the offer, but the majority of the cast were British actors.

Sarah Miles
Sarah Miles

Sarah Miles is an England theatre and film actress....
 plays the daughter of Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley
Robert Morley

Robert Morley Commander of the Order of the British Empire was an Academy Award-nominated England actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment....
), a newspaper magnate whose favourite to win his race is his daughter's fiancé, Richard Mays (James Fox
James Fox

James Fox, is an England actor....
), flying an Antoinette monoplane. Lord Rawnsley sums up the expectation that a Britisher should win the competition: "The trouble with these international affairs is they attract foreigners." An international cast plays the array of contestants, most of whom live up to their national stereotypes, including the fanatically by-the-book, monocle-wearing Prussian officer (Gert Fröbe
Gert Fröbe

Karl Gerhart Fr?be, better known as Gert Fr?be , was a Germany actor who starred in many films, including the James Bond film Goldfinger as Auric Goldfinger, The Threepenny Opera as Peachum, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baron Bomburst and in Der R?uber Hotzenplotz as Hotzenplotz....
) flying an Eardley-Billing biplane, impetuous Count Emilio Ponticelli (Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi

Alberto Sordi, also known as Albertone, Italian orders of merit was an Italy actor, likely the most popular of the 20th Century. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian version of the Laurel & Hardy films....
), an amorous Frenchman (Cassel) in a Santos-Dumont Demoiselle, the rugged American cowboy Orvil Newton (Stuart Whitman) flying a Bristol Boxkite (impersonating a "Curtiss"), who falls for Lord Rawnsley's daughter.

The main entertainment comes from the amusing dialogue and characterisations and the daring aerial stunts, with a dash of heroism and gentlemanly conduct thrown in for good measure. Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas

Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens was a distinctive England comedy actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially Rake s, the trademark diastema , cigarette holder, dressing gown, and such catch-phrases as "What an absolute shower!" and "Good show!"...
 plays the cheating Sir Percival Ware-Armitage, an Avro Triplane-flying rogue who "never leaves anything to chance". With the help of his bullied and downtrodden servant Courtney (Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes

Eric Sykes, Order of the British Empire is an England comedy writer and actor. He is known for his BBC television sitcom with Hattie Jacques and Deryck Guyler, called Sykes....
), he sabotages other aircraft or drugs their pilots - only to get his comeuppance in the end. The race sets out with 14 competitors but, one by one, the contenders drop out, after stops at Dover and Calais, the few survivors land triumphantly in Paris. Orvil Newton loses his chance to take first place when he stops to rescue Emilio Ponticelli from his burning aircraft. Richard Mays wins the race for Britain, but insists on calling the race a tie with Orvil Newton.

Cast

Cast credits in order of screen credits include onscreen and uncredited roles:
Actor Role
Stuart Whitman
Stuart Whitman

Stuart Maxwell Whitman is an United States actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967....
 
Orvil Newton
Sarah Miles
Sarah Miles

Sarah Miles is an England theatre and film actress....
 
Patricia Rawnsley
James Fox
James Fox

James Fox, is an England actor....
 
Richard Mays
Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi

Alberto Sordi, also known as Albertone, Italian orders of merit was an Italy actor, likely the most popular of the 20th Century. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian version of the Laurel & Hardy films....
 
Count Emilio Ponticelli
Robert Morley
Robert Morley

Robert Morley Commander of the Order of the British Empire was an Academy Award-nominated England actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment....
 
Lord Rawnsley
Gert Fröbe
Gert Fröbe

Karl Gerhart Fr?be, better known as Gert Fr?be , was a Germany actor who starred in many films, including the James Bond film Goldfinger as Auric Goldfinger, The Threepenny Opera as Peachum, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baron Bomburst and in Der R?uber Hotzenplotz as Hotzenplotz....
 
Colonel Manfred von Holstein
Jean-Pierre Cassel
Jean-Pierre Cassel

Jean-Pierre Cassel was a France actor.Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite , an opera singer, and Georges Crochon, a doctor....
 
Pierre Dubois
Irina Demick
Irina Demick

Irina Demick , sometimes credited as Irina Demich was a France actress with a brief career in USA films.Born Irina Dziemiach, apparently of Russian ancestry, in Pommeuse, Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, she went to Paris and became a model....
 
Brigitte/Marlene/Ingrid/Françoise/Yvette/Betty
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes

Eric Sykes, Order of the British Empire is an England comedy writer and actor. He is known for his BBC television sitcom with Hattie Jacques and Deryck Guyler, called Sykes....
 
Courtney
Red Skelton
Red Skelton

Richard Bernard ?Red? Skelton was an United States comedian who was best known as a top old-time radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway theatre, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, while pursuing another career as a painter....
 
Neanderthal Man, Greek birdman, Middle Ages inventor, Victorian-era pilot, Modern airline passenger
Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas

Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens was a distinctive England comedy actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially Rake s, the trademark diastema , cigarette holder, dressing gown, and such catch-phrases as "What an absolute shower!" and "Good show!"...
 
Sir Percy Ware-Armitage
Benny Hill
Benny Hill

Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill , was an England comedian, actor and singer, best known for his television programme The Benny Hill Show....
 
Fire Chief Perkins
Yujiro Ishihara
Yujiro Ishihara

was a Japanese actor and singer born in Kobe, Japan. His elder brother, Shintaro Ishihara, is an author, politician, and the current Governor of Tokyo....
 
Yamamoto (voice dubbed by James Villiers
James Villiers

James Michael Lyle Villiers was a United Kingdom character actor, and a familiar face on British television.Born in London and educated at Wellington College, Berkshire and RADA, Villiers was from an upper-class background, related to the Earl of Clarendon, and this was often reflected in the type of roles he played, such as King Charles...
)
Dame
Dame

Dame meaning "lady"; entered Middle English from Latin domina, mistress, via French dame, .A Dame may be:*A female rank equivalent to a knight ....
 Flora Robson
Flora Robson

Dame Flora McKenzie Robson Order of the British Empire was an Academy Awards-nominated English people actor, renowned as one of the great character players and one of Britain's theatrical grandes dames....
 
Mother Superior
Karl Michael Vogler
Karl Michael Vogler

Karl Michael Vogler is a Germany actor probably best-known for his appearances in several big-budget English language films of the 1960s and 1970s, including playing Erwin Rommel in the film Patton ....
 
Captain Rumpelstoss
Sam Wanamaker
Sam Wanamaker

Samuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor, credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe in London....
 
George Gruber
Eric Barker
Eric Barker

Eric Leslie Barker was an England comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British Carry On films....
 
French postman
Maurice Denham
Maurice Denham

Maurice Denham Order of the British Empire was an England character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career....
 
Trawler skipper
Fred Emney
Fred Emney

Fred Emney was an England character actor and comedian.Born in Lancashire to a music hall father - Fred Emney - Emney junior grew up in London....
 
Colonel
Gordon Jackson
Gordon Jackson (actor)

Gordon Cameron Jackson, Order of the British Empire was a Scotland Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and The Professionals #Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals ....
 
Mac Dougall
Davy Kaye
Davy Kaye

Davy Kaye MBE , born as David Kodeish, was a UK comedy actor and Entertainment....
 
Jean, Pierre Dubois' Chief Mechanic
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier

John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson on the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army....
 
French painter
Jeremy Lloyd
Jeremy Lloyd

Jeremy Lloyd is an England actor and scriptwriter, best known as the co-author of several successful British sitcoms.The gangly Lloyd made his film debut in 1960, and appeared in numerous film and television comedies during the 1960s and 1970s, notably Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as a regular performer in 1969-70....
 
Lieutenant Parsons
Zena Marshall
Zena Marshall

Zena Moyra Marshall is a British actress of film and television.Marshall's film career dates from 1945, with a small role in Caesar and Cleopatra , with Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh....
 
Countess Sophia Ponticelli
Millicent Martin
Millicent Martin

Millicent Mary Lillian Martin is an English actress, singer and comedian.Martin was born in Romford, England. She made her Broadway theatre debut opposite Julie Andrews in The Boy Friend in 1954....
 
Hostess
Eric Pohlmann
Eric Pohlmann

Eric Pohlmann was an Austrians-United Kingdom theatre, film and television character actor.Born Erich Pollak in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, he was a classically trained actor who studied under the renowned director Max Reinhardt ....
 
Italian mayor
Marjorie Rhodes
Marjorie Rhodes

Marjorie Rhodes was a United Kingdom actress.One of her best-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother of Bill Naughton's Northern England comedy All in Good Time ....
 
Maid
Norman Rossington
Norman Rossington

Norman Rossington was an England actor best remembered for his roles in The Army Game, the Carry On films and the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night ....
 
Fire chief
William Rushton
Willie Rushton

William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an England cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine....
 
Tremayne Gascoyne
Graham Stark
Graham Stark

Graham Stark is an England comedian, actor, writer and director.Stark was born in Wallasey, England. He first came to prominence on BBC Radio, making his debut in Happy Go Lucky and going on to Ray's A Laugh, Educating Archie and The Goon Show....
 
Fireman
Jimmy Thompson
Jimmy Thompson (actor)

James Edward Thompson was an English actor, writer, and director.He was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and educated at St Peter's School, York in York....
 
Photographer in Old Mill Cafe
Michael Trubshawe Niven, Lord Rawnsley's aide
Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock

Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was a popular British actor and comedian....
 
Harry Popperwell
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice

James Robertson Justice was a popular Anglo-Scottish character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s....
 
Narrator
Ferdy Mayne French official
Gerald Campion
Gerald Campion

Gerald Theron Campion , was an England actor best-known for his role as Billy Bunter in a 1950s television adaptation of books by Charles Hamilton ....
 
Fireman (uncredited)
Cicely Courtneidge
Cicely Courtneidge

Dame Cicely Courtneidge Order of the British Empire was an England actress and comedian....
 
Colonel's wife (uncredited)
Vernon Dobtcheff
Vernon Dobtcheff

Vernon Dobtcheff is an Anglo-French actor.Dobtcheff was born in N?mes, France to a family of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940's, where he won the Acting Cup....
 
Member of the French team (uncredited)
Maurice Dunster French policeman (uncredited)
Nigel Kingsley Youngest child of Ponticelli (uncredited)
Bill Nagy American journalist (uncredited)
Steve Plytas
Steve Plytas

'Steve Plytas' was an actor who has worked in United Kingdom films and television.Film roles include: The Moon-Spinners, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , Theatre of Death, Oh! What a Lovely War, On Her Majesty's Secret Service , Revenge of the Pink Panther, Carry On Emmannuelle, Superman IV: The Quest for Pea...
 
Continental journalist (uncredited)
Nicholas Smith
Nicholas Smith

Nicholas Smith is an England actor who is best known for playing the bald, jug-eared manager List of Are You Being Served? characters#Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold in the British sitcom Are You Being Served?...
 
Fireman (uncredited)
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens (actor)

Ronald Stevens was a London-born England actor known as Ronnie Stevens.He appeared in many television comedy series in regular roles, including May to December, Goodnight Sweetheart and A J Wentworth, BA....
 
Journalist (uncredited)
A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile.

Cast notes

  • Character actor Michael Trubshawe ("Niven, Lord Rawnsley's aide") and David Niven
    David Niven

    James David Graham Niven was an English people Academy Award for Best Actor-winning actor probably best known for his roles as the punctuality-obsessed adventurer Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and the suave cat burglar Sir Charles Litton in The Pink Panther ....
     served together in the Highland Light Infantry
    Highland Light Infantry

    The Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
     in the 1930s; they made it a point to refer to uncredited characters in their films as "Trubshawe" or "Niven" as an inside joke.


Crew

  • Director: Ken Annakin
    Ken Annakin

    Ken Annakin, Order of the British Empire is an England film director. His career in films followed his work experience in documentaries. He made his directing debut in 1947 at the Rank Organisation, although the following year he moved to Gainsborough Pictures to helm three films about Here Come the Huggetts, a working class family living in...
  • Assistant Director: Clive Reed
  • Producer: Stan Margulies
  • Production designer: Tom N. Morahan
  • Set Designer: Arthur Taksen
  • Writers: Jack Davies
    Jack Davies

    Jack Davies may refer to:*Jack Davies , English cricketer, rugby union player and psychologist*Jack Davies , English screenwriter, producer, editor and actor...
     and Ken Annakin
  • Cinematographer: Christopher Challis
    Christopher Challis

    Christopher Challis, B.S.C. is a British people cinematographer who has worked on more than 70 feature films since starting in the industry in the 1940s....
  • Colour: DeLuxe
  • Editor: Gordon Stone and Anne V. Coates
    Anne V. Coates

    Anne V. Coates is an Academy Award winning United Kingdom film editor with a 40-year-plus career in film editing. She is perhaps best known as the editor of director David Lean's epic film, Lawrence of Arabia in 1962....
  • Music: Ron Goodwin
    Ron Goodwin

    Ronald Alfred Goodwin was a United Kingdom composer and Conducting known for his film scores....
     (Musical Direction/Supervision)
  • Composer: Ron Goodwin
    Ron Goodwin

    Ronald Alfred Goodwin was a United Kingdom composer and Conducting known for his film scores....
     (Music Score)
  • Sound Mixers: Jonathan Bates, Gordon K. McCallum and John W. Mitchell
  • Titles: Ronald Searle
    Ronald Searle

    Ronald William Fordham Searle, Order of the British Empire, Royal Designers for Industry, is an influential England artist and cartoonist. Best known as the creator of St Trinian's School ....
  • Art Director: Jim Morahan
    Jim Morahan

    'Jim Morahan' was a British art director. He began his career in film in 1936. He worked in a number of prominent British productions in the 1940s and 1950s, such as Scott of the Antarctic , Whisky Galore! , The Blue Lamp , The Man in the White Suit , The Cruel Sea , The Ladykillers and Those Magnificent Men in...
  • Animation: Ralph Ayres
  • Costumes: Dinah Greet
  • Costume Design: Osbert Lancaster
  • Makeup: Biddy Chrystal, Stuart Freeborn, W.T. Partleton and Barbara Ritchie
  • Special Effects Supervisor: Ron Ballinger
  • Special Effects Wireman: Richard Parker
    Richard Parker

    Richard Parker may refer to:...
  • Special Effects: Jimmy Harris, Fred Heather, Garth Inns, Malcolm King, Nick Middleton and Jimmy Ward
  • Visual Effects: Roy Field (uncredited)
  • Production Assistant: Don Sharp
  • Casting: Stuart Lyons
  • Aerial Supervisor: Allen Wheeler
  • Stunt pilot: Joan Hughes
    Joan Hughes

    Joan Lily Amelia Hughes, Order of the British Empire was Second World War ferry pilot and one of Britain's first female test pilots.Hughes was born in the West Ham district of London in 1918, by the time she was 17 she had become the youngest female flyer in Great Britain....
  • Stunt pilot: Mac Dougall
  • Stunt pilot: Derek Piggott
    Derek Piggott

    Alan Derek Piggott Order of the British Empire is one of UK best known gliding pilots and instructors. His flying career has been long and varied....
  • Stunt pilot: David Watson


Production

One of the main strengths of the film was the extensive use of British and international character actors who enlivened the storyline by inspired performances lampooning each contestant's nationality's foibles. British comedians Benny Hill
Benny Hill

Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill , was an England comedian, actor and singer, best known for his television programme The Benny Hill Show....
, Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes

Eric Sykes, Order of the British Empire is an England comedy writer and actor. He is known for his BBC television sitcom with Hattie Jacques and Deryck Guyler, called Sykes....
, Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas

Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens was a distinctive England comedy actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially Rake s, the trademark diastema , cigarette holder, dressing gown, and such catch-phrases as "What an absolute shower!" and "Good show!"...
 and Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock

Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was a popular British actor and comedian....
 provided a madcap series of misadventures; Hancock had broken his leg prior to principal photography and was hobbled by a cast but Annakin decided to write that misfortune into the storyline. The good-natured ribbing of all the characters stand out, however, the two lead actors, Stuart Whitman and Sarah Miles
Sarah Miles

Sarah Miles is an England theatre and film actress....
 had a falling out early in the production. Director Ken Annakin commented that "she hated his guts," and rarely deigned to speak if it wasn't part of the script. Annakin had to employ various manipulations in order to ensure the production proceeded smoothly despite his stars' animosity towards each other.

Another intriguing aspect of the production was the fluid nature of the writing and directing with Annakin and Davies able to "feed off each other." Their collaboration had been long-standing and had resulted in the two friends working together on the earlier Very Important Person
Very Important Person (film)

Very Important Person is a 1961 in film United Kingdom comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin, and written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies. In the United States, the film was re-titled A Coming Out Party....
 (1961), The Fast Lady
The Fast Lady

The Fast Lady is a 1962 in film United Kingdom comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin. The screenplay was written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies, based on a story by Keble Howard....
 (1962), and Crooks Anonymous (1962) . Even during the filming, Annakin and Davies continued to develop the script with zany interpretations. When the German character, Gert Fröbe
Gert Fröbe

Karl Gerhart Fr?be, better known as Gert Fr?be , was a Germany actor who starred in many films, including the James Bond film Goldfinger as Auric Goldfinger, The Threepenny Opera as Peachum, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baron Bomburst and in Der R?uber Hotzenplotz as Hotzenplotz....
 has to contemplate piloting his country's flying entry, he climbs into the cockpit, reaches down and retrieves a manual. Annakin and Davies devised a quip on the spot, having him read out: "No. 1. Sit down." The comic vein that infused the film continued in the same light-hearted treatment.

Although decidedly a comedy feature, elements of Annakin's earlier documentary background were evident as a backdrop of turn-of-the-20 Century aerial pioneers was obtained with authentic sets, props and costumes. Production values were maintained at a high standard with careful attention to details; over 2,000 extras decked out in authentic period costumes were employed alone for the climactic race launch.

Location sets

A decision was made early in the production planing to utilize life-size, "working" "aeroplane" models and replicas, forgoing scale models in order to create a typical early 20 century airfield, the "Brookley Motor Racing Track" (fashioned after the Brooklands
Brooklands

Brooklands was a 2.75 miles Auto racing circuit and airfield built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue....
 race track where early aviators staged test flights. All of Brookley's associated trappings of structures, aircraft and vehicles (including a rare 1908 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost refers both to a car model and to one specific car from that series.Originally named the "40/50 h.p." the chassis was originally produced at Royce's Manchester works moving to Derby in July 1908 and between 1921 and 1926 at Springfield, Massachusetts factories....
 estimated to be worth at least 50 million dollars) was part of the Booker Airfield set, High Wycombe
High Wycombe

High Wycombe , is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of central London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town....
, Buckinghamshire, England. The completed set featured a windmill as a lookout tower as well as serving as a restaurant (the "Old Mill Cafe") and home for the hapless Fire Brigade. A series of hangars were constructed in rows, bearing the names of real and fictional aviation manufacturers: A.V. Roe
A.V. Roe

A.V. Roe may refer to:*Alliott Verdon Roe, British industrialist*A.V. Roe and Company , British aircraft manufacturer founded by Alliott Verdon Roe...
 & Co., The Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
: The British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Humber
Humber

The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of northern England.The Humber is an estuary formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse, Yorkshire and the tidal River Trent....
, Sopwith, Vickers
Vickers

Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 2004....
, Ware-Armitage Manufacturing CoY (sic), and Works. Later an impressive grandstand was added for the race spectators.

Additional locations included Dover where Dover Castle
Dover Castle

Dover Castle is situated at Dover, Kent and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history....
 and the nearby cliffs and beaches played a prominent role as well as mock-ups at the Buckinghamshire primary film set that stood in for Calais and Paris sequences. Exterior and interior footage of Lord Rawnsley's Manor House residence was shot at Pinewood Studios property at Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. Interior and studio sets at Pinewood Studios were also utilized for bluescreen and special effects photography. The location where Sir Percy's aircraft lands on a train is the now closed line from Bedford to Hitchin. The railway tunnel into which they fly is the Old Warden Tunnel
Old Warden Tunnel

The Old Warden Tunnel is an abandoned tunnel near the village of Old Warden in Bedfordshire....
 near the village of the same name in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a county in England that forms part of the East of England Regions of England.Its county town is Bedford, Bedfordshire. It borders Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire....
; the tunnel had only recently been closed, and in the panning shot through the railway cutting, the cooling towers of the now demolished Bedford
Bedford

Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Bedford . According to Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town of Kempston....
 power station can be seen. The locomotive is former Highland Railway Jones Goods No 103. About 1910 the French State Railways had built some steam locomotives which were duplicates of a Highland Railway class "The Castles" which were a passenger version of the Jones Goods.

Principal photography

The film was photographed in 70 mm Todd-AO
Todd-AO

Todd-AO is an extremely high definition widescreen film format developed in the mid 1950s. It was co-developed by Mike Todd, a Broadway theatre producer, with American Optical Company in Buffalo, New York....
 by Christopher Challis. Consultation had taken place with Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts....
 Air Commodore
Air Commodore

Air Commodore is an Air Officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank s...
 Allen H. Wheeler who had been retained as a technical consultant during production planning. His involvement in the subsequent film was critical as Wheeler had the necessary background on early aviation having restored a 1900 era Bleriot
Blériot

Bl?riot may refer to:* Louis Bl?riot, a French aviation pioneer* Bl?riot A?ronautique, an aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Bl?riot...
 with his son.

In order to create realistic flying sequences, a series of filming platforms were utilized. The bevy of camera platforms included a modified Citroen
Citroën

Citro?n is a France automobile manufacturer, founded in 1919 by Andr? Citro?n, it was the world's first mass-production car company outside of the USA....
 sedan, camera trucks, helicopters and a unique "flying rig" constructed by Special Effects "wizard" Richard "Dick" Parker. Parker had built the apparatus for model sequences in Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (film)

Strategic Air Command is a 1955 in film United States film starring James Stewart and June Allyson, and directed by Anthony Mann. This Paramount Pictures release was the first of four films that depicted the role of the Strategic Air Command in the Cold War era....
 (1955); the flying rig consisted of two gigantic construction cranes and a hydraulically operated device to tilt and position a model, along with 200 ft of cables. Parker's rig allowed the actors to sit inside the full scale models suspended approximately 50 ft above the ground, yet provide safety and realism for staged flying sequences. A further hydraulic platform was devised in order to do away with matte shots of aircraft in flight. The platform was large enough to mount an entire aircraft and either Parker or stunt pilots could manipulate its controls for realistic bluescreen sequences. Composite photography was still utilized whenever scenes called for difficult or "dangerous" shots; these sequences were completed at the Rank Studios facility of Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios is a major United Kingdom film studio situated in Iver, Buckinghamshire. Approximately 20 miles west of Central London on what was the estate of Heatherden Hall, the studios were created in 1934 by Charles Boot and built within 12 months by the Henry Boot Company of Sheffield....
. Some unique shots were actually created with rudimentary cockpits and noses grafted onto a Alouette
Aérospatiale Alouette II

The Alouette II is a light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later A?rospatiale, both of France. The Alouette II was the first production helicopter to use a gas turbine instead of a conventional heavier piston engine....
 helicopter. One aerial scene with three race craft over Paris was staged with small models when Parisian authorities refused permission for an overflight. However, for the majority of the flying scenes in the film, an armada of flying full-scale "movie models" was assembled.

Aircraft

The film is notable for its use of specially constructed reproductions of 1910-era aircraft, including a triplane
Triplane

A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three sets of wings, each roughly the same size and mounted one above the other. Traditionally, vertical wings, elevators, and canard are not included in this count....
, as well as monoplane
Monoplane

A monoplane is an aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the "ordinary" form for a fixed wing aircraft....
s and biplane
Biplane

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings. The Wright brothers Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation....
s. Air Commodore Wheeler insisted on using the authentic materials of the originals, but with modern engines and modifications (where necessary) to ensure safety. Of the 20 types built in 1964 at a cost of about £5,000 pounds each, six were able to fly, flown by six "regular" stunt pilots and maintained by a crew of 14 aviation mechanics. (The race takeoff scene where seven aircraft are in the air at once included a composite "addition" to the fleet.) Flying conditions were carefully monitored with aerial scenes filmed before 10 am each day or in the early evening when the air was least turbulent for the flying replicas that were considered "flimsy" by modern standards. Due to the necessity to get aerial sequences "in the can," the "call sheet" each day was determined by the prevailing weather conditions. If it was favourable to fly, all the principal actors were made up for aerial scenes; if the weather was poor, interiors or other incidental sequences were substituted. Wheeler eventually served as the technical adviser and aerial supervisor throughout the production and later wrote a comprehensive background account of the film and the replicas that were constructed to portray period aircraft.

The following competitors were listed:
  • Number 1: Richard Mays, "Antoinette IV" (Aircraft number 8)
  • Number 2: Sir Percy Ware-Armitage, "Avro Triplane" (Aircraft number 12)
  • Number 3: Orvil Newton, "Bristol Boxkite" nicknamed "The Phoenix Flyer" (Aircraft number 7)
  • Number 4: Lieutenant Parsons, "Picaut Dubrieul" nicknamed "HMS Victory" (Aircraft number 4)
  • Number 5: Harry Popperwell, "Little Tiddler" (Aircraft number 5)
  • Number 6: Colonel Manfred von Holstein and Captain Rumpelstoss, "Eardley Billing Tractor Biplane" (Aircraft number 11)
  • Number 7: Mr Wallace. (Aircraft number 14)
  • Number 8: Charles Wade. (Aircraft number unknown)
  • Number 9: Mr Yamamoto, "Japanese Eardley Billing Tractor Biplane" (Aircraft number 1)
  • Number 10: Count Emilio Ponticelli, "Philips Multiplane," "Passat Ornithopter," "Lee Richards Annular Biplane" and "Vickers 22 Monoplane" (Aircraft number 2)
  • Number 11: Henri Monteux. (Aircraft number unknown)
  • Number 12: Pierre Dubois, "Santos-Dumont Demoiselle" (Aircraft number 9)
  • Number 13: Mr Mac Dougall, "Blackburn Monoplane" nicknamed "Wake up Scotland" (Aircraft number 6)
  • Number 14: Harry Walton (no number assigned).


While each aircraft was an accurate reproduction, some “impersonated” other types. For instance, The Phoenix Flyer Bristol Boxkite
Bristol Boxkite

The Bristol Boxkite was an improved version of the early Henri Farman biplane, built in 1910 by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company ....
 built by F.G. Miles Engineering Co.
Miles Aircraft

Miles was the name used to market the aircraft of United Kingdom engineer Frederick George Miles, who designed numerous light civil and military aircraft and a range of curious prototypes....
 at Ford, Sussex, was used to represent a typical American biplane of 1910. The Bristol was chosen because Director Annakin thought it was a lookalike for a Wright
Wright brothers

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two United States who are generally credited with inventing and building the world's first successful fixed-wing aircraft and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air Flight#Mechanical flight, on December 17, 1903....
 biplane of the era, although the "American pilot" character, Orvil Newton describes it as a "Curtiss with an Anzani engine", it actually is a British derivative of the French 1909 Farman
Farman

Farman Aviation Works was an aeronautic enterprise founded and run by the brothers Henri Farman and Maurice Farman.They designed and constructed aircraft from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rationalization of its aerospace industry, Farman's assets were assigned to the SNCAC ....
 biplane. For the purposes of the "impersonation", the replica had the name "The Phoenix Flyer" painted on its outer rudder surfaces and it was identified as a "Gruber-Newton Flyer."

F. George Miles, chiefly responsible for its design and manufacture, incorporated a third rudder for controllability and powered the replica with a Rolls-Royce C90
Continental O-200

The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, Flat-4, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in? displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower ....
 (90 hp) engine that provided a 45 mph top speed. The Boxkite was extremely tractable and when pilot Derek Piggott lost a main wheel, he managed a smooth landing and subsequently repeated the wheel-off takeoff and landing successfully over 20 times for the cameras. In the penultimate flying scene, a stuntman was carried in the Boxkite's undercarriage and easily carried out a fall and "roll" (the stunt had to be repeated in order to match the principal actor's roll and revival). Slapstick stunts both on the ground and in the air were a major element in the film and often the directors requested repeated stunts with trepidation; the stuntmen were more than accommodating, they considered the repetition "more money in the bank."

The Eardley Billing Tractor Biplane replica flown by David Watson appeared in two different guises, as the German pilot's aircraft, in more or less authentic form, but impersonating an early German tractor biplane, and with boxkite-like side curtains over the interplane strut
Interplane strut

An interplane strut is an aircraft airframe component designed to transmit Lift and landing loads between wing panels on biplanes and other aircraft with multi-wing designs....
s and other decoration, as the Japanese pilot's mount.

Demoiselle2
In addition to the “flying” aircraft - several of the unsuccessful aircraft of the period were represented by “non-flying” replicas including a number of unlikely "contraptions" such as an ornithopter
Ornithopter

An ornithopter is an aircraft that flight by flapping its wings. Designers seek to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects....
 (the Passat Ornithopter) flown by the Italian contender in the race, the Walton Edwards Rhomboidal, Picaut Dubrieul, Philips Multiplane or the Little Tiddler (a backwards-facing design). Regardless, the movie models all "flew" with the help of "movie magic." The Lee Richards Annular Biplane with circular wings was built by Denton Partners on Woodley Aerodrome near Reading. In flight, the Lee Richards Annular Biplane actually surpassed the performance of its 1910 namesake, although the movie model "flew" by means of the flying rig that simulated its flight by towing the model into the air.

The types that were chosen for the “flying” replicas were all of distinctly different layouts, so as to be easily distinguishable for the least aeronautically sophisticated member of the audience. They were also chosen from types that were reputed to have flown well, in or about 1910.

In most cases this decision to choose specific types as "flying" models worked well, but there were a few surprises, adding to an accurate historical reassessment of the aircraft concerned. For example, the Santos-Dumont Demoiselle, one of the forerunners of today's ultralight aircraft at first could not be made to leave the ground properly, but only in brief "hops". When Doug Bianchi and the Personal Planes production staff who constructed the replica consulted with Alan Wheeler, he recalled that its designer and first pilot, Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont

File:Alberto Santos Dumont .jpgAlberto Santos-Dumont was an early pioneer of aviation. He was born and died in Brazil. Heir of a prosperous coffee producer family, Santos-Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris....
 was a very tiny man. A suitably small pilot, Joan Hughes
Joan Hughes

Joan Lily Amelia Hughes, Order of the British Empire was Second World War ferry pilot and one of Britain's first female test pilots.Hughes was born in the West Ham district of London in 1918, by the time she was 17 she had become the youngest female flyer in Great Britain....
, a wartime member of the Air Transport Auxiliary
Air Transport Auxiliary

The Air Transport Auxiliary was a United Kingdom World War II civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, Maintenance Units , scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields?but not to aircraft carriers....
 who was the Airways Flying Club Chief Flying Instructor, was hired. With the reduced payload, and a replacement Ardem 50 hp engine, the diminutive Demoiselle flew "fantastically" as Hughes also proved to be a consummate stunt flyer.

Bianchi had earlier in 1960, created a one-off Vickers 22 (Bleriot type) Monoplane, utilizing Vickers company drawings, originally intended for use by the Vickers Flying Club in 1910. The completed prototype was available and 20th Century Fox purchased the replica, even though it required a new engine and extensive modifications including replacing the entire wooden fuselage structure with welded steel tubing as well as incorporating ailerons instead of wing-warping. The Vickers 22 became the final type used by the Italian contestant in the film. Sometime after the film was released, the Vickers was sold to an owner in New Zealand. It is believed to have flown once in NZ, a brief hop at Wellington Airport in the hands of Keith Trillo, and may now be seen at the SouthWard Museum.

Peter Hillwood of the Hampshire Aero Club constructed an authentic Avro Triplane Mk IV, using drawings provided by Geoffrey Verdon Roe, the son of A.V. Roe
A.V. Roe

A.V. Roe may refer to:*Alliott Verdon Roe, British industrialist*A.V. Roe and Company , British aircraft manufacturer founded by Alliott Verdon Roe...
, the original designer. The construction of the triplane followed A.V. Roe's specifications and was the only replica that utilized wing-warping successfully. With a more powerful 90 hp Cirrus II replacing the 35 hp Green engine that was in the original design, the Avro Triplane proved to be a lively performer even with a stuntman dangling from the fuselage.

The Antoinette IV
Antoinette IV

The Antoinette IV was an early France monoplane. It was a high-wing aircraft with a fuselage of extremely narrow triangular cross-section and a cruciform tail....
 movie model closely replicated the slim, graceful monoplane that was very nearly the first aircraft to fly the English Channel and won several prizes in early competitions. When the Hants and Sussex Aviation Company from Portsmouth Aerodrome undertook its construction, the company followed the original structural specifications carefully, although an out-of-period de Havilland Gypsy
De Havilland

The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a United Kingdom aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer and owner, was sold to Birmingham Small Arms Company....
 I engine was used. The Antoinette's wing structure proved, however, to be dangerously flexible, and lateral control was very poor, even after the wing bracing was reinforced with extra wires, and the original wing-warping was replaced with "modern" ailerons (hinged on the rear spar rather than from the trailing edge, as in the "real" Antoinette). The final configuration was still considered marginal in terms of stability and lateral control.

The realism and the attention to detail in the replicas of vintage machines are a major contributor to the enjoyment of the film, and although a few of the flying stunts were achieved through the use of models and cleverly disguised wires, most aerial scenes featured actual flying aircraft. One of the few vintage aircraft used, including a Deperdussin used as "set dressing", the flyable 1912 Blackburn Monoplane “D” (the oldest "genuine" British aircraft still flying) belonged to the Shuttleworth Trust
Shuttleworth Collection

The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well preserved aircraft....
 based at Old Warden, Bedfordshire. When the filming was completed, the "1910 Bristol Boxkite" and the "1911 Roe IV Triplane" were retained in the Shuttleworth Collection. Both replicas are still in flyable condition, albeit flying with different engines. For his role in promoting the film, the non-flying "Passat Ornithopter" was given to aircraft restorer, Cole Palen
Cole Palen

Cole Palen was the founder of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a "living" museum of vintage aircraft from 1900-1937 located in Rhinebeck, New York....
 who displayed it at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome

The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is a living museum of World War I aircraft and antique automobiles....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
.

During the promotional "junkets" accompanying the film in 1965, a number of the vintage aircraft and film replicas used in the production were flown in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The pilots who had been part of the aerial team readily agreed to accompany the promotional tour in order to have a chance to fly the movie models again.

Reception

Contemporary reviews judged the film as "good fun", and even the usually hyper-critical New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther was effusive in that the film was a good-natured "large-canvas" comedy with costumes, authentic-looking props and good character acting. Variety
Variety (magazine)

Variety is a weekly entertainment trade newspaper founded in New York in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Hollywood, was founded by Silverman in 1933....
 had a similar reaction: "As fanciful and nostalgic a piece of clever picture-making as has hit the screen in recent years, this backward look into the pioneer days of aviation, when most planes were built with spit and bailing wire, is a warming entertainment experience." When the film turned up on television for the first time in 1969, TV Guide
TV Guide

TV Guide is the name of a North American weekly magazine about Broadcast programming.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews....
 summed up most critical reviews: "Good, clean fun, with fast and furious action, good cinematography, crisp dialogue, wonderful planes, and a host of some of the funniest people in movies in the cast."

Running at over two hours' length, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines... (most theatre marquees abbreviated the full title and it was eventually re-released with the shorter title) was treated as a major production, one of only three full-length 70 mm Todd-AO
Todd-AO

Todd-AO is an extremely high definition widescreen film format developed in the mid 1950s. It was co-developed by Mike Todd, a Broadway theatre producer, with American Optical Company in Buffalo, New York....
 Fox releases in 1965 with an intermission and musical interlude spliced into the original screenings. Due to the Todd-AO process, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines was considered an exclusive feature shown in deluxe Cinerama venues where customers needed reserved seats purchased ahead of time to see it. Considered one of the most popular exemplars of the '60s "epic comedy" genre, it was an immediate box-office success, far outgrossing the similar car-race comedy The Great Race
The Great Race

The Great Race is a 1965 in film slapstick comedy movie film director by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, with music by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Russell Harlan....
 and even eclipsing the perennial favorite It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 in film American film comedy film directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 of stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers....
. Audience reaction both in first release and even today is nearly universal in assessing the film as one of the "classic" aviation films.

Awards and honors

Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines was nominated and received awards in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The original screenplay written by Ken Annakin and Jack Davies was nominated for an Academy Award
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
 for Best Writing Directly for the Screen (1966). The film was also nominated in the category of Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written. At the 1966 Golden Globes, the film won Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy for Alberto Sordi, as well as being nominated in Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy and Most Promising Newcomer - Male for James Fox. Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines went on to win 1966 British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Academy of Film and Television Arts

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation....
 Awards (BAFTA) for Best British Costume (Colour), winners: Osbert Lancaster and Dinah Greet, Best British Art Direction (Colour), winner: Thomas N. Morahan and Best British Cinematography (Colour), winner: Christopher Challis. The film also was nominated for Best Comedy in the 1966 Laurel Awards
Laurel

Laurel may refer to:...
 where it was awarded a fourth place finish.

The success of the film prompted Annakin to write (again with Jack Davies) and direct another race movie, Monte Carlo or Bust
Monte Carlo or Bust

Monte Carlo or Bust is a 1969 in film comedy film. The story is based on the Monte Carlo Rally. The film is a United Kingdom/France/Italy co-production, and was released in the United States under the title Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies....
 (aka Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies), released in 1969
1969 in film

The year 1969 in film involved some significant events....
, this time involving vintage cars with the story set around the Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally

The Monte Carlo Rally is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco who also organizes the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique....
.

See also

  • Brooklands
    Brooklands

    Brooklands was a 2.75 miles Auto racing circuit and airfield built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue....
  • Shuttleworth Collection
    Shuttleworth Collection

    The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well preserved aircraft....


Bibliography

  • Burke, John. Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes. New York: Pocket Cardinal, Pocket Books, 1965.
  • Ellis, Ken. "Evenin' All." Flypast No. 284, April 2005.
  • Hallion, Richard P. Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age from Antiquity through the First World War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-516035-5.
  • Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". The Making of the Great Aviation Films, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
  • Hodgens, R.M. "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in Twenty-Five Hours and Eleven Minutes." Film Quarterly October 1965, Vol. 19, No. 1, p. 63.
  • Lee, Walt. Reference Guide to Fantastic Films: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Los Angeles, CA: Chelsea-Lee Books, 1974. ISBN 0-91397-403-X.
  • Munn, Mike. Great Epic Films: The Stories Behind the Scenes. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1983. ISBN 0-85242-729-8.
  • Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines (1965) DVD (Including bonus features on the background of the film.) 20th Century Fox, 2004.
  • Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines (1965) VHS Tape. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 1969.
  • Searle, Ronald, Bill Richardson and Allen Andrews. Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines: Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes. New York: Dennis Dobson/ W.W. Norton, 1965.
  • Temple, Julian C. Wings Over Woodley - The Story of Miles Aircraft and the Adwest Group. Bourne End, Bucks, UK: Aston Publications, 1987. ISBN 0-946627-12-6.
  • Wheeler, Allen H. Building Aeroplanes for "Those Magnificent Men.". London: G.T. Foulis, 1965.


External links