Monte Carlo Or Bust

I reckon everybody must have one movie they consider their own personal, special movie. A movie you've seldom heard others mention fondly, but has perhaps special memories for you or a particular fondness.

For me, that movie is Monte Carlo Or Bust, or to give it the American title it's released under: Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies. Being primarily an Italian co-production, it should even perhaps be listed under its Italian name - Quei temerari sulle loro pazze, scatenate, scalcinate carriole.

I first became acquainted with this movie on its initial theatrical release. I was six years old and madly into cars. My parents took me to the cinema to see movies they thought we'd all like. We'd seen The Sound Of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Oliver! and a few other family-oriented pictures (mostly Disney feature cartoons) and I was getting into this magical cinema thing.

Although we only saw the movie once, we enjoyed it thoroughly and tucked it away in our memories until it was shown on television. We watched it then and thoroughly enjoyed it. We watched it every time it came up on tv, and when it eventually came out of videotape, we got a copy of our own.

Up to now, I've had to make do with a DVD home recording off BBC2. The first outing was a 4:3 pan-and-scan like the old VHS. Then they reshowed it in 16:9 (again panned and scanned, but you could see more of the picture.) This DVD release sees the picture finally presented in all its 2.35:1 glory, and it's a revelation after years of watching the cramped Modified Aspect Ratio copies of the past.

MCOB is ostensibly a sequel to Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, and shares a number of cast and crew with the original: Producer/director Ken Annakin, co-writer Jack Davies and actors Terry-Thomas, Eric Sykes and Gert Frobe.

The heroes of the movie, depending on your point of view or affiliation are:

Tony Curtis as Chester Schofield II, a Detroit playboy who has won a fifty percent share in Ware-Armitage Motors. He immediately butts egos with his new partner, Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas) who has just inherited the firm from his late father. With insufficient funds ("half a million semolions") to buy out Schofield, Sir Cuthbert challenges Chester to enter that year's Monte Carlo rally. The winner takes all.

Lando Buzzanca and Walter Chiari as Marcello Agosti and Angelo Pincelli, members of the Rome police force and best friends. Marcello is initially upset when Angelo, who is also his superior officer, uses their winnings from the Tombola Nationale to buy a car. Angelo sees his only opportunity to advance beyond the police as becoming as famous a racing driver as "Malcolma Campbell". Marcello was intent on just finding a nice wife with the nice big... and having lots of nice little bambinos.

The villain of the piece is, of course, Terry-Thomas as Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage (Baronet), son of Magnificent Men's Sir Percy. On the death of his father, he inherits the title and the ownership of Ware-Armitage Motors. Well, not exactly, he inherits only half as the other half was won from Sir Percy in a game of cards with Chester Schofield II.

Eric Sykes plays Terry-Thomas's sidekick Perkins, a manager from the motor factory who gets roped into the bet. Sir Cuthbert keeps Perkins in line with a dossier compiled by the Sunbeam Detective Agency which he found among "the dear Pater's papers."

The first characters we meet are two British Army officers posted in the Khyber Pass. Major Digby Dawlish (Peter Cook) is a keen inventor and sees the Monte Carlo Rally as the showcase for his inventions. His second-in-command Lt. Kit Barrington (Dudley Moore) is a keen sycophant.

Gert Frobe plays underworld getaway driver Willy Schickel, sprung from prison by criminal mastermind Count Levinovitch (Jack Hawkins, dubbed by Robert Rietti) to smuggle the Romanoff jewels across Europe in one of the spare tyres. Schickel is taking the place of Horst Muller, a racing driver from the Argentine who he is a double of, and if he fails in his mission he will be joining Herr Muller at the bottom of the lake.

French actresses Mireille Darc, Marie Dubois and Nicholetta Machiavelli bring considerable glamour and medical expertise to the proceedings as the French Ladies Team, Dr Marie-Claude and her medical student friends. They become involved with the two Italians.

Chester's romantic interest comes in the form of English rose Betty - more correctly Lady Elizabeth Hardwicke (Susan Hampshire), met on the Yorkshire Moors section of the course. Joining Chester as his navigator, she proves a valuable companion in spite of her dubious affiliations to Sir Cuthbert.

Five groups of competitors set out from five different starting points - Chester and Sir Cuthbert start out from John O'Groats, Major Dawlish and Willy start out from Stockholm, Marcello, Angelo and the French girls start out from Ragusa in Sicily. They meet up (if they are lucky) at the Hotel Du Lac in Chambery, then tool down to Monte Carlo for the time trials. There are adventures along the way for them all - not least Chester and his winsome impediment Betty who is being blackmailed into slowing Chester down by her cousin Sir Cuthbert.

If you enjoyed Blake Edwards' The Great Race, you'll enjoy this movie - and vice versa. It is perhaps an acquired taste - many IMDb users don't rate it too highly as a comedy. The comedy is broad, mostly down to pratfalls and the like, but it has tons of charm.

Video

Picturewise, the movie hasn't looked so good in years. The DVD isn't actually a Paramount Pictures release, it's a licence job. Colourisation experts Legend Films are branching out into releasing old Paramount catalogue titles and MCOB is part of the first wave. Presented in the Original Aspect Ratio of 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, finally the whole picture is on screen, not the pan-and-scan of the VHS release or the modified 16:9 of the recent broadcasts on BBC2 and Film Four. The movie hasn't been restored in any great way, but Paramount has provided Legend with mastering materials in very good condition.

Audio

A nice stereo soundtrack without surround enhancement, reproduced through Dolby Digital 2.0. Special mention must be made of the movie's theme tune "Monte Carlo Or Bust", written by scoresmith Ron Goodwin and sung by Hollywood legend Jimmy "The Schnozzle" Durante.

Goodwin's theme for Gert Frobe's character has been re-used as the theme of "I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue" - which incidentally featured Willie Rushton who can be seen at the John O'Groats starting line as a race official.

Extras

Only a trailer. No subtitles.