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Plot
In the early twentieth century, the Great Leslie - daredevil and all 'round Renaissance man always clad in white - has several world records to his name in daring feats of courage, always with the faithful Hezekiah by his side. Leslie's arch enemy is the dastardly Professor Fate - always clad in black - who is always trying either to outdo Leslie or thwart Leslie's attempts of daring, without success. Leslie suggests to the Webber Motor Car Company that they show their engineering expertise by building the supreme motor car for a New York to Paris race, that car which they ultimately name the Leslie Special after their inspiration. Not to be outdone, Fate, with his equally dastardly sidekick Max, also enters the race with what he considers his motor car masterpiece, the Hannibal Twin-8. Nothing is too dastardly an act in Fate's goal of winning. One of the other entries is the beautiful Maggie Dubois, a reporter covering the race for the New York Sentinel newspaper. An emancipated woman, Maggie initially tried to convince both Leslie and Fate to use her as their driving partner, both who refused, considering her among the weaker sex. Maggie however convinced the newspaper both to hire her and to sponsor their own car with her as the driver based on the internal struggle within the newspaper's ownership, which is similar to Maggie's own struggles. Maggie expects to win: in her logic, she is covering the entire race (which she does with the use of some primitive but effective technology), meaning she needs to be first at the finish line. Despite being emancipated, Maggie is not averse to using her feminine wiles to her advantage. Through the race, they come across a few adventures and obstacles. But being a long race with much interaction between the racers, their mindsets and priorities may change based on their time together.
from　http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059243/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl

Cast
Jack Lemmon as Professor Fate/Prince Friedrich Hapnick　ジャック・レモン
Tony Curtis as Leslie Gallant III ("The Great Leslie")　トニー・カーティス
Natalie Wood as Maggie DuBois ナタリー・ウッド
Peter Falk as Maximillian "Max" Meen
Keenan Wynn as Hezekiah Sturdy　キーナン・ウィン
Arthur O'Connell as Henry Goodbody　アーサー・オコンネル

Academy Awards
Won
Best Sound Effects

Nominated
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Song
Best Sound

1965年公開の「グレートレース」です。監督はピンクパンサーシリーズで有名なブレイク・エドワーズ。主演はジャック・レモン。トニー・カーティス、ナタリー・ウッドです。映画の時間は160分で長めの映画です。レモンとカーティスは6年前の「お熱いのがお好き」でも共演しています。ところどころに流れる「The Sweetheart Tree」という曲が印象的です。

この映画はフェイト教授とグレート・レスリーらがニューヨークからパリまで自動車レースをしていく映画です。
実際に1908年ニューヨークからパリまでのレースが行われました。このレースのルートには日本も入っていたようです。
優勝者はアメリカのチームでThomas Flyerという車種を運転していました。このレースを元に映画は作られています。
この映画はレースだけではなく女性の権利も扱っています。
1900年代アメリカでは女性には参政権すら与えられていません。女性が大統領選に投票できるようになったのは1920年からです。こういう歴史背景を知っておくと映画がわかりやすいかもしれません。

グレートレース 特別版 [ トニー・カーティス ] 価格:1,000円 (2017/2/4 13:22時点) 感想(0件)