Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (1969) User Reviews (24)

Thank heavens for Pete 'n' Dud.

[KEVMC · 5/10 · 14 September 2003]

In the 1920's several international characters gather to compete in the gruelling Monte Carlo Rally. Some will employ fair means or foul to ensure victory.

This film was a follow up of sorts to 1965's 'Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines', although it also bares similarities to 'The Great Race'(in which Tony Curtis once again starred). Sadly it is not in the same class as either. It lacks the coherence, wit and spectacle of 'Flying Machines', despite Ken Annakin being at the helm once more. In fairness to him the main problem is the screenplay - its simply not that funny. This causes an over reliance on the visual gags, and here again the film falls short. The effects aren't terribly special even for 1969. Some of the characters are also downright irritating - I'm thinking particularly of the Italians - bulging eyed, flailing armed, noisy oafs.

There are some compensations however. Dear old Terry-Thomas and Eric Sykes repeat their double act from the previous film to some effect, and Susan Hampshire is every inch the English Rose. But its Peter Cook and Dudley Moore who steal the show as a British Army Officer/Inventor and his Batman respectively. They have all the best lines and manage to deliver them in a typically deadpan and upper class manner. Example:- As their car hurtles down a snowy hillside out of control, and having tried every concievable method of stopping it to no avail, Cook calmly announces "This simply won't do at all!" Priceless.

Not a total disaster then, but considering the talent involved, with better writing and more careful work all round it could have been, and indeed should have been, so much better.

A fun film to watch if you like the cast

[cessnaace · 7/10 · 12 November 2005]

My wife prefers "The Great Race" over this film. Both films are period comedies involving automobile races. Both star Tony Curtis. As for me, I prefer "Those Daring Young Fools in Their Jaunty Jalopies" (aka "Monte Carlo or Bust.") Why? The supporting cast.

First of all, I'm a huge Terry-Thomas fan. So for me, this was reason enough to purchase a LaserDisc of this film. Eric Sykes, Gert Frobe, et al are all good too! This is also a sequel of sorts to "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines." Terry-Thomas plays the grown son of the character that he played in the earlier film. And, Eric Sykes is back as his side-kick. Both films also feature Gert Frobe as a German, and both films were directed by Ken Annakin.

There is an awkward edit just prior to the final stage of the rally, but it appears to have been done on purpose (for effect).

I've suddenly remembered that there are at least two versions of this film. The European cut of this film ran 122 minutes. The American cut ran 93 minutes. The LaserDisc release (which I mentioned earlier) is the longer European cut in widescreen with the American opening title sequence. I have never seen the shorter version, so I can't comment on it's relative merits as compared to the longer version.

Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies (Ken Annakin, 1969) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 28 December 2008]

The U.S. theatrical release of this follow-up to the highly popular epic comedy THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (1965) was decidedly ill-timed – coming as it did just three days after that of MIDNIGHT COWBOY! – and must have made an already inferior product (in comparison to the original) seem quaint and redundant. Perhaps this even explains the film's hacking down to 93 minutes (from an original length of 125!) over there, not to mention its sheer invisibility on TV and home video (in my neck of the woods at least) until now, via Legend Films' no-frills but full-length DVD – albeit under its more recognizable alternate title rather than the original one of MONTE CARLO OR BUST!

Perhaps inevitably, several of the same cast and crew from the predecessor are involved here as well: producer-director-co-writer Annakin, screenwriter Jack Davies, composer Ron Goodwin, actors Terry-Thomas (in a way, actually reprising his signature role by playing the son of the character he had portrayed in FLYING MACHINES), Eric Sykes (again as the latter's valet) and Gert Frobe (as, obviously, the German representative), etc. Also like its prototype, several international stars were roped in to fill out the roles of the other contestants: from the USA, Tony Curtis (who, sadly, is a long way from his winsome characterization in THE GREAT RACE [1965]); from Britain, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore (amusing as, respectively, an Army Major-cum-amateur inventor and his sidekick) and, later, Susan Hampshire (who initially tries to detour Curtis but eventually joins him); from Italy, a level-headed Walter Chiari and a typically hot-blooded Lando Buzzanca; from France, a group of three girls (played by Mireille Darc, Marie Dubois and Nicoletta Macchiavelli) who, prior to the start of the race, have a run-in with their compatriot organizer of the Monte Carlo Rally, Bourvil. There are other stars or recognizable faces making guest appearances for no real reason except to add to the fun (and expense): Jack Hawkins and Derren Nesbitt (as jewel thieves that have hid their booty inside one of Frobe's spare tyres!), Hattie Jacques (as an emancipated lady journalist), Richard Wattis and, according to the IMDb, even Paul Muller (but I didn't recognize him).

In this talented company and with the lavish budget accorded, there can't fail to be enjoyable stretches (particularly with every new contraption Cook and Moore come up with after the last one had unsurprisingly failed) and other sundry compensations (not least Jimmy Durante's grizzled intonation of the title song and the accompanying animated credits sequence); however, as I said earlier, the film is not up to the levels of inspiration that permeated its memorable predecessor. Tony Curtis only had one or two major films left before slipping into TV roles and the occasional big-screen cameo, while Annakin wouldn't really be allowed to handle another such stellar cast before a decade's time had elapsed – including the umpteenth cinematic version of "The Man In The Iron Mask" in THE FIFTH MUSKETEER (1979).

Fond Memories

[JMO-7 · 20 May 2000]

This picture is one of those fondly remembered childhood movies for me. I'd have been six when it came out and I bought a VHS copy when that was released. It was as goofy a movie as I remembered. Tony Curtis forever muttering "darn, heck and h.e. double l" when things went wrong; Terry-Thomas being his usual beastly self. The movie is full of old friends. This is one I'd like to see fully restored (it originally had a stereo soundtrack - mentioned on the credits), and released on DVD.

That First Monte Carlo Rally - 1924

[theowinthrop · 6/10 · 22 January 2007]

It tries hard, and it has some energy from a few of the stars in it, but MONTY CARLO OR BUST lacks the verve of it's predecessors, THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES and THE GREAT RACE, and some of the goofiness of it's less remembered successor, ROCKET TO THE MOON. It may be the script, which lags at times, or it may be the fact that the super-nationalism of Pre-World War I Europe is not translatable in the 1920s (oddly enough). The cast includes people from the two preceding films including Tony Curtis (THE GREAT RACE), Terry-Thomas, Eric Sykes, and Gert Frobe (THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN), and some welcomed new faces (Susan Hampshire, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore). But there is less time for the character development found in the earlier films. For example, the three French female drivers and the two Italian male drivers never really have individual personalities, although one of the Italians has "topic A" constantly on his mind when he thinks of the amorous awards awaiting him if he wins.

The idea is that 1924 marks the first Grand Prix to Monte Carlo across Europe. The various characters are interested in winning the race - well most of them are. Poor Gert Frobe (in a far more sympathetic role than his pompous German Colonel in THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN) is Willy, a well-known superior "getaway - car" driver in Germany who has been sprung from prison by the Count (Jack Hawkins, in one of his last - really silent film parts). He resembles a wealthy playboy who has been entered in the rally, but has been "removed" so that Willy can replace him. A fortune in stolen jewels is in Willy's car, and it is going to be transported secretly across Europe so it can be brought to the men who can sell it. Willy doesn't mind, at first, but he resents the constant threat over his head by the Count's men (who are everywhere), and he knows he could win the rally - he's a better driver than anyone else. But the Count doesn't care.

SMALL SPOILER:

At the conclusion, Willy is freed from the threat from the Count, and cuts loose. Although he does not get official recognition because of his fraudulently replacing the actual driver who entered, Willy actually does win the race for a few minutes.

There is also the British Army Colonel, Major Digby-Dawlish (Peter Cook) and his batman/assistant Lt. Kit Barrington (Dudley Moore). There addition to the cast actually is a recognition of two previously successful comedies this team appeared in: the original BEDAZZLED and THE WRONG BOX. Digby-Dawlish is an inventor of motorcar devices he has tested in India, and he hopes to win the rally so he can market these to the world. The devices (like attaching skis to the car in the snowy regions) seem to be sensible, but always come acropper - but Dawlish and Barrington never say die, and always seem to have another device to undue the chaos and damage of the first device!

Then there is the antics of Terry-Thomas and Tony Curtis. Terry-Thomas is Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage, the son of the Sir Percy Ware-Armitage who tried to cheat his way to the trophy of the 1910 London to Paris flight in THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN. Daddy has been killed at the start of the new film in the crash of another airplane, and Cuthbert is as happy as possible - he is now owner of the family industrial empire. But then he learns that daddy sold half the business to Chester Schofield (Curtis), an American with ideas of his own. Ware-Armitage is not going to let a Yank control half that empire. He bets Schofield that he will beat Schofield to Monte Carlo - the winner gets to keep the entire industrial empire. Schofield agrees, not realizing that Cuthbert is as crooked and ruthless as his father was. Using (or misusing and blackmailing) his family retainer Perkins (Sykes) to do his dirty work, he also blackmails a young cousin (Hampshire) to vamp Schofield and make him lose interest in the race.

The reduction of plot themes should have strengthened the script - but there are gaps. Chester is drugged at one point, but Hampshire gives him some medication she has and he snaps out of his sleepy behavior automatically. Perkins puts up with a lot of crap from his boss - far more than most people reasonably accept. In the end he gets a fine revenge, but it should have been earlier in the film.

The film is amusing enough - but try to catch the other films in the series which were better.

European co-production with all-star-cast , funny sequences , spectacular races and amusement

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 26 April 2013]

As the US title would indicate this is a sort of following to ¨Those magnificent men in their flying machines¨ (1965) . In an international car rally , competitors must travel from various points in Europe to Monte Carlo, then race their cars . As daring young men in noise slow cars trek 1500 miles across nation in the 1920s race . Contestants come from all over the world from Norway , Italy , America and other countries . Things are complicated by shenanigans , hijinks , double-crosses , honor , medicine , and love at first sight ; all of them are founded along the route . A dastardly villain (Terry Thomas) and his steward , an escaped inmate (Gert Frobe), an American hero (Tony Curtis) , a downtrodden manservant (Eric Sykes) , two military gentlemen (Dudley Moore , Peter Cook) are the competitors , among others . Meanwhile , a nobleman named Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas) has sabotaged cars that start coming apart here , there and everywhere .

Auto race in an uproarious European tour ,circa 1920 ,completed with crashes , cheating , snow-chases , smuggling , inventions , bounds and leaps . These spectacular old cars provide the most side-splitting moments in a picture whose greatest assets are the animated Ronald Searle cartoons and the beginning , middle and final . Dudley Moore and and Peter Cook have various fun moments , while Gert Frobe is great as an astute villain . There's rather too much romance between Tony Curtis-Susan Hampshire and Lando Buzzanca-Mireille Darc . Special mention to Terry Thomas again in dastardly form as a British nasty who plans to sabotage all his rivals in the Monte Carlo rally . This followup to ¨Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes¨ had the same director (Ken Annakin), writers (Jack Davies and Annakin), composer (Ron Goodwin), and five actors . Terry-Thomas played the son of his character in the earlier movie, and Eric Sykes' character was again an employee of Terry-Thomas'. Gert Fröbe, William Rushton, and Michael Trubshawe played unrelated roles. Lively and jolly musical score by Ron Goodwin and theme song was sung by Jimmy Durante , including a piece of music entitled "The Schickel Shamble" which accompanies many of Gert Fröbe's scenes . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Gabor Pogany .

¨Montecarlo or Bust¨ belongs to a trilogy in which old machines such as cars and planes participate into spectacular races across Europe : the first was ¨The great race¨ by Blake Edwards with Tony Curtis , Natalie Wood , Ross Martin , Arthur O'Connell ; the second was ¨Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes¨ (1965) in which a wealthy newspaper publisher is persuaded to sponsor an air race from London a Paris , being directed by Ken Annakin with Stuart Withman , Sarah Miles , Get Frobe , Terry Thomas , Red Skelton ,Irene Demick and the third this ¨Montecarlo or bust¨.

This inferior sequel was professionally directed by Ken Annakin , though being sporadically funny and overly long : Ken was an expert on Adventure genre as ¨The new adventures of Pippi Longstockings¨, ¨Pirate movie¨ , ¨Paper tiger¨, ¨The fifth Musketeer¨ , ¨Call of wild¨, ¨The Swiss family Robinson¨, ¨Land of fury¨, ¨The Sword and the Rose¨, ¨The story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men¨, ¨Third man on the mountain¨ and Wartime genre as ¨Battle of the Bulge¨, and ¨The Longest day¨.

Monte Carlo Or Bust

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 18 January 2012]

If Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunting Jalopies seems real familiar it looks many times like outtakes from The Great Race were used to make this film. In fact the folks at Paramount had the presence of mind to star Tony Curtis as well.

Probably Jaunting Jalopies would have been better received if The Great Race hadn't preceded it by a few years. Curtis is not the pulp fiction hero he was in The Great Race. Rather he's an American who won a half interest in Terry-Thomas's automobile company and was busy putting his own stamp on it. Terry-Thomas heartily disapproves and he's the Jack Lemmon of this film. His sidekick is that Monty Python regular Eric Sykes whom he has a little something to which he can blackmail Sykes into doing his dirty work. But that's not his only ace in the hole, Terry-Thomas has Susan Hampshire a cousin of his sent out to provide feminine distraction for Curtis. She succeeds admirably, but nature does take its course between Curtis and Hampshire.

Stealing every scene they are in are Peter Cook and Dudley Moore as a British army colonel and his batman orderly. Cook invents a series of Rube Goldberg like contraptions that are supposed aid in the race. Somehow they don't work out and usually at Moore's expense. Perhaps Cook should have studied under Rube.

Some nice cinematography of the French countryside is a definite asset for Jaunting Jalopies. Still it all looks like it's been done before and it was by Tony Curtis.

Cook and Moore steal the show

[Squonk · 5/10 · 14 May 1999]

Like many other racing comedies, 'Those Daring Young Men in their Jaunty Jalopies' suffers from simply having too much going on at once. The film has so many different characters it tries to devote time to, it's easy to forget everything that's going on. It seemed like whenever Tony Curtis appeared on the screen I thought "Oh yeah, forgot he was in this." The film might be considered a multi-car wreck had it not been for Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Cook plays a British inventor, Moore his trusty sidekick. These two have all the best lines in the movie, and their deadpan delivery is perfect.

Wacky Races style comic caper

[liammurphy1 · 8/10 · 13 September 2003]

The movie isn't that funny, although you probably don't notice that what with the great actors on display - The wonderful gap toothed Terry-Thomas as a kind of Dick Dastardly Figure, Eric Sykes as his Mutley style sidekick,It has Tony Curtis romancing Susan Hampshire & The great comic actors Peter Cook & Dudley Moore as British Army men who have the best scenes and funniest lines & Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) as a escaped convict transporting stolen treasures. The scenery is wonderful as they travel throughout Europe Mostly Britain and France and has a nice 1920's feel, just don't expect many laughs, just sit back and enjoy some of the best British Actors many of who are no longer with us.

All in all a likeable caper with great performances

Rating 8/10

Comedy film about a real annual car event

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 25 October 2016]

The 1960s saw two comedy films made about two real, legendary automobile contests. The first was "The Great Race" in 1965. It was a hilarious rendition of an actual event held in 1908. That was a race around the world that involved far fewer cars than shown in the movie. In my comments on that film (18 April 2014), I give a history of that event, and some details about the museum where the winning car and trophy are housed today. The National Automobile Museum is located in Reno, Nevada. One can spend more than a day going through that world-class museum.

The second race film of the 1960s was this one, about the Monte Carlo Rally. "Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies" came out four years after the first film. The rally is a real event that has taken place annually since 1911, except during the years of World War I and World War II.

Critics generally panned "The Great Race," which was the most costly comedy made to that time. It had a budget of $12 million. But the public liked the film. The critics and public liked "Jaunty Jalopies," which also made a nice profit. But it wasn't as popular in the U.S. as had been "Race."

I think "Race" clearly was a much funnier comedy. It had some outrageously funny scenarios, including the best and longest filmed pie fight in history. "Jaunty Jalopies" on the other hand, has many moments that bring chuckles or smiles. But there ae no standout hilarious scenes. What's best about this film is its international cast and the cars and reproductions that showed innovations. The rally in its early years was a showcase for new automobile innovations. In this film, this is show with two English characters and a car entry by Major Dawlish and Lt. Barrington, played respectively by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

Terry-Thomas plays the part of a cad so well, but in this film his part isn't that funny. Many of the actors give good performances, and the string of mishaps one after another is funny. But "Jalopies" never rises above a chuckle. The original European title for this movie was, "Monte Carlo or Bust." Movie buffs may be interested in some more history of the real event in this film. The Monte Carl Rally is sponsored annually by the Automobile Club de Monaco.

Since 1973 it has been run in stages – as many as 35 in 1986, and as few as 13 in 2011. As in the movie, contestants have choices of places to start from – usually four to six – all equidistant from Monte Carlo. Until 1972, the event was as shown in the movie – with cars traveling a long route from five different staring places, to arrive at the same place. Then, the surviving cars competed in a short timed distance race. Since 1973 and the multiple stages, the total distances have ranged from 867 km (539 miles) in 1986, to 329 km (204 miles). Since 1995, all rallies have been below 500 km (310 miles), and they have tended to level off at around 400 km or lower (248 miles). While the rally remains highly popular, the reduced distances likely are due to considerable increases in traffic on the roads and difficulties in shutting down roads to public traffic and other logistics of the event.

At least Jimmy Durante sings!

[teleadm-persson · 5/10 · 21 October 2005]

This is the kind of movies I wish was much much better!A sort of free remake of "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines!" But filled with loads of humour, but that feals old fashioned by now, and awful back-projection that might have been OK back then, but is certainly awful nowdays. In the same time it could be one of the most accessible movies with britt comics Moore and Cook! One of the few films with Fleur Forsythe, or dark eyed Susan Hempshire.

The song that old Jimmy Durante sings in the end (was this his last?) is better than the whole movie in itself!

Tony Curtis, Susan Hampshire, Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, Gert Frobe, Terry-Thomas, Eric Porter, Jack Hawkins and french comic Bourvil! What a Cast!!!! Pity the movie isn't better!

Paramount's Road To Ruin.

[ptb-8 · 8/10 · 1 November 2008]

My comment above is not at all to dissuade you from watching this frequently funny film it is mostly to recognize the colossal amount of money invested in these all star road romps that raced thru the 60s. MAD MAD WORLD and MAGNIFICENT MEN and GREAT RACE and then this along with the whopper period musicals (DARLING LILI) had production accountants suicidal. From 1964 to 1970 I can count 33 massive 'roadshow' musicals and 20 'roadshow' comedy adventure epics. Cinemas were weekly opening something with 22 stars and costing 22 million and all in 70mm and on reserved seats. Like concert overload, these overloaded films became so frequent that they lost their appeal. Like eating a ton of fruit salad. I found this film: THOSE DARING YOUNG MEN IN THEIR JAUNTY JALOPIES as a 3rd rung on the 'race' list extremely well made but with an inordinate amount of back projection and insert studio shots edited into scenes that were already in the can from location shooting, almost duplicating the film indoors for small spot shots. The rear projection scenes even involved crowded backgrounds (see the Sweden scenes) and duplicates of the main actors who only were inserted in the close ups... so some major stars actually did not go to some locations, just the second unit and the extras and stand-ins ... all cleverly inserted together with studio pick-up and dialog bits. The Terry-Thomas scenes and the Pete and Dud pukka British dastardry are by far the funniest and the Italian nonsense by far the most grating, sadly because they also feature the adorable Walter Chiari. So overloaded with scenes, antics and pantomime J-JALOPIES almost becomes impossible to follow, a fact itself recognizes because of the frequent split screen 'where are they now' compilation assemblies. Tony Curtis is hilarious and replays his Great Leslie image from THE GREAT RACE. J-JALOPIES is all terrific expensive Euro fun and well worth watching with kids and teens on family movie night. But the cost of this production! eek!

Join the Jolly Jaunty Jalopies Jetting and Jesting along the comedic road of yesteryear.

[fom4life · 7/10 · 6 July 2011]

The great thing about cinema is that it takes you to times and places that you normally wouldn't travel to without the aid of this modern marvel of storytelling. Instead of watching auto racing in modern slick cars whizzing around a track very fast in a dizzying circle, you get to travel through the 1920's European countryside in antique cars which zoom and clunk its to Monte Carlo.

Watching Nascar you may see an interview with a rather normal guy with commercial logos everywhere on his and his car's being. In 'Jaunty Jalopies' you get to meet not so normal eccentric folk who today might be on some type of medication.

There's Chester Schofield (Tony Curtis) a hip roaring 20's American car manufacture who owns half a car manufacturing plant that he won in a card game. The other half is owned by Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas) the son of Sir Percy Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas). His father was the big louse of a villain who tried to scheme and cheat his way to victory during the 1910 Airplane race which can be seen in 'Jaunty Jalopies' predecessor 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes (1965).

Sir Cuthbert doesn't want Yank innovation spoiling British ingenuity and uses the Monte Carlo Rally as a chance to place a bet with Chester where winner takes all of the car plant. The bet is on. The Race is On. The nastiness is on as Sir Cuthbert pleads and plots dastardly plans to make sure Chester doesn't win the race.

The other characters who race along the road of comedy include

Perkins (Eric Sykes): Cuthbert's un-loyal side kick who is forced into helping Cuthbert's nasty schemes due to his being blackmailed.

Betty (Susan Hampshire): A woman who went looking for her horse and instead became Chester's race car companion.

Major Dawlish (Peter Cook): a proud British inventor and his loyal sidekick Lt. Barrington (Dudley More): Their innovations to their auto mobile sometimes work great and other times not so great. These two provide the biggest laughs in film and thus the most smiles.

Willy (Gert Frobe): A highly recommended getaway driver sprung from prison to smuggle stolen Jewels for a bunch of German crooks. He is accompanied by his companion on the journey Count Levinovitch (Jack Hawkins). There is a great scene where the Count breaks Willy out of prison. After that these two are only mildly amusing throughout the rest of the picture except when shown in rivalry with Dawlish and Barrington.

Then there are the other major throw-away characters which include two cops Marcello (Lando Buzzanca) and Angelo ( Walter Chiari). One is somewhat normal and the other is overly horny. He practically assaults won of the other female drivers by dragging her into his hotel room.

Which brings us to the trio of french female drivers (Mireille Darc, Marie Dubois and Nicoletta Macchiavelli) A female doctor and her patawon's.

If you want a good car comedy race movie with interesting characters, great action gags, and some amusing chuckles watch 'Jaunty Jalopies'. If you want a great film of the same genre, watch Tony Curtis in the superior 'The Great Race', which probably has the best pie fight put on film since Laurel and Hardy. No pie fight in JJ. Some amusing sights, including a chase through a ski slope and Jimmy Durante singing the opening song, but again no pie fight. I remember watching pie fights with the three stooges and also on the Brady Bunch and thought' It would be fun to get into a pie fight.' In college I shoved an apple pie in a friend's face to see what would happen. I learned that pie's in the face is very uncomfortable and annoying. And if you want a terrible car comedy race movie watch 'The Cannonball Run 2) but I would stick with the Tony Curtis racing films.

Great to look at but few laughs

[petersj-2 · 5/10 · 21 May 2011]

This film is a mystery. It has great scenery, a wonderful cast and visually splendid stunts. For its time it was a a bit of a sleeper, perhaps as it was seen as a kind of imitation of Those Magnificent Men. The film seems to have all the right ingredients including a huge budget. So how come its tedious and frankly boring. It is rather fun looking at the who's who of film. The dashing Walter Chiari, the glorious Tony Curtis and Susan Hampshire and of course Gert Frobe. Pete and Dud come off best but there seems to be nothing much that can save what is unfortunately an over blown mish mash. Its a pity really because a great deal of heart and a even more money went into making it

Like Watching a Car Wreck

[vox-sane · 18 October 1999]

A follow-up to "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines", it lacks most of the charm of its predecessor. It squeezes too many people into an otherwise sound international cast. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore do steal the show, and the French comic actor Bourvil comes off extremely well -- you may not notice him at first, but on repeated viewings he stands out. There's lots of funny stuff here. Some of it works. Most of it doesn't. But one finds oneself unable to look away from it, like a car wreck. Its biggest problem, in retrospect, is probably that it isn't bad enough to be considered worth watching for its badness. It's an almost pretty good movie that never quite makes it. But it's an diverting time-waster.

Dated & silly, but it's still funny and enjoyable

[jimbo-53-186511 · 7/10 · 23 November 2014]

Various competitors from 15 different countries start off at 5 different checkpoints in order to compete in the Monte Carlo rally; those drivers that make it to the pre-arranged checkpoint at Chamberry in the French Alps will then complete the final leg to Monte Carlo. However, all 5 routes will take the drivers across some of the most challenging roads and inevitably mayhem and problems ensue along the way.

The first thing that's obvious with this film is that it hasn't aged particularly well; there are several scenes where the film has been sped up which I can only assume was done for comedic effect, this may have been funny at one time, but viewing this film in 2014 it looks cheap and to me isn't particularly funny. Likewise, the opening scene has many instances that I considered to be 'dumb' but funny - the scene where the guy crosses a river on the back of an elephant, disappears under the water and emerges on the back of a crocodile was completely stupid, but I'd be lying if I said that it didn't make me laugh. This early scene really sets the tone for the film, it's just 'dumb' fun and I suspect that if you didn't find the opening scene funny then you may find that you will not enjoy the film as a whole.

Aside from the silly scenes where the film has been sped up, the rest of the film generally works. The main characters that enter the rally have their own agendas for entering the rally and these set-ups create some interesting and often hilarious rivalries - the Curtis/Thomas rivalry is by far the funniest and thankfully this rivalry gets the most focus. I think that they share the funniest scenes and this is helped by wonderful acting by both Curtis and Thomas. Curtis is energetic, charismatic and perhaps slightly arrogant whereas Thomas is the uptight toff - both actors play off each well. Sykes stars as Perkins who is Thomas' long suffering assistant and also plays his role well too. The German and Italian involvement in the Monte Carlo rally does tend to fall back on clichés regarding their nations which is a little disappointing, but we do get enough laughs from their various mishaps for this not to matter so much.

Monte Carlo or Bust is a dumb and silly film no question, but it did consistently tickle my funny bone - there are a few scenes that really got me laughing. It's not a perfect film and not all of it works, but more than enough of it works to make it worth watching.

Running on empty

[Lejink · 4/10 · 5 August 2009]

Like its near contemporaries "The Great Race" and "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines", I always associate this film with my childhood especially at New Year. On New Year's Day we'd visit my granny and after lunch, while the adults talked, the kids would watch TV where invariably one of these three crazy race films would be on.

For that reason alone, I really wanted to mark "Monte Carlo Or Bust" well but I fear I can't, the child not being father to the man on this occasion. By which I mean I can see all too clearly its faults and while I was tempted to smile occasionally, in truth I really wanted all the competitors to get to the end of the race long before they actually do.

Of course it's dated by its stereotyping of nationalities and woman as the weaker sex and I also didn't much care for one or two stray, admittedly mild vulgarities which occasionally surfaced. More than that though, the cast, despite hamming it up outrageously just don't sell the film enough. Tony Curtis, in a trial run for his "Yank Abroad" turn in the TV series "The Persuaders", seems too old to be playing the young gallant, Terry Thomas just isn't dastardly enough, Eric Sykes is unbelievable as a dirty-minded Lothario while Gert Frobe as an overdone Teuton, is just weird doing camp comedy when you remember he was Bond's best villain Goldfinger. If anything the Englishers come off best - Susan Hampshire is at least engaging as a "bright young thing", suitably gamine as a posh flapper and although chained to the leash of the script Pete and Dud offer the most amusement as stiff upper lip army types, although even then the "Carry On" team did this so much better in "Carry On Up The Khyber Pass".

Director Annakin tries everything to evoke the "Golden Silents", with lashings of slapstick, mistaken identity capers, speeded up camera shots, would-be dramatic stunts and some light romance, but there's no real tension for such a famous race and anyway the race-off at the end seems like another swizz.

Actually I'd have given it another mark if they'd stuck to the alternative title "Those Magnificent Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies" but in truth the animated series "Wacky Races" did this so much better.

Great Movie Finally Made it To DVD

[SeriousMovieCritic · 10/10 · 19 April 2008]

This movie has to be taken with a grain of salt - one can not compare this 60's movie with todays hot and speedy Action/Adventure films. Some viewers are doing just that with this film. Instead, this movie is full of excellent character actors such as Gert Froebe, Terry-Thomas, Bourvil and Dudley Moore, an interesting storyline and a very catchy soundtrack with a song from Jimmy Durante (which was only briefly available in 1968 on Paramount LP). This movie should be viewed in widescreen only to preserve the vista. I can seriously recommend this film to anyone who wishes to be entertained for a couple of hours by a great cast with an interesting story and a good soundtrack.

I did not think the comedy was all that funny

[jordondave-28085 · 5/10 · 26 May 2023]

(1969) Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies COMEDY

Co-produced, co-written and co-directed by Ken Annakin that has European rally racing across somewhere in Europe involving possibly one team from each country, but are really several silly characters including Tony Curtis as Chestor, who has to settle a bet with a self absorbed scrupulous Count Levinovitch (Jack Hawkins). Who just inherited half a fortune from a close relative who he doesn't care about, and Dudley Moore also stars as the inventor. I liked the ending, but as a comedy it really wasn't all that funny. I believe comedy is subjective.

Classic

[Kfatbob163 · 9/10 · 21 August 2014]

On reading reviews and ratings for a similar movie to this 'The Great Race' i was expecting that to be much better than Monte Carlo Or Bust but the opposite is true, having Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in the cast is a huge plus to start with, then add Terry Thomas, Eric Sykes, Tony Curtis to name a few. All are cast perfectly for the characters they play with Peter Cook teamed with Dudley Moore Thomas with Sykes acting superbly. I loved this movie when i watched it years ago and for me anyway it has stood the test of time, some brilliant characters, gorgeous women, and very funny. Definitely recommend it, and the 6.6 IMDb rating it has is way off mark in my opinion it should be at least 7.5 if not an 8.

A total knock-off of "The Great Race"

[HotToastyRag · 2/10 · 1 February 2023]

A cross between Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and The Great Race, Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies tried very hard to fit in with those tongue-in-cheek vehicle period pieces, but it wasn't nearly as funny. If you like extremely goofy movies that seem almost Disney-esque in their ridiculousness, you might have liked the two predecessors. But you'd have to be very young or young-minded to enjoy this one.

Split into teams, a bunch of people compete in a race to Monte Carlo: Tony Curtis, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Terry-Thomas, Lando Buzzanca, Walter Chiari, Mireille Darc, Susan Hampshire, Jack Hawkins, and Hattie Jacques make up the cast, and I felt very sorry for all of them having to act like what they were doing was enormous fun. I wouldn't imagine anyone was deluded enough to think they were part of a really good movie, so however much of this movie you make it through, you can replace the urge to roll your eyes with pity.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. In the very beginning before the credits, when Dudley Moore and Peter Cook make a toast, the camera spins around and around. Also, in the end when they drink from the cup, the beverage makes them see double for a while, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

A Total Dud

[drednm · 13 September 2016]

This one is a misfire on all counts. Most of the cast is lousy, the story is dull, the direction nonexistent, and the film is too long. It drones on and on cutting from one group in the car rally to another. The Germans and Italians and the "girls" are almost impossible to understand, so that cuts what you can follow to three groups. But all the little subplots go nowhere and the special effects are hideously bad. Location shooting mixes with bad studio shots and the bizarre mix of 60s fashion in a 1920s setting is stupid. Other than the cars, nothing in this film would remind anyone of the 1920s. To be fair, Susan Hampshire is bright, Terry-Thomas is always good, and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore seem to find the right comic voice for this type of farce. Tony Curtis is dreadful. Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques are wasted in nothing parts. Jack Hawkins is dubbed. Even the usually reliable Gert Frobe is defeated by the unfunny script. Not a sequel to THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES and nowhere near its equal in charm or comedy. Jimmy Durante for some reason sings the lame theme song but does not appear in this film. The film barely broke $1M at the US box office so I assume this was a huge flop ... and deservedly so.

The Great Race II goes to Monte Carlo.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 10 August 2022]

A follow-up to "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" simply because the character played by Terry-Thomas is the son of his character from that film (having gone to his great reward in that old plane junkyard in the stratosphere), this deals with great race car drivers from all over Europe angling to get to Monte Carlo and getting more ruthless as they get closer. Gert Frobe is back as well, having appeared with TT in all three films of the unconnected series, but all quite similar.

After a very funny credit sequence with Jimmy Durante singing the title song, the action begins, with Tony Curtis picking up Susan Hampshire, delayed because of her demands in several scenes throughout the film, and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore as two British soldiers being blocked along the way by three very obnoxious French girls who shouldn't be riding a bike let alone driving a speeding car. After a while, their chirping nonsense gets tiresome, obviously a snack at "women drivers" since they don't seem to care who they injure or kill as long as they win.

Still this is a very funny film with plenty of action and silent movie like chases across some beautiful locations. It's definitely a film of its time, but outside of the three French women, I enjoyed the characters including the smug oversexed Italian driver played by Walter Chiari. The character played by Hampshire comes off first as scatterbrained and passive aggressively manipulative, but the script manages to reform her. A major improvement from "Those Fantastic Flying Fools" which had the look but not the cleverness.

Monte Carlo Or bust...Terry Thomas

[gorytus-20672 · 9/10 · 3 September 2022]

Sep 22

Here we have a great film "Monte Carlo Or Bust" or "Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies" which i believe is the American title.

This is one of several of these epic comedy race films that was being made around this time, and they all seem to have the wonderful Terry Thomas in, playing his Sir the bounder role, which he was so wonderful at.

If you enjoy this check out, The Great Race, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" , "Its A Mad Mad Mad World" and even "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".

This one is not just about Terry Thomas, we also get Tony Curtis, Susan Hampshire, Eric Sykes, Dudley Moore, Peter Cook and Gert Froebe (who like Terry Thomas also seems to be in all these films).

I have always enjoyed this right from being a child, it still holds up really well, and if anything i appreciate it even more now.

Highly recommened fun for all the family, enjoy Terry Thomas and the others, and as pointed out by someone else, think "Wacky Races" in film form with Terry Thomas as Dick Dastardly.

9 out of 10.