Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes

I think everyone has a few old movies stashed away in their brains that for some reason or another are a part of their lives. Our personal soundtrack if you will. This film is one of mine. I know I saw it at a drive-in when it came out but can't recall which one. My older brother still recalls this one fondly also. It was gut busting funny at the time but hasn't aged that well due to the general public's far more sophisticated mindset these days. But it's still funny. Anyone who is a fan of flying or the history of traditional European nationalistic rivalry will still howl at this clever and at times very sharp satire. We see some of the attitudes that would help fuel the violent world wars that would erupt soon after 1910. The vintage aircraft, some authentic, some not, are sure to excite aircraft fans. The footage of the genuine planes actually flying across the English countryside is genuinely MAGNIFICENT. Many running gags through the length of the movie. My favorite is the obvious one...the redhead. I caught this on our PBS station just last night and as always I was hooked again and had to watch till two in the morning. There's something about most English movies from the 60's that is just magical. Even the bad ones like "Casino Royale" are still fascinating to watch. Great international casts, clever scripts, funny situations, sight gags...whole packages. Fun Movies, plain and simple. "Those Magnificent Men..." isn't a great film or even a great comedy. But it's still a genuine Fun Movie and well worth at least a rental fee. Now that I've seen it again for the zillonth time my brother and I will be talking about it and laughing out butts off the next time I see him. For us it's one of those kind of movies.

This was a fairly long but interesting story of an early 20th century airplane race taking place between London and Paris. The actual race only takes place for the last 45 minutes, and that's fun to watch. The terrain also is nice to view.

Before that, you get profiles of the competitors of the race. You really get the typical stereotypes of movies: the French men woo all the women; the Germans are make to look too militaristic and stupid; the English are portrayed as very stiff upper-lipped and the Italians are all too emotional, etc.

Stuart Whitman and James Fox both battle for Sarah Miles' affections and Terry Thomas has some funny lines as a villain.

I loved the airplanes in this film - really cool "flying machines," as they are labeled here. They came in all sizes and shapes. In the very beginning of the movie, they show actual footage of early flight failures and they are familiar but still fascinating. Interspiced in the actual footage are closeups of Red Skelton playing the part of some of those unsuccessful fliers. Since he had no lines, Skelton reminded me of some of the great silent film comedians.

I'm one of the biggest fans of old newsreels and I don't think there are too many of us who haven't seen some of that ancient footage with all those odd contraptions showing man's attempt to fly in the early 20th century. I guess it was only a matter of time before someone got the bright idea to do a comedy from those attempts.

Some of them weren't all that funny, people did in fact get killed, a lot of them in trying to master the air. But by 1910 there were all kinds of airplanes and even some early helicopters and a lot are shown in Those Magnificent Men.

The plot centers about an international race from London to Paris sponsored by one of the English press lords played in true John Bull style by Robert Morley. He's got a spirited suffragette daughter in Sarah Miles and a most proper member of the King's Coldstream Guards in James Fox courting her.

But along comes another flier, an American cowboy, Stuart Whitman who becomes Fox's air and romantic rival. But the film's got more than that. It's got Italian hopeful Alberto Sordi who can impregnate his wife with a dirty look. It's got Frenchman Jean Pierre-Cassel who keeps running into Irina Demick every place he goes. It's even got another English contestant in Terry-Thomas who's busy trying to sabotage everyone else.

However my favorite is the German entry, Gert Frobe. Poor Frobe has to pinch hit for the original German flier who partied too hardy. But as he tries to prove as long as you follow the instruction book, the German Army can accomplish anything. Seeing him try to fly his airplane while reading the instruction book is my favorite memory of Those Magnificent Men.

That and that incredibly catchy title song. I defy anyone to watch this film and not come away humming that tune for weeks. It will embed itself in your subconscious forever.

Those Magnificent Men is good entertainment and a gentle tribute to those early air pioneers.

Fox played this movie today and I watched it. Preceding the movie was a collection of scary, gory clips that I couldn't show my kids. So when I channel-flipped back to it I was doubly shocked at how enjoyable this film was. This is one of many films that America is incapable of producing due to it's optimism, emphasis on living and view of the future. It is just a fun movie so perhaps I shouldn't make it sound so serious. There are plenty of disasters but all seem done in fun and humor. The race is started by a bunch of people who [by and large] want to win at any cost. In the end... the moral of the story seems to be that those who live with honor win in the end. It's a sort of reminder about points like this. It is refreshing to see a film like this once in awhile. It is long... but make sure and watch at least half of it. Especially if you have kids. Oh- it is also somewhat funny. I would say that it's a comedy but contains neither slapstick nor 'sophisticated' humor. Little things such as seeing the dog flying shotgun in the back seat of an old plane with the sign saying something like 'I am the first dog ever to fly in an airplane' or so are typical of the silly going ons.

If you've seen + liked films such as 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' or 'It's a Mad Mad Mad World' then know this film is different but you may like it.

One of the numerous comedy epics of the 1960s (It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World, and Monte Carlo or Bust being others), this movie is very funny and memorably so. The tale of several flyers from different nationalities (British, America, French, Italian, German, etc.) piloting their planes across the Channel from London to Paris - and the vintage model planes are fabulous - takes the form of a number of different interwoven stories leading up to the race in the last part of the movie.

The cast includes Terry-Thomas as Sir Percy, the cheating upper-class Englishman; James Fox as the irritating fop Richard; Stuart Whitman as Orvil the American nice guy; Jean-Pierre Cassell as the randy Frenchman; and Gert Frobe as the blustering German officer. Cameos a-plenty, from Benny Hill, Tony Hancock, William Rushton, Eric Sykes, Fred Emney, and so on. Irina Demick (in multiple roles), and Sarah Miles play what love interest the film has.

Highly recommended if you fancy a laugh. And a fantastic and memorable theme song as well.