The Great Race in 35mm 

Blake Edwards directed this elaborate live-action cartoon about a turn-of-the-20th-century transoceanic race pitting The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) against the moustache-twirling villain Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon, who also plays the Crown Prince of Carpania). This slapstick epic features a colossal pie fight finale and earned five Oscar nominations, including one for composer Henry Mancini and lyricist Johnny Mercer’s charming original song “The Sweetheart Tree.” Veteran film and sound editor Tregoweth Brown won an Oscar for the film’s pitch-perfect sound effects.  

DIRECTED BY: Blake Edwards. WRITTEN BY: Arthur Ross. STORY BY: Blake Edwards, Arthur Ross. WITH: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk. 1965. 157 min. USA. Color. Scope. English. Suggested for ages 6+. 35mm. 

Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation. 

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