Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes (1965) YTS

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

I remember this was always on STV when

I remember this was always on STV when I was a child, and so with all the adverts it ran to over three hours and so I’m not sure I’ve ever got to the end of it until now. Now that I have, I found it quite an enjoyable romp in the style of David’s Niven’s “Around the World…” from 1956. “Lord Rawnsley” (Robert Morley) is worried that British preeminence in the aviation race might, well, not actually exist. With French, German, Italian, Japanese and yes, even the old colonials across the pond taking the lead, he determines that something has to be done. A prize of £10,000 ($50,000) is to be offered to someone who can fly from London to Paris. Nowadays that takes about as long as it takes to neck a glass of wine, but here we are talking about it probably taking fifty times that amount of time as the great and the good of international aeronautics gather together. Aside from now showing us a splendid array of contraptions that looked no more aerodynamic than Windsor Castle, it also introduces us to the romantic shenanigans that are going to underpin much of the rivalry. You see, “Patricia” (Sarah Miles) is the daughter of their sponsoring peer and she is unofficially affianced to the dapper but pretty hapless “Mays” (James Fox) - assuming, that is, that he can find a spare evening between his card games, his snooker and his flying. His goose might be about to be cooked, though, as the arrival of the charming American “Orvil” (Stuart Whitman) risks sweeping the perfectly savvy girl off her feet. With each of them constantly threatening to thrash the other, that leaves room for the Machiavellian schemer “Sir Percy” (Terry-Thomas) to wander the aerodrome sabotaging at will so that his is the only plane that might win. With temperatures rising and tempers flaring, it’s time for the actual race - who’s going to get the cheque? This features an all star cast that looks like it is enjoying itself as the slapstick and the engineering take off quite entertainingly. A slew of familiar faces each have their moment in the sun, or in the air, and it doesn’t miss out on stoking some international incidents and poking fun at some stereotypes along the way. There is some aerial photography that isn’t so terribly convincing sixty years later but with Terry-Thomas at his most dastardly and Gert Frobe knowing just how to deflate his own balloon, there’s plenty here to raise a smile.

Reviewed by RaeElaine

So STRANGE that I get to write a

So STRANGE that I get to write a first review of this movie. This movie, short handed to TMMTFM, is so much fun to watch, and on a DVD (or Blue Ray), you can pause it while you fetch your O2 bottle so that you do not turn blue. I will leave it up to proper aeroplanists as to whether or not this is good flying instruction. However, as a former unit Safety Officer, spotting safety hazards can be a real sport. I think I counted six at my last use/view. Researching material on the internet can be a real diversion. Although TMMTFM is about airplanes, automotive buffs can get a fix on some splendid specimens, that were before my time.

Reviewed by silverscreen888 7 / 10

A Comedy for the Ages; Farce, Beauty Aloft, Humorous Types Below

"Those Magnificent Men" probably looked on story boards like merely a colorful, often humorous and very enactable satire of an era, of its nations and of the early days of manned flight. Its plot line involved an international air race, from England to Paris, for whose prizes competitors in home-made aircraft from all over the world would journey to compete. The racers included Stuart Whitman aided by his brother Sam Wanamaker (Wilbur and Orville) from the U.S., James Fox of England, Albert Sordi from Italy, Gert Frobe and his team from Germany, Jean-Pierre Cassell and his ebullient hard-drinking group from France, plus a Scotsman and his dog, the villainous Sir Percy and his henchman, Terry-Thomas and Eric Sykes, a Japanese entrant and many others. Others in the large cast of the ensuing film also included Robert Morely as the wealthy patrician organizer of the race, a rather weak Sarah Miles as his daughter, beautiful Irina Demick who keeps turning up in every locale (in a new persona) and many more. But what the film's makers forgot was that the bravery and beauty of these canvas-winged and wooden primitive aircraft taking off and actually achieving flight would upstage even the often-hilarious comedy of the well-written proceedings. Using Red Skelton as "every man who has ever dreamed of flight", the producers prepared for the race, staged the race, and awarded the prizes--the climax being the arrival of the racers and what happened near the finish line, plus a justly happy ending. The film was written by Ken Annakin with Jack Davies, and Annakin directed it very competently also. Ron Goodwin's music and title song are well-remembered treats too. Others in the large, attractive cast include narrator James Robertson Justice, Gordon Jackson, Zena Marshall, Karl Michael Vogler, Yujiro Ishihara, Benny Hill, Flora Robson and Jeremy Lloyd. The film's pace is beautifully varied and consistently-maintained; the action includes acts of sabotage by the villains, practice flights gone wrong, low-comedy, a duel between the dour Frobe and devil-may-care Cassell conducted in hot air balloons, national humor at the expense of all concerned and incidents before and during the race. This is a very well-acted film; but the fine technical achievements and subordinate arts here had to take a back seat to the flight of the many wonderful "early birds", who outshone even the amusing national types who flew them. A much-imitated and superior comedy classic of its sort.

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

1965

Action / Adventure / Comedy / Family

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

1965

Action / Adventure / Comedy / Family

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I remember this was always on STV when

So STRANGE that I get to write a

A Comedy for the Ages; Farce, Beauty Aloft, Humorous Types Below

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