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Review
Monte Carlo or Bust was a spirited, but not altogether successful attempt, to repeat
the success of Annakin’s 1965 film: Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.
This time, the chase is not between rickety aircraft, but involves vintage roadsters tearing
across some of Europe’s most inhospitable terrain. Monte Carlo Or Bust borrows
many of the elements of that earlier film, including the magnificent Terry-Thomas-Eric
Sykes pairing. Despite that, the film lacks the magic and charm of its predecessor,
partly because too much emphasis is placed on the mechanics of the race rather than on
building characterisation (although some of the stunts are quite impressive).
Although the jokes are generally a little half-hearted, there are some deliciously funny moments and this is, overall, a fun film, helped by its jaunty, memorable theme song composed by Ron Goodwin. The film features some of the best of British comic talent at the time, including the incomparable Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and the indispensable Terry-Thomas. The French comic actor Bourvil also turns in a delightful performance as the race organiser. The film was one of the last in a tradition of high budget extravaganzas featuring a wide range of international locations and stars, which were highly popular in the middle to late 1960s. Monte Carlo Or Bust clearly shows the weaknesses of this kind of film, crammed with high calibre actors, and shifting rapidly between locations, leaving little room for serious plot or character development. For those hoping to make money out of the film at the time, Monte Carlo Or Bust must have been an appropriate title. © James Travers 2002 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Ken Annakin
Starring: Bourvil, Lando Buzzanca, Walter Chiari, Peter Cook, Tony Curtis Synopsis
Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage enters the gruelling Monte Carlo rally to win back his automobile
factory from a young American Chester Schofield, using fair means or foul. Other
competitors in the car race include: the eccentric military inventor Major Digby Dawlish,
a pair of love-hungry Italians, a women’s team led by a seductive female doctor, and a
pair of German crooks attempting to smuggle jewels across Europe. The race is on,
but who, if any, will survive the harrowing ordeal?
Credits
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