Monte Carlo or Bust (1969)
Directed by Ken Annakin, Sam Itzkovitch

Film 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.

Film Synopsis

In the 1920s, the British industrialist Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage is desperate to win back the half of his automobile factory which his father lost in a poker game to the young American Chester Schofield.  To this end, both men enter the famous Monte Carlo rally, agreeing that whoever wins the competition will have full ownership of the factory.  The race includes competitors from many other countries, including the eccentric military man Major Digby Dawlish, who is on a one-man mission to save the British Empire, and two over-sexed Italians who appear more concerned with their next amorous conquest than winning the competition.

The Italian contingent certainly has much to salivate over in the women's team, which is led by Marie-Claude, a feisty woman doctor whom no man can resist.  Meanwhile Germany is represented by a gang of ruthless crooks who intend using the race as a convenient cover for their jewel smuggling operation.  With 1500 miles of rough terrain to traverse, the gruelling race will tax the resilience of its odd assortment of competitors to the limit, and with avalanches, chicanery and countless other calamities lying in store who knows who - if anyone - will reach the finishing line...