Film Review: Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (Contains Spoilers)
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- čas přidán 4. 05. 2018
- A review of the movie 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines' starring Robert Morley, Terry Thomas, Gert Froebe and Stuart Whiteman
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This movie is a wonderful memory from my childhood.
That was a great film! I watched last year again with my now 26 year old son and we both laughed all through it and had a great time! They just don't make them like they used to!!
Indeed they do not...
terry Thomas and his villainous gleeful smile is priceless .
Good heavens, this brings back some memories. I remember first seeing this as a young lad of single digit years, back in the mid 60's, on US television as the CBS Thursday Night Movie. If I might be permitted one further spoiler - the ending scene, a cameo by the American comedian Red Skelton, as a disgruntled modern day (1960's) airline passenger who's flight has just been canceled by bad weather, who makes a rather startling discovery when he flaps his arms in disgust.....
He features at the start too, as a caveman during the introduction to flight section.
1910 was only 2 years after Louis Bleriot first crossed the Channel by air. He also might never have made it had a brief rain shower not cooled his engine half way across! It goes to show how precarious flying was at that time.
Also, that dozens of airplanes start the race (of a staggering distance of a couple hundred miles) and only 3 of them even reach the finish line is also historically accurate for air races of that time.
Terry Thomas was excellent!!
He's an absolute shower...Good show!!! 😄😄
The Britisher I was watching Star Wars the last Jedi last night, and thanks to you, broke out laughing when I saw the Gunner on the "space bomber" enclosed in a glass bubble. Now I fear my friends suspect I'm not entirely well.
Just thinking of the movie makes me laugh out loud. Gert Fröbe beatboxing a march as they move the airoplane out of the hangsr gets me every time
Gert Fröbe could laugh about himself and the nation he belongs to.
I thought I was going to be in need of resuscitation the first time I saw Frobe doing the one-man military band skit! The English actors couldn't have been better cast. Terry Thomas was a national treasure!
I was part of a school choir in primary school that was part of a large concert consisting of multiple schools from the district. One of the songs we sung was "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines". It always brings back memories of that event whenever I hear the song and I still remember the lyrics enough at 48 to sing along with it whenever it's played, though I can't recite them without the song lol
Other songs we sung were "We Are Sailing" by Rod Stewart which was popular at the time, "Up Up And Away (In Our Beautiful Balloon)" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"! Quite an odd mix for sure lol
Gert Fröbe (1913-1988) just mentioning Fröbe also had written an autobiography that is still very well readable.
What is maybe less known, in his youth Fröbe had a Stipendium for a University Study in Visual Arts but since he had not enough money he did a complete training as a Scenic Stage Designer for Theatres. Even later in life he became an autodidactic painter Famous became his Self Portrait as a Clown. - From that on he selftrained himself to become an actor and worked also on German stages That worked because those institutions had not much money and had hired him as a craftsman and as an actor.
In War time Fröbe did a training as Army Field medic and had worked in several hospitals
After he became released from the Americaqn POW camp he seriously started his carrier professionally as an actor on stage and for cinema movies.
In his biography he had stated that THOSE MAGNIFICANT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES had been one of his favorite movies he had acted in.
I also love that the real flying machines from this film are preserved in museums across the UK, some even still in flying condition!
This was one of my childhood's fondest "madeleines de Proust" as we say in French. It was one of my grandfather's favorite films along with The Longest Day (by the same producer and director, oddly enough) and a handful of others he showed me when babysitting me. He could imitate Gert Fröbe's beatboxing brass fanfare to hilarious effects and looked kind of like Fröbe. I think of him every time I watch or hear of this delightful film.
There really was an air race about that time. It went from London to Manchester.
You should review Those Magnificent Men in their Jaunty Jalopies
Love that movie
Any nation could have hosted such an event, but only the British would have put the practice area so close to a sewage farm.
What I remember most about this film was the theme and even though I only saw it twice at most I could remember the theme word for word years later ,just shows what a sponge pre teen kids are
Still probably one of my favourite film's to this day.
oh I had forgotten how good this movie is, truly one of the great movies I enjoyed countless times during my childhood.
This reminds me of *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World*
+The Britisher:
You forgot to mention that Terry Tomas' character Sir Percy Ware-Armitage was named after a toilet and bathroom fitting manufacturer Armitage Ware Ltd. now known as Armitage Shanks as it merged with Shanks Holdings Limited in 1969.
So as the company was still known as Armitage Ware Ltd., in 1965 when the movie was released, Sir Percy Ware-Armitage was literally named after a toilet as an extra joke.
This film later became the inspiration for the Hanna Barbera cartoon "Stop The Pigeon"
In the sequel, Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies or Monte Carlo or Bust (1969), Sir Percy's identical son, Cuthbert Ware-Armitage, who also is played by Terry-Thomas, appears to take part in a mad cap road race to Monte Carlo.
He still is lovingly behaving in an equally nefarious manner, and employing an identical henchman named Perkins, to Sir Percy's Courtney,
Who are both portrayed by Eric Sykes.
It's basically the same movie, but with cars instead of planes and was the inspiration for another Hanna Barbera cartoon "Wacky Races".
There were 6 different 1/48 models depicting some of the planes in the movie. The kits are surprisingly detailed and easy to build and have been reissued several times under different brands: Inpact (sic), Pyro, Life-Like, and Lindberg Line.
What I liked about this film was it made use of the comic potential of Benny Hill. I always think of him as a wasted resource when it comes to film comedies, relegated to supporting roles, always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
richardlbowles ... Yep just like paul Whitehouse.
See him in the original " Italian Job"
@@bobbycars1340 Ooh I like ‘‘em big!
I'm crying with laughter and downloading it right now for when the kids get in.
Favorite line........"Aren't you sitting the wrong way round?".....
"Of course I'm not, you take me for an idiot? It's an idea I had while sitting in the bathtub. You see,
The wind resistance on the tail, is less than it would be on the wings."
cue the funny music.
- For me, the real climax was Orville Newton's mid-air rescue of Ponticelli over the Seine, which allowed Mays to win. Mays's gesture to share the prize was, as the English often say, sporting.
- The film's working title was "Flying Crazy". The wife of 20th Century Fox executive Elmo Williams wrote the lyrics for the song; British composer Ron Goodwin set them to music and conducted it. The song sealed the movie's fate, according to Ken Annakin.
Watched this wonderful movie in theater in Tehran 1978. It was Translated into Farsi in a best way possible! Terry Thomas was so good in it and lots of fun.
One of my top 10 films of all time! And it has my favourite film quote ever - Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley) speaking about the Air Race "The trouble with these international affairs is that they attract foreigners" :-)
Far too entente and far too cordial
Enjoying these reviews, keep em coming!
I love this movie. I bought it on DVD and watch it at least once a year. Hilarious stereotypes and humor...and a major star-studded cast too.
Love your film reviews, I'll definitely watch this when I find the time.
I've got the DVD and I really must find it and give it a play. Glorious plane-porn, host of comedy talent, and a rousing theme song; who could ask for more?
I have loved this movie ever since I saw it sometime in the 80s. I never knew it was such a well known film and all the prizes it got but I really really really liked it then and as a child I ruined the video cassette it was on by playing it so much as 10 year olds tends to do. I knew every scene, every line of this movie.
Alberto Sordi was great in this movie ,he was one of the best italian actor of XX century!
I love these reviews, even though those movies are before my time they are classics and I hold them close to my heart
BR LNER 7220 Glad you like them. I enjoy making them a great deal, even though they are quite a bit of work and waiting for copyright clearance can be frustrating.
This movie is really big fun! Gert Fröbe's beatbox makes me smile after all these years. Thanks a lot for your film reviews.
Did you know that guy was a Nazi
@@Nick-ty9us He left the NSDAP in 1937 and hid Jews. Not really the typical Nazi I'd say.
@@billmiller4972 seriously he was part he was one of the Nazis he was there when Hitler even took control of it
If you’ve never seen this movie you’ve got to get a hold of it and see it you will never never never forget it. Jerry Thomas was super funny. Sarah Miles was hot. Stuart Whitman such a great actor. They were all absolutely wonderful
"Terry" - not "Jerry"
Excellent choice Mr B. Can I suggest an Ealing Comedy or two for future episodes? Passport To Pimlico, Whiskey Galore, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Man in the White Suit, The Titfield Thunderbolt, The Ladykillers are the standouts in my view.
He'll of a cast. + the planes! I saw it as a nipper at the cinema and loved it. Have got the dvd on my shelf, which was in the cheap biin at the garden center shop. Only irritant with the dvd is they have got the cinema intermission in the middle of it. A real pain. Other cast members the reviewer doesn't mention are Willie Rushton and Red Skelton. I've got the paperback book released at the same time as the film too. I read that a few times between watching the film at the pictures and a dvd coming out.
Love this film. Desperately needs a region B blu-ray release.
You ought to do one of these on The Great Race and Montecarlo or Bust. Both films in a similar vein.
Made back when movies were pure entertainment.
One of my favorite films! Since it’s supposed to rain today, I think it’s time to watch it again. Thank you.
I remember when I was 8 years-old my dad took me to the pictures to see this film in 1965 (Twickenham Odeon). He loved the vintage aeroplanes and the song from this film (but not so much the comedy element, I don't think).
"The movie is notable for the fact that it is the only major picture in which starred Tony Hancock." (2:59)
Are you kidding me, Britisher? What about *The* *Rebel* ? Tony Hancock was the absolute star in that one. His third film was, of course, *The* *Wrong* *Box* in which he played a put-upon police inspector.
Yes the planes were real replicas and actually flew, It's very doubtful that any current movie company would go to that much trouble to make a similar movie.
You are right. Too much CGI with their predictable scenes nowadays. I remember when one of the replicas flew over a field where I lived as part of the promotion. It was quite a sight to this 12 year old at the time.
i watched that at least 20 times with my dad, its one of my most important childhood memories
4:44 cannot remember if they had caricatures, but Great Race and Monte Carlo or bust (also known as Jaunty jantelopes) were in the same style. MC had some same actors like Syles, Frobe and Thomas. Same director and script writer too.
I saw this TMMITFM in the cinemas, not in 65 but maybe 10 years later. Great movie. Enjoyed seeing it again on DVD.
ChrisisisB "jantelopes" - do you have the same auto-correct as me?
If i may suggest.
It might be preferable to have these reviews cataloged in a "playlist" on the channel
Terry Thomas seems to be the inspiration for a comedy trope. The scheming villain with moronic sidekick in so many films of this 'Competition Race' ensemble genre, including the animated TV series The Wacky Races. There seemed to be quite a few of them in the 60s up to the 80s. Others in this genre are "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World', and one of the last in the genre 'The Gumball Rally' from the 1980s. It's a genre which seems to have died out. Last one I can think of is 'Rat Race' with John Cleese from 2001.
Terry Thomas really was brilliant. It's a shame that I think he's starting to be forgotten. Most people of the younger generation certainly wouldn't have heard of him. But he was a comedy great. If you ever decide to make a video solely about him it'd certainly be welcomed by me.
I agree. Just as Jack Lemmon who played a similar role in the Great Race was.
Gert Froebe - a German who is also an accomplished comedian?
Now I know you're having us on, Britisher. Maybe, _you're_ the comedian here.
This is like the most British film I ever seen in my life
Quality review of a classic comedy. I can't wait to watch it again!
This was a wonderful film to grow up with…nothing imaginative is made today that compares with this….the aircraft are the stars
and cast of characters is terrific….and of course the fantastic theme song….
Really enjoyed this video!
This was one of my grandfathers favorite films. My mother tells me he’d watch it over and over when she was young.
just ordered this, can't wait to watch this
Truly is a great memory for my childhood . A fantastic film which they unfortunately don't make anymore
My all time favourite film. For the exact reasons that you have said. Plus Terry Thomas landing on the train, and the French pilot sending someone for petrol, so that he can be with the girlfriend, and then finish the race.
The part that I did not like, is that when they land in "Paris" at the end of the film, a number of Jet Fighters fly over them.
Splendid choice there that man! Hats off and three rousing hurrahs!
Occasionally it is shown on American TV. Half of it is cut out as the stereotypes (particularly the Japanese) are deemed offensive. Sigh.
I don’t see the Japanese character as a stereotype. I’m not too sure what he is supposed to be but him being portrayed as a Harvard graduate speaking perfect “ Kings English” (Poorly dubbed) was bizarre. I’m not too sure what the writers had in mind but it was a weird storyline in the movie.
I don't think I'd even watch it if all the funny parts are cut out: the oversentimental Italian with all his bambini, the prudish cowboy who ends up bring the hero, the less than prudish Frenchman, the rule obiding German etc.
You need to be able to laugh at yourself.
Can you make a video on old airships?
Jolly good. A fine film well reviewed. Hope all is well in the pass. Now I have to go loop the loop or at least try to. I'm afraid I'm only keen not frightfully keen.
I often think of this as the British answer to It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, but much funnier
I wonder if Dick Dastardly and Mutley were based on Sir Percy Ware-Armitage and Courtney?
Yes, Dick dastardly in the spinoff to wacky races was in fact based on Terry Thomas
@@Nick-ty9us That's awesome 😁
one of my all times-favorites!
I remember seeing this in the theatre as a child. It was the first movie I had ever attended which had an intermission in the middle of it.
I was lucky, I saw it as a kid in the theaters. I have since bought the DVD
I recommend you review The League of Gentlemen (1960) if only for the fact that the recent showing on Talking Pictures was preceded by a warning "This film contains scenes of outdated stereotypes and mild bad language that some viewers may find offensive"
It's actually very daring for its time and one of my favourite British films of the era.
One of my favorite movies EVER!
This was the 1st film I ever saw at age 3 and 1/2 and I loved it & still do!
"Es gibt nichts was ein preussischer Offizier nicht kann!" Oberst Manfred von Holstein
Thanks my good man! We definitely owe you a brew!!
I saw this when I was a little boy
People who like Orvil Newton, the Stuart Whitman character, should Google Lincoln Beachey, who I suspect the character may have been inspired by. Beachey was a rugged American barnstormer, a popular showman in his time. He died in San Francisco during a 1915 airshow, crashing his plane on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay.
"The only major picture in which starred Tony Hancock" (3:02) Are you serious, Britisher? What about The Wrong Box and his starring role in The Rebel?
The ending also contains a wonderful jump cut that caught me out initially.
Saw this movie as a kid, it inspired me to get my pilot's license.....Pilots have all the fun.
Wish I could find this film, barely remember it. I can highly recommend ''The Great Race'', starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood and Peter Falk, it's a real winner!
I know it is in DVD form, as I have a copy of it.
Enormous movie. It's influence on comedy in the 60s and 70s cannot be overstated.
Those Daring Young Men in Their jaunty Jalopies ( 1969) was a semi-sequel to this film. It was another enjoyable romp, but when compared to this gem it comes across as rather weak tea, despite the fact that the cast again includes Gert Frobe, Terry Thomas ( as the son of the Thomas character from TMMITFM, who is mentioned as having been killed while flying one of his aircraft) and Eric Sykes again as the lackey of Terry Thomas' character.
I saw this in the theater as a boy. Loved it then, now I have to order a copy. Take care.
Great film. Stuart Whitman (the American) was the star, but Terry Thomas (as he always did) stooled the movie. They did a "sort of sequel" about racing cars, but it was no where as good.
This is a great film, comedy gold.
Hail all
THIS IS A MUST SEE MOVIE FOR ALL AGES!! Thanks a lot for the analysis! - And remember, kids. There is nothing a german officer cannot do!!!
they go uppity up up
Seen it dozens of times.......a fun film that really is a spot the famous actor sort of thing...excellent!!..
Remember watching this as a kid in the 70's. Did the cartoon Wacky Racers copy this.
Thanks
I loved this movie, but in history, by 1910, in Asian there was only one man created an airplane, but that's not a Japanese, but a Chinese, Mr Feng Ru, built his first aircraft in 1909. Well, even nowadays, don't think they will put a good Chinese in the movie, leave alone that movie was filmed during the cold war.
Equaliy enjoyable is the somewhat sequel "those daring men in their jaunty jalopies" with tony curtis where terry thomas plays the son of this movies charactor
There is nothing, what a german officer cannot do! Oberst von Holstein ist mein Held.
it’s in the Book of Instruction!
Wonderful!
Can't find Squire in the comments below... :/
I saw this as a child... where can I find it now?
In your local library probably
Terry Thomas was magic! Gert Frobe was great too, apart from Goldfinger I don’t recall him in anything else. I know he was in German movies.
He is also Baron von Bomburst in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.
This review narrated by Cecil from Room with a View...
What year, movie
>Calls the british being awfully formal a sterotype.
>Is awfully formal himself.
A great film. A must see!