| Monte Carlo or Bust! | |
|---|---|
 British theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Ken Annakin Sam Itzkovitch |
| Written by | Ken Annakin Jack Davies |
| Produced by | Ken Annakin |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bertil Palmgren Gábor Pogány Walter Wottitz |
| Music by | Ron Goodwin |
Production companies | Marianne Productions Basil Keys Productions Les Films Concordia Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 130 minutes 122 minutes (edited international release version) |
| Countries | United Kingdom France Italy |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,125,000 (US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
Monte Carlo or Bust! is a 1969 epic comedy film, also known by its American title, Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies. A co-production of the United Kingdom, France and Italy, the story is based on the Monte Carlo Rally – first raced in 1911 – and the film, set in the 1920s, recalls this general era. A lavish all-star film (Paramount put $10 million behind it), it is the story of an epic car rally across Europe that involves a lot of eccentric characters from all over the world who will stop at nothing to win.[2]
The film is a sequel to the 1965 hit Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. Terry-Thomas appeared as Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage, the equally dastardly son of Sir Percy Ware-Armitage, whom Thomas had played in the earlier film. Some others of the cast from the first film returned, including Gert Fröbe and Eric Sykes. Like the earlier film, it was written by Ken Annakin and Jack Davies and directed by Annakin, with music by Ron Goodwin. The title tune is performed by Jimmy Durante. The credits sequence animation was the work of Ronald Searle, who was also featured in Annakin's earlier Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. Tony Curtis and Susan Hampshire played other contestants in the race; Curtis also starred in the similar period-piece comedy The Great Race (1965) from Warner Bros.
The film was originally intended to be called Rome or Bust. The American distributors Paramount Pictures re-titled it Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies to tie it to Annakin's 1965 film; re-editing also meant cuts, up to a half-hour, from the original British release.[3]
- ^ "Big Rental Films of 1969". Variety, 7 January 1970, p. 15.
- ^ Brown, Joe. "The movie that changed my life". BBC Radio 2, 21 August 2009.
- ^ Galbraith, Stewart. "Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (Monte Carlo – or Bust!)." DVD Talk,, 3 June 2008. Retrieved: 13 May 2013.