I know it's a mute point but it would have been fun to see the Paris to New York run by Leslie and Prof Fate. There would have been a new dynamic since Leslie and Maggie married and Hezakya is out. Also, it'd be fun to go back to where they'd been to see how those they'd initially had contact with were getting along.
shareBlake Edwards was planning a sequel - I'd imagine it would have been called The Great Race 2. Whether the plotline would have been their situations/encounters the racers have from Paris back to New York, I'm not sure. But I know they were planning for Professor Fate to have a son - which would have been played by Chris Lemmon. As a matter of fact, it was Chris who mentioned this talk of their being a sequel; as one of his favourite films of Jack's was The Great Race (1965).
I personally would have loved to have seen a sequel; especially what happened on their way back to New York. I guess it wasn't made in the end as it was probably because the first film was very expensive to make.
Marilyn Monroe: I don't want to be rich. I just want to be wonderful.
You're probably right -- and Chris would have been an inspired choice. He's an under rated actor but can be very funny!
shareIt has just begun playing on TCM as I write this, and once again I am reminded how utterly brilliant this movie is. Every single frame of Jack Lemmon is achingly funny! And though I'm late to the party on this thread, just imagining a little Fate (hopefully with his own tiny handlebar moustache) makes me smile all the more, and a little wistful over what might have been.
As much as a sequel would have been delightful, we can be grateful for this gem on its own. I only wish I had remembered to ask about it when I met Larry Storch several years ago. So excited over meeting Get Smart's "Groovy Guru," Texas Jack went right out of my head!
As much as a sequel would have been delightful, we can be grateful for this gem on its own.
Becky, do you have a reference for that quote from Chris Lemmon?
I'd love to read more about it.
While I'd love to have seen some more material with these characters, the dynamic would have been totally different without the UST (Unresolved Sexual Tension) between Leslie and Maggie. ;)
Wikipedia says that for the $12 million cost, the movie only made about $25 million, and was regarded as a "critical flop", so I guess the studio wasn't interested in a sequel.
http://leslie-special.info In appreciation of The Great Race.
I found the quote! :)
It's in Chris Lemmon's book about his father: "A Twist of Lemmon".
This is a great book if you want to learn more about Jack.
Page 79 in the paperback edition:
...
Blake Edwards always wanted to make a sequel to that film, but wasn't able to wrest the the rights away from Warner Bros.
Years later, during the filming of "That's Life", he approached Pop and me with the idea that we do a remake in which the character Professor Fate has a son (me), and the Prince of Potsdorf had twin sons (me twice).
I would have given anything to have made that film, but it was not to be.
Very late to note this. But it's a moot point, not mute point.
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