Post: #1

Just caught the end of the movie "The Great Race" filmed in 1965 with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. The movie is set in 1911 and Wood plays a photographer for the New York Times and she is a suffragette while Curtis plays "Mr. Leslie", a well off playboy that is racing around the world. Ms. Dubois is also in the race to record it for the paper, however her car is sabotaged and she ends up riding with Leslie.

At the end of the movie, coming into Paris and the finish line, we get this bit of dialog;



Mr. Leslie- Miss Dubois.
Maggie- Yes?
Mr. Leslie-I believe the time has come for us
to resolve our differences.
Maggie-Good.
Mr. Leslie-As you know, I've steadfastly maintained...an uncompromising position about women's rights and the equality of sexes.
Maggie-As have I.
Mr. Leslie-Therefore, it is safe to assume that has been the principal area of our conflict.
Maggie-No doubt about it.
Mr. Leslie-Therefore, in the interest of progress and harmony...I am willing to concede to your point of view.
Maggie-Concede?
Mr. Leslie-You are an emancipated woman, Miss Dubois. And I am an emancipated man.
Mr. Leslie-Come back here.
Mr. Leslie-You are the most unreasonable,
inconsistent female...
Maggie-I'm unreasonable? I'm inconsistent?
Mr. Leslie- Yes.
Maggie-What about you? Talk about inconsistent.
Mr. Leslie- Inconsistent!
Maggie- And unreasonable.
Mr. Leslie- Unreasonable!
Maggie-And arrogant.
Mr. Leslie- Arrogant!
Maggie- Yes, arrogant!
Mr. Leslie-All right, Miss Dubois, let's discuss arrogance for a moment.
Maggie-All right, Mr. Leslie. Let's.
Mr. Leslie-Any woman who has the unmitigated arrogance to consider herself man's equal.
Maggie-Any man who has the arrogance to consider himself better than a woman.
Mr. Leslie-Any fool knows that a woman cannot...
Maggie- That's right! Any fool!
Mr. Leslie- You know what's the matter with you?
Maggie- I know what's the matter with you.

*driver of other car in the race
Professor Fate-What did I tell you? She's going to win the race for us. The buffalo-headed vixen!

Mr. Leslie- I tried to kiss you.
Maggie- I know what you tried.
Mr. Leslie-You're the one that's been preaching emancipation.


Professor Fate-We're going to win, Max. We're going to win!
Fate'ss Assistant Max-I think you turn right at the next corner.


Mr. Leslie-You're not talking about equal rights.
Maggie- I know what I'm talking about.
Mr. Leslie-You're talking about some convenient feminine utopia......that has all of the advantages and no responsibilities.
Maggie- Responsibilities?
Mr. Leslie- Yes!
Maggie-Look who's talking about responsibilities.
Maggie-Turn right.
Maggie- Go back and turn right.
Mr. Leslie- We do not turn right.
Maggie- I know Paris.
Mr. Leslie- So do I.
Maggie-You have to turn right in order to get to the Eiffel Tower.
Mr. Leslie-If we turn right back there, we'd end up on the Montmartre Steps. You talk a good fight, but when it comes down to it......you're as emancipated as a confirmed spinster in a knitting bee.
Maggie-How would you know?
Mr. Leslie-You're a suffragette. You're the one who wanted to bring sex out in the open. So I brought it out into the open and I got slapped in the face for my trouble.
Maggie-Your interpretation of bringing sex out into the open and mine are two different things.
Mr. Leslie-Well, will you please tell me what your concept of sex is?
Maggie-Gladly!

*after going down the aformentioned steps
Prof-Fate-You and your stupid map!
Fate's assistant-She's still with him. You said if she was with him, we couldn't lose.
Prof Fate-Shut up!


Maggie-And because I consider myself sexually free and morally emancipated......l'm a responsible, discriminating woman who doesn't intend to jump into bed...with the first muscular egocentric male who thinks he can seduce me....by agreeing with some of the things I believe in.
Mr. Leslie-I only wanted to kiss you.
Maggie- Why?
Mr. Leslie-Because I love you, that's why. You don't believe me?
Maggie-I do not. What are you doing?
Mr. Leslie- Proving that I love you.
Maggie-You'll lose the race.
Mr. Leslie-Can you think of a better way to prove it?

*Kisses her, they end up getting married immediately, yadda yadda yadda


I hadn't watched this movie in years and had basically forgotten about it. What's the likelihood the above dialog would make it into a movie today? lolzzzzzzzz

The movie is pretty corny but has its moments. Ms. Dubois gets slammed a few other times for her feminism earlier in the movie as well and there is a scene with a female newspaper editor refusing to publish a complimentary article about Leslie. Women marching for suffrage are also shown a few times.

Basically the entire movie laughs at feminism and has the suffragette heroine eloping with the manly man at the end of the movie, invalidating her position.

The movie is on youtube but unfortunately as a rental, preventing me from embedding the clip here. It's on TV now and then however so check it out if you want to see some old school men dealing with feminists.

Post: #2

One of my favourite childhood movies. Totally missed the feminism subplot as a kid trough.

Post: #3

This seems like a very interesting movie - thanks for the suggestion!

I'll make sure to watch it.

Post: #4

A movie I've seen numerous times, but I identify with Professor Fate:

"You I hate! You and your hair that's always combed, your suit that's always white, your car that's always clean!"

Post: #5

(03-30-2014 02:31 PM)ColSpanker Wrote:  A movie I've seen numerous times, but I identify with Professor Fate:

"You I hate! You and your hair that's always combed, your suit that's always white, your car that's always clean!"

I never realized that Jack Lemmon played that part. A lot different than Glengarry, that's for sure.

Post: #6

Reminded me of Monty Python with hot chicks that would otherwise be my grandmothers by now...