rlane1000
One of the great Dick Van Dyke's best performances. Fantastic sets. Wonderful cinematography. Musical component complements and does not overwhelm the production. You can be comfortable watching with the entire family. This movie was so well put together that I thought it had been produced as a feature by Disney Studios. You will enjoy.
JohnHowardReid
Copyright 17 December 1968 by Warfield Productions—Dramatic Features. Released through United Artists Pictures. New York opening at Loew's State 2: 18 December 1968. U.S. release: 18 December 1968. U.K. release: 28 December 1969. Australian release: 19 December 1968. Sydney opening at the Paris. 145 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An unsuccessful inventor weaves a story about an old car that he has made over into a shiny new contraption.NOTES: The title song was nominated for an Academy Award, losing to "The Windmills of Your Mind" from "The Thomas Crown Affair"."Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" took more money in Great Britain in 1969 than any other movie except "Oliver" and a re-issue of "Gone With The Wind". In the U.S.A., "Chitty" achieved 12th position for 1969.COMMENT: We keep waiting for the big musical production number involving all the Vulgarians which will climax the whole thing, but curiously there isn't one. Maybe just as well since Gert Frobe gives such a flat-footed performance, mistiming even such mildly amusing lines as "Never mind, I get her next time". Even in his comedy duet, he seems to be a beat behind his partner. The two spies similarly mangle their opportunities. They are dud hams. A pity two more interesting people weren't cast. Benny Hill has a small role complete with accent which he plays virtually straight, but Helpmann makes the most of his couple of scenes as the child catcher. Dick Van Dyke is his usual pseudo-engaging self — an energetic dancer, a fair vocalizer but a somewhat blandly nauseating personality. We keep waiting for Justice to come back. Sally Ann Howes is a pleasant singer but a cloying person and the kids are two spoiled, self- centered brats. Lionel Jeffries tends to overdo his part, especially in the early stages, but comes into his own with "P=O=S=H" and thereafter. The film is very uneven. It takes forever to get off the ground, but improves once we get to the JRJ scenes and Adam's splendid sets and the two great musical production numbers in the sweet factory and the delightful Bamboo dance at the fair. It's a pity the rest of the film is something of an anticlimax. In fact it's a different story altogether as the script itself acknowledges!
SnoopyStyle
In the 1908 Grand Prix de France, one of the cars crash and ends up in a garage in rural England which is beloved by children Jeremy and Jemima Potts. Mr. Coggins is looking to sell it for scrap. They live with Grandpa Potts, their widowed wacky inventor father Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke) and their dog Edison. They meet wealthy Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes) driving her own car. She tries to tell Caractacus about his kids' truancy but he's unconcerned. They don't get along. One of his invention produces sweets with holes in them. He discovers that they toot and tries to sell them to Truly's confectionery manufacturer father Lord Scrumptious. He gets thrown out when the whistle brings dogs to overrun the factory. He eventually earns some money at the carnival and buys the car. The kids name it Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for the noise from the engine and the Bangs coming from the exhaust. They go to the beach for a picnic and Truly joins them. Caractacus tells them a story about the ruler of Vulgaria Baron Bomburst who wants to steal Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.This is from a children book written by Ian Fleming. Roald Dahl who wrote 'Charlie & the Chocolate Factory' also helps to write the screenplay. This is an unabashed children's movie. There are some disturbing aspects of the movie like the Child Catcher which I like. It doesn't all work. I don't particularly like the broad comedy coming from the two spies. Sally Ann Howes may be a great stage actress but she doesn't have the great presence as someone like Julie Andrews. Her chemistry with Dick Van Dyke is limited. There are a couple of fun songs. This doesn't quite measure up to 'Mary Poppins' but it tries to be in the same class. Also some of the magic seems to disappear when the movie goes to the castle. It's like the castle is too real and overwhelms any effort to give it a sense of fantasy. But you gotta love the car.
Leofwine_draca
There's little to dislike about CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, a fun and colourful musical written by Ian Fleming, no less; it's packed with memorable music, has colourful cinematography, an imaginative script and a decent cast. Of the principal actors, it's fair to say that Dick Van Dyke puts memories of MARY POPPINS and dodgy accents behind him in his enthusiastic turn as madcap inventor Caractacus Potts.It's rare to find a film which boasts decent performances from the child actors, but they're good here, as are the likes of Benny Hill and Lionel Jeffries in support. The songs are a lot of fun, particularly the titular one, of course.My only complaint, which isn't too much of one, really, is that it grows more and more fantastic as it goes on, and the last third is more like a silly fantasy sequence; there's Roald Dahl to blame for that, I think. At least the writers saw this and put in an explanation of it being all a dream sequence so that it kind of makes sense.
AD
