Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Strong and Moving!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Albert Broccoli, who produced the James Bond movies, wanted Bond-author Ian Fleming's kids' book, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, to be a classic like "Mary Poppins." To achieve this, he hired the songwriters and choreographers from "Poppins" as well as its lead adult actor, Dick van Dyke. What even his deep pockets couldn't buy, however, was Julie Andrews, who that year preferred making the world-shaking classic (sarcasm) "Star!" What Broccoli also couldn't buy was charm. Disney's "Poppins" had it, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" lacks it."Chitty" has lots going for it. Tuneful songs, of which "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" itself may be the best (and is always inspiring). "The Roses of Success" is a wonderful comic, but also instructive, song, and amusingly done by the grandfather and a group of weird inventors. "The Old Bamboo" is toe-tapping, as is "Toot-Sweets." But "Hushabye Mountain" (though the sort of thing my father sang to me) is a drag.The cast is half-wonderful. Dick van Dyke lost the cockney accent that got him so despised in "Poppins" but he looks . . . strange. Sally Ann Howes is a good singer, but lacks charisma. If Broccoli wanted a "Poppins" like movie he should have studied the ugly kids from the earlier flick, who are far more realistic and genuinely cute (and better actors) than the blonde, blue-eyed Aryan nonentities of "Chitty." They're the major flaw in the picture.The casting coup was Lionel Jeffries, stealing every scene he's in as the grandfather. Everything from his walk to the way he moves his neck and the way he reads every line is funny (and I've been watching the movie for fifty years, being 8 when it first came out). He also has the song "P.O.S.H." (port out, starboard home). Everything he does in this movie in lovely.And while in "Poppins" the only bad guy was the father (who wasn't really bad, only distracted), "Chitty" produces one of the great screen villains, who haunted my nightmares as a kid, the infamous Child-Catcher (limned by dancer/choreographer Robert Helpmann). He's a perfect villain who will linger in kids' memories forever, though some of his menace may be lost on the small screen.The movie also features superb comic turns by Gert Frobe (a skilled comedian in Germany before becoming the perfect "Goldfinger") and 5'10" Anna Quayle.Possibly using the late-1960s ethos, the Vulgarian sequence ends with a kid-led revolution. After all, it was the 60s young people who took Lenin's Birthday and turned it into Earth Day. They were all about revolution and killing.So with so much good, why doesn't "Chitty" rank with "Poppins"? Perhaps because of the kids, whom I disliked when I was their age. Either the writers, director or producer made a few wrong choices (for instance, the kids laughing when Dick van Dyke's rocket doesn't work . . . when people on screen laugh at on screen antics, the audience doesn't, even I as a film layman know that). The lack of Julie Andrews (who was courted for the part) can't be considered, as we don't know how she'd have done in the role of Truly Scrumptious and because she proved with "Star!" and "Darling Lili" and others that even her marvelous talents can't overcome weak material.Personally, I think it's because while the first part of the movie (putting Chitty together and riding off in her singing the great "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" song) and the Vulgarian sequences don't really gel. It's even worse (SPOILERS) in that by the end it's clear the Vulgarian sequence that scared the hell out of me and every child in the world never happened. It's like being told a lie, when what you see on screen looks so much like the truth. Therefore the ending in a more mundane world is a bit of a come-down. Though it is a relief to know Benny Hill's toymaker didn't exist, either. Hill looks like Captain Kangaroo, which is good as we all loved the Captain, but acts like a rejected sketch from his own TV show.Too, despite the best work of Helpmann, Frobe and Quayle, and the wonderfully sinsiter waltz near the end, some of the Vulgarian sequences almost cry out for Graham Chapman to come in shouting, "Too silly!" The movie has many good shots (especially the end, when the credits roll) and some excellent cutting (esp. in the races at the beginning). The music is good enough. Helpmann is scary, Jeffries is hilarious. Van Dyke is fatherly . . . but we miss his ease of manner and his carelessness about life from "Poppins." A better performance may have been thwarted by his alcoholism, but he shows no trace of it on screen. But Howes, whose screen career goes back to at least 1945 as a child herself, and her operatic tones are fine, and whose expressions in the beginning are well-considered, isn't a screen-shaker.Perhaps the biggest trouble is the director doesn't seem to have any sympathy with the material. Dick van Dyke (quoted on this site) said he didn't seem to like kids. Maybe that, ultimately, is why the movie comes up just short of being one of the great classics. Or maybe it's that producer Broccoli, who was great for Bond, simply lacked the Disney touch. Or, going back to first causes, perhaps Fleming (whose book is vastly different but bizarre in its own way) wasn't a kids' writer at heart.In another plus, we get to see Desmond Llewellyn (Bond's "Q") as the junk man in the beginning. And, best of all, we all love Chitty.

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!

As an older "kid," I can still enjoy the fun of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." This is one of those early movies made for children with a little bit of adult humor. By that, I don't mean R-rated or toilet humor. I mean stuff written above the heads of most kids' understanding. There weren't as many such films back then, but there were some. It's a precursor to the modern-day group of films – mostly animated, that seem to be written as much for adults as for the young crowd. I enjoy some of these films myself ("Ice Age," "Madagascar," "Shrek"). The modern film adult humor is usually in dialog that accompanies visuals. In "Chitty Chitty" and other early movies for kids, the adult reach most often is in the dialog that can stand by itself. The kids are watching a funny scene while we older viewers are chuckling at what we just heard while watching the same scene. It's still humorous to me that this movie was based on a book by Ian Fleming. But, when I think about some of the gimmicks that the M15 spy group comes up with for James Bond, I can see a connection. Dick Van Dyke's character in this film, Caractacus Potts, is an inventor and tinker who has some strange and funny inventions. This movie resembles a fairytale in two ways – the fantasy portion itself, and that part as a story within a story. The cast are all very good. This is mostly Van Dyke's show, though, with his inventions and dance scenes. The candy factory song and dance routine is an excellent job of choreography. I watched a bonus video with my DVD in which Van Dyke says he pulled a muscle doing the whirling kitchen cart number. Sally Ann Howes adds a nice voice to song and is a good romantic match for Van Dyke. Gert Frobe is especially good as Baron Bomburst. The movie did receive an Oscar nomination for the title song. But unlike other films they composed and wrote lyrics for, the Sherman Brothers (Richard and Robert) didn't score any hits or memorable songs in this movie. Still, it's a fun movie to watch with youngsters, who will enjoy it most.

Agree with a lot of the comments above. It is,indeed, an ionic children's film from the sixties, building on Mary Poppins, and almost as good. The storyline tails off a little bit but the scenery, songs and enthusiasm of everyone involved make it wonderful entertainment for little ones for two hours - not to mention adults too! Some of the songs are very memorable - like the title song, me ole bamboo (great dance scene at the funfair) and, of course, (Sally Anne Howe as) Truly Scrumptious, filmed on a summer's day near St. Tropez. I saw this when it first came out and have seen it several times since. My children used to love it. Anything with cars fascinates boys and the romantic link appeals to the girls. I know it's been panned by critics but it's good, clean fun. A really enjoyable family film.