CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968, U.K.)

Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang

(aka Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
(1968, U.K.) Technicolor 144 minutes
Dramatic Features/Warfield/United Artists
Story: Ian Fleming (from his novel)
Screenplay: Roald Dahl, Ken Hughes, Richard Maibaum
Music: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman
Cinematography: Christopher Challis
Editing: John Shirley
Production Design: Ken Adam
Art Direction: Harry Pottle
Special Effects: John Stears
Visual Effects: Cliff Culley, Roy Field
Produced by Albert R. Broccoli, Stanley Sopel
Directed by Ken Hughes

With: Dick Van Dyke (Caractacus Potts), Sally Ann Howes (Truly Scrumptious), Lionel Jeffries (Grandpa Potts), Gert Frobe (Baron Bomburst), Anna Quayle (Baroness Bomburst), Benny Hill (Toymaker), James Robertson Justice (Lord Scrumptious), Robert Helpmann (Child Catcher), Heather Ripley (Jemima), Adrian Hall (Jeremy), Barbara Windsor (Blonde), Davy Kaye (Admiral), Alexander Dore (First Spy), Bernard Spear (Second Spy), Stanley Unwin (Chancellor), Peter Arne (Captain of Guard), Desmond Llewelyn (Coggins), Victor Maddern (Coggings, the junkman), Arthur Mullard (Cyril, Big Man), Ross Parker (Chef), Gerald Campion (Minister), Felix Felton (Minister), Monti de Lyle (Minister), Totti Truman Taylor (Duchess), Larry Taylor (Lieutenant), Max Bacon (Orchestra Leader), Max Wall (Inventor), John Heawood (Inventor), Michael Darbyshire (Inventor), Kenneth Waller (Inventor), Gerald Taylor (Inventor), Eddie Davis (Inventor)

***

In 1968, Albert (Cubby) Brocolli, co-producer of the ever-popular James Bond movies, decided to make a movie musical version of Sir Ian Fleming's only story for children: CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG! Acquiring the rights to the book, Brocolli began working on the screen adaptation to the story. Seeing the success of Walt Disney's musical fantasy P.L. Travers “Mary Poppins,” Brocolli decided not to use the original Fleming crime drama for kids, and created a new version of the tale.

The story opens in turn-of-the-century England, where two kids, Jeremy and Jeremiah, the son and daughter of unemployed inventor Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke), are playing in an old car owned by local junk dealer Coggings. Coggings can't afford to keep the old car at his junk yard, and plans to sell it to a mean scrap metal dealer, who wants to destroy the vehicle for profit. The kids will not hear of it, and they go to see their father and ask for his help. On the way home they run into a beautiful lady, Truly Scrumpcious (Sally Ann Howes). She is annoyed by the fact the two kids are standing in the middle of the road where she almost ran them down. Ms. Scrumpcious is also angry that the kids are not in school, and she takes the pair home to complain to their father.

Potts is trying out a new invention, called Flying Skiis, which of course do little more than backfire and create a blaze. Ms. Scrumpcious puts out the flaming skiis, much to Potts annoyance. She tells him of his children's truancy from school, and the fact that she almost ran them down. Potts becomes even more outraged at her interference, and asks her to leave. Before Ms. Scrumpcious departs, she sees Potts’ workshop and becomes interested in his candy-making machine.

Looking at the confections that come from the machine, she complains that there are too many holes in the sweets. The kids tell their father of the car at Cogging’s junk yard, and that it will be destroyed unless he does something about it. Potts says he will try to save the car, but he begins to doubt his talents as an inventor and thinks that he may be a nut. The two kids try to allay their father's doubts with a song, “You Two.”

Later that night, Potts checks out the confection and agrees that the sweet is imperfect, until Edison, the Potts family dog, eats the candy and starts to make whistling sounds. Seeing a brilliant concept in the making, Potts and his kids head for England's most famous candy factory, The Lord Scrumpcious Candy Company. Potts tries to see Lord Scrumpcious to sell his idea to him. His lordship (James Robertson Justice) is not interested in Potts’ new confection and tells him to leave. Suddenly, his daughter Truly comes into the office and notes with interest that Potts may have a new invention to offer her father. Truly, Potts and the kids, along with the factory's staff, sing the tune “Toot Sweets” to get the stubborn old candy maker to try it. He does and joins everyone in eating the candy and singing the song.

Unfortunately, Edison and some other dogs hear the song and the sounds of the whistling sweets and they soon break into the factory, where chaos reigns supreme! Angered, Lord Scrumpcious throws Potts, his kids and the dog out of the factory. Saddened by their failure, the kids can't sleep that night, and Potts lulls the kids to sleep with the ballad “Hushabye Mountain.” Heading outside of the family's farm, Potts looks out and sees a carnival coming down the road. Seeing that he may have one more chance to earn the money to buy the junked car, Potts drives his bicycle-controlled hair-cutting machine to the carnival and tries to give a hair cut to a big, brawny man. All he does is give the fellow a bad idea of a reverse Mohawk, as he angrily chases Potts thru the carnival's midway.

To escape his adversary Potts runs into a sideshow, where he performs the music hall tune, “Me Old Bambu,” with a chorus of dancers. His performance of the song is a hit with the customers and they and the other dancers reward Potts with payments of many shillings. Finally able to buy the car, Potts bring her home and begins to clean and fix her up. The cleaning and repair job takes many days and nights, but finally on a beautiful summer morning the car is ready to brought outside. Jubilant, Potts and the kids head for the beach. They meet Truly on the road and invite her to join them. The car begins to make funny noises and they sing a ode to it, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!”

During a day at the beach, the kids sing the praises of their new friend with the tune, “Truly Scrumpcious.” As the day turns into afternoon, the kids ask their father to tell a story about pirates. Seeing a boat off the coast, Potts relates the tale of the evil, spoiled and abusive dictator, Baron Bombust, who has traveled to England to steal the Potts' car. The boat then changes to the Bombust Yacht. The Baron (Gert Frobe, who had played James Bond's gold-seeking foe Goldfinger a few years before) tries to get his crew to capture the car. The tide comes in and the Potts and Truly are trapped until Chitty sports pontoons and sails away from the evil monarch.

But Baron Bombust is not a villain who gives up easily. He sends two spies to find the car and bring it to him. The spies follow the car to Potts’ farm and, mistaking Grandpa Potts (Lionel Jeffries, best remembered as zany inventor and scientist Cavor in FIRST MEN IN THE MOON) for his son. The two henchmen contact the Baron via portable radio and the villains hook Grandpa Potts' hut onto the Bombust blimp and send him soaring into the skies.

Seeing him being taken away by the villains, the Potts and Truly follow the blimp in Chitty. The car turns into an airplane and flies off to Vulgaria to save Grandpa. When the blimp reaches Vulgaria, Grandpa Potts is lead to a basement dungeon where other scientists are being held prisoner. He is told to create another Chitty in the next 48 hours or he will be killed. The old man is frightened but the other old scientists convince him that it can be done, in an ode to success, “The Roses Of Success.”

Meanwhile, the Potts and Truly land in the village square where they find out to their horror that the Baroness Bombust hates kids. When she discovers that the Potts Children are within her borders, she sends soldiers and “The Child Catcher” (Robert Helpman) to bring the children to her. Fearful for their lives, Potts, Truly and the kids hide out in the shop of a kindly old toymaker (played by England's beloved funnyman, Benny Hill). Disguised as jacks-in-the-box, Potts, the kids and Truly manage to escape the soldiers and the Child Catcher. Potts wants to stop the Bombbusts and save his father, but the Toymaker tries to dissuade Potts from such a reckless form of heroics. Potts will hear none of it, however, and heads for the castle that night to form a plan to overthrow the dictators.

In the meantime, the Child Catcher, disguised as a candy vendor, finds the Potts’ kids hiding in the basement of the Toyshop, and lures them out with promises of free candy, cake and ice cream. The pair are soon placed in the villain's traveling cage and are made prisoners of the Bombusts. Outraged, Potts, Truly and the Toymaker seek out the kids of Vulgaria, who are hiding in the town sewers, to work out a plan to overthrow the villains. The next day is Baron Bombust's birthday. While getting dressed, the two villains sing of their somewhat difficult marriage, in the song, “Chuci Face.” Later that day, the Toymaker brings in the Baron's birthday gifts: a beautiful doll on top of a music box and a singing, dancing clown. However, the toys are actually Truly and Potts in disguise. The two playthings sing of their love for each other in the tunes, “A Doll On A Music Box” and a reprise of “Truly Scrumpcious.”

The pair entertain the villains while the kids are seen in the gratings and walls with ropes and other devices. As the Baron dances with the clown doll, a hook comes down from the ceiling of the palace and is attached to his tush, which sends the fat bully up to the rafters. The kids soon break into the throne room and capture the entire Bombust royal court, soldiers and even the Child Catcher . Seeing that they must flee the scene, the baron and his wife head for the garbage chute, only to land inside the Child Catcher's mobile cage.

Now free, Potts, his father, the kids and Truly climb into Chitty and fly home to the cheers of the people of Vulgaria. After this story, the Potts drive Truly home to the Scrumpcious estate. When he enters the house, Potts is met by Lord Scrumpcious and his father who tell him that, seeing that the sweets are more popular with dogs than with humans, his lordship is going to buy his candies as a treat for dogs! Potts signs the contracts with Lord Scrumpcious and then drives for the Scrumpcious estate to tell Truly of his good fortune. She drives off to the Potts Farm to tell him about her father's making the deal and they both run their cars off of the road. Truly's car ends up in a mudhole. Helping his lady love into his car, the pair climb into Chitty, where they fly off to seek out a preacher.

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG was not well received by the critics, but kids liked it and it has since become a cult classic. It has been seen on TV for many years, and has been re-released to movie theaters for Kiddie Matinee showings. It was also released on VHS and DVD. A 40th Anniversary edition of the DVD was released in 1998 with documentaries about the making of the film and commentary provided by Dick Van Dyke. I first saw this film with my mother and brothers at the Lowe's State movie theater in New York City’s Times Square in the fall of 1968. I've seen it many times since on TV and at movie theater re-releases, and it still enchants me. The songs by the Sherman Brothers are wonderful, the sets and locations are great, and the devices (created by a gentleman I can only remember by his first name, Rowland) recreates the eccentric spirit of Mr. Potts perfectly. The script is not Sir Ian's penultimate crime drama adventure, but CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG is successful nonetheless.

Trivia Note: Actress and singer Anna Quayle, who played the Baroness Bombust, also appeared with Anthony Newley in the Broadway musical satire, “Stop The World, I Want To Get Off!”

Kevin S. Butler