Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 feature film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, based on Ian Fleming's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The film was directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli, best known as co-producer of the James Bond series of films, also based on Fleming's novels. Irwin Kostal supervised and conducted the music, and the musical numbers were staged by Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood. It was photographed in Super Panavision 70 by Christopher Challis.
The film went significantly over budget, but was a box office hit. Although it received favorable reviews in the UK, Europe, and the East Coast of the United States, Hollywood was unkind in its reviews. The film's producers had culled the behind-the-scenes talent from the biggest Hollywood musicals from the 60s as well as its own team who had worked on the hit James Bond films. The movie has become a children's classic.
The time is an unspecified period in the 1910s or 1920s. Jeremy and Jemima Potts are playing in a wrecked car in Mr. Coggins' junkyard. The wreck, as Mr. Coggins explains to a potential customer, had won a number of Grand Prix races in its past life as a racecar, before it crashed. The customer, a thoroughly unpleasant man, says that he will buy the car; Coggins agrees, much to the disappointment of the children.
On the way home, the children meet the beautiful Truly, who demands to know why they are not in school. She takes them home to their windmill, where she is introduced to their eccentric father, Caractacus, who is about to make an attempt to fly. She also meets the equally eccentric Grandpa Potts, who, resplendent in soldiers' uniform, explains to Truly that he is going for "a cup of tea with the Maharaja", before disappearing into a small hut at the far end of the garden. Truly shows interest in Caractacus Potts' eccentric inventions, but he is angered by her attempts to tell him that his children should be in school. Angrily, she leaves.
Caractacus and his children prepare for tea, reflecting on what a wonderful family they are, ("You Two"). During tea, the children explain to Caratacus about the car, and he promises that he will try and get it, although he doesn't have nearly enough money. Edison, the family dog, discovers that the supposedly useless "sweets with holes in", made by Caratacus, can whistle. Caractacus goes to a local sweet factory the next day, and attempts to interest Lord Scrumptious- who turns out to be Truly's father, giving her the more-than-appropriate name, "Truly Scrumptious". He initially refuses to even look at the sweets, but eventually gives in, and finds he likes them, ("Toot Sweets"). However, the sound of the whistling attracts what appears to be every dog in the village, and they ruin all the factory's confectionary, causing Lord Scrumptious to reject the sweets after all- although we don't see this happen, it is obvious that it has, because in the next scene, Jeremy and Jemima try to comfort their father, and offer him their most precious things, to sell so that he can buy the car. He refuses to take them, and sings them to sleep, ("Hushabye Mountain").
Caractacus sees a funfair approaching, and decides to make another attempt to raise money for the car. He takes another of his eccentric inventions- the automatic hair-cutting machine- to the funfair and tries to use it to raise money. However, his first customer, Cyril, ends up looking terrible, and chases Caratacus all around the funfair. In order to escape from him, Caractacus disguises as one of the dancers in a musical revue, and manages remarkably well, even though he is always one step behind the others- he even manages to improvise some words, ("'Me 'Ole Bamboo"). The other dancers are so impressed that they give him all the money which the audience give them for the performances, and he returns home triumphantly, in the drivers' seat of the car.
He manages to fix the car, and make it look as good as new, and he and the children, accompanied by Truly Scrumptious, whom they meet on the way, go for a picnic on the beach, ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"). They spend a very happy day on the beach, and Jeremy and Jemima reveal that they have come to love Truly Scrumptious- she has become fond of them as well, ("Truly Scrumptious").
After a while, the group get back in the car, and the children ask their father to tell them a story. The story occupies most of the rest of the film. The film introduces nasty Baron Bomburst, ruler of Vulgaria, who wants to steal Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They begin firing at the car on the beach, but as the family begin to panic, Chitty suddenly develops powers which enable it to float, and they escape, ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Nautical Reprise"). The Baron sends two comical spies ashore to capture the car for him. Caractacus drops Truly off at her home, and when he has left, it is revealed that Truly has fallen in love with him, ("Lovely Lonely Man").
The next day, the spies attempt to capture the car while the group are out for a spin. They fail, and end up capturing Lord Scrumptious and his assistant by mistake. The spies dress up in their clothes, and travel to the Potts' residence. There, they mistake Grandpa Potts for the inventor, and, when he goes into his "laboratory" (an eccentric term for small hut) they send for an airship to come and take the hut to Vulgaria. The airship arrives, with none other than the Baron on board. Caractacus and the others see the zeppelin flying above them, and give chase. They drive over a cliff, but Chitty sprouts wings, and they are saved from certain death. Grandpa, meanwhile, seems perfectly happy, ("Posh!").
At Baron Bomburst's palace, the Baron demands that Grandpa Potts make the "Baronial" car float. Grandpa Potts is worried at first, but the castle's resident inventors soon cheer him up, assuring him that he can accomplish the task ("The Roses of Success") - he fails, and the car falls apart on the last note of the song.
Meanwhile, Caractacus, Truly, and the children fly over the Vulgarian palace, only to be shot at with cannons by order of the Baroness, who hates children. Fortunately, they are never hit, and hide the car under a bridge. They walk into a small village, where everyone stares at them. They wonder why, until it suddenly occurs to them: there are no children!
Then trumpets sound, announcing the arrival of soldiers. Everyone hides in their houses, leaving Caractacus, Truly, and the children alone in the streets. Again, they catch a break as a kind toymaker hides them in the hidden lower level of his toy shop. Just in time, too, because the Vulgarian army storms the village square. The evil child catcher "smells" the children at the toy shop. They discover the trapdoor leading to the lower level. The soldiers search, but find no one. The child catcher yells at them, "You have to know where to look, like in the cracks in the walls, in the woodwork!" Still, no one is found (thanks to an Ingenious hiding place!)- Caratacus, Truly and the children have all disguised as jack-in-the-boxes!
Then the awful words are heard: "We've captured the flying car!" Caractacus decides two things then: to rescue Grandpa, and to get Chitty back. The toymaker helps Caractacus spy on the castle (albeit reluctantly), and quips, "To get in there you'd have to be a mouse or a magician."
Back at the toyshop, the children are starving. Truly goes into the village for food, stressing to the children how important it is to stay hidden in the toy shop. However, despite the warning, the children are lured out and captured by the child catcher, who poses as a lollipop salesman offering free sweets, to lure the children out of the cellar. Truly sees them in the child catcher's cage on wheels, and Caractacus sees her run down the street, yelling, "Children!" He runs up to her and finds out why she is in hysterics.
The children are locked in a tower by order of the Baroness when they insult her. "You're a nasty, horrid mean old lady!" "And very ugly!"
Caractacus and Truly are taken by the toymaker to a space underneath the castle, where all the children of Vulgaria are hidden. It is there that Caractacus finds out about his children. One thing leads to another, and soon Caractacus and Truly are reprising "Hushabye Mountain". They and the children plot revenge on the evil Baron and Baroness.
The next day - Baron Bomburst's birthday - dawns, and the Baron and Baroness sing a song in which they profess their love for one another, ("Chu-Chi Face"). It soon becomes obvious that the Baron's pleas are fake, and the Baroness' appear to be sincere. The baron attempts to kill the Baroness in various ways throughout the song, and is clearly annoyed each time because he never succeeds. At the Baron's birthday party, all is not going well. The Baroness cheers her husband up by summoning the toymaker, who brings in the Baron's birthday presents. There are two toys: a musical doll, and a clown - Caractacus and Truly in disguise.
The children run out into the party and crash it big-time! Caractacus and Truly rush through the castle looking for Jeremy and Jemima. They knock down the door where the children are being held prisoner, and enjoy a happy reunion.
During the battle, both Chitty and Grandpa find their way back to the family, and Chitty flies back to England, with all good Vulgarians happy. The Baron and Baroness are trapped in a cage, and the Child-Catcher hangs suspended in a net which is on the roof of the banqueting hall.
Back at the seaside, Jeremy and Jemima finish the story themselves: "And Daddy and Truly were married!" "And lived happily ever after!" Truly asks hopefully, "Is that how the story ends?" Caractacus botches it up by not directly answering. He messes things up further while trying to "apologize" for the children's ending. Words are exchanged, and Truly storms off, offended by Caractacus' attempt to explain that their social differences are too great for them to be married. The children aren't stupid; they know something went on with Truly and Caractacus.
They get home, and find Lord Scrumptious there! It turns out he is Grandpa's former Brigadier, and has some wonderful news for Caractacus: he could be very rich! The whistling sweets he invented previously are useless for humans, but wonderful for dogs. Thus begins the product "toot sweets" which have been renamed "Woof Sweets"! Caractacus is about to sign the contract, but dashes off in Chitty to tell Truly the good news.
He runs her off the road (for the third time) and finds out that she already knows. He rescues her from the car, and they stare into each other's eyes for a moment, then kiss. It is decided that they will be married after all. As they drive off together in Chitty, the car takes to the air again. And they all lived happily ever after!
The Car - GEN II
For the film version, six cars were created, including a fully functional road going car. It was designed by the film's production designer Ken Adam and built by Alan Mann Racing in Hertfordshire in 1967, and fitted with a Ford 3000 V6 engine and automatic transmission. It was allocated a genuine UK registration: GEN 11. The car has been in the private ownership of Pierre Picton since the early 1970s. Five other car props were built by the studio. A second, smaller road-going version, a transforming car, a hover-car, a flying car, and another engineless version for trailer work. Most had engines added after filming was complete and they were all used to promote the film throughout the world.
The other road version which only appears in 20 seconds of the movie is currently on display at The Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick, Cumbria. There were construction flaws on this vehicle which inhibited its use. The "flying car" from the movie is currently advertised for sale for $10million in the USA. EON productions own the less-detailed transforming version which they use to promote the stage musical, and the final road version is in the private ownership of Anthony Bamford - it is on display at the British National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire, UK. The hover-car was a shell mounted on a speed boat. This version was destroyed after filming. Only the original road-going version wears the registration GEN 11 legitimately.
MGM Official Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Movie Website
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We found ourselves looking for a star attraction for a Christmas Lights Switch On event in the town where we live. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was on the top of the list. Our 5 year old grand-daughter, Emily was enthralled by the film, and had been to see the stage show. She was so excited about the prospect of seeing Chitty on the day we were to meet Pierre, she couldn't eat her lunch. And as we arrived for our appointment with Pierre to discuss the event, she shook with anticipation. Pierre was the most engaging and thoroughly charming man imaginable, and he made us tea and supplied Emily with bananas, grapes and strawberries and a glass of orange juice, whilst telling her his enchanting stories about the famous car she loved so much.
