The Great Race [1965, USA, comedy, DVD9]

In the early 20th century, the Great Leslie--daredevil and all-'round Renaissance man always clad in white--has several world records to his name in daring feats of courage, always with faithful Hezekiah by his side. Leslie's arch-enemy is dastardly Professor Fate--always clad in black--who is always trying either to outdo Leslie or thwart his attempts at daring, without success. Leslie suggests to the Webber Motor Car Company that they show their engineering expertise by building the supreme motor car for a New York to Paris race, a car which they ultimately name the Leslie Special after their inspiration. Not to be outdone, Fate, with his equally dastardly sidekick Max, also enters the race with what he considers his motor car masterpiece, the Hannibal Twin-8. Nothing is too dastardly an act in Fate's goal of winning. One of the other entries is beautiful Maggie Dubois, a reporter covering the race for the New York Sentinel newspaper. Emancipated woman Maggie initially tries to convince both Leslie and Fate to use her as their driving partner. Both refuse, considering her among the weaker sex, but she convinces the newspaper to hire her and to to sponsor their own car with her as the driver based on the internal struggle within the newspaper's ownership, which is similar to her own struggles. Maggie expects to win: in her logic, she is covering the entire race (which she does with the use of primitive but effective technology), meaning she needs to be first at the finish line, and she's not averse to using feminine wiles to her advantage. The race delivers adventures and obstacles, but during such a long race with much interaction between and among racers, their mindsets and priorities could change based on their time together.