The Great Race swordfight scene 

The fact that these guys spent months training to make this fight look legit is just awesome.

Aw, they cut the scene right before Martin does a beautiful swan dive -- right into the rowboat. Brilliant slapstick finish to the scene!

As a fencer, I love this scene. Even though it was choreographed, there were a lot of real fencing moves used throughout. This was the movie that got me interested in fencing in the first place.

Ross Martin and Tony Curtis were coached at great length by a fencing master just for this scene. With real swords and foils, void of facial shields or any protective equipment, this scene had to be well choreographed. (an overlooked classic movie favorite; great fun to watch; great cast)

Truly great and even better that such a deadly, serious scene is in the middle of a pie throwing comedy. These guys were not foolin' around.

Ross Martin was a very undervalued actor - this scene really exemplifies how good he was. He exudes villainy and is very confident of being able to defeat Tony Curtis in the beginning and throughout the scene he goes from overconfident to grudging respect to respect to disbelief that "the great Leslie" is the better swordsman and finally to "afraid for his life" mode. thanks for posting this :)

Excellent Choreography.

I read that Ross Martin was diagnosed with a serious heart condition and no one in Hollywood would take a risk signing him on to a film let alone a series. This was an exception because Blake Edwards was a friend. He was a remarkable actor and could play any part well. God bless him.

incredibly dangerous scene to film, even something as simple and unpreventable as an equipment failure could have blinded or killed either one of them. I always thought Ross Martin was an undervalued actor and should have been a leading man.

Greatest Sword Fight Ever Filmed. Perfect.

And I love how they change weapons in the middle of the match, because it gives you a comparison between Foil and Sabre that shows how the two weapons are actually handled very differently. It's both a good dramatic scene and it shows technique. =)

I watched this movie before I knew who Ross Martin was; now that I completely LOVE The Wild Wild West, it makes me so sad that I had no idea who Tony Curtis was fighting against in this scene when I first saw the film!!

Two great actors and truly, great athletes.

I feel the exact same way! 'The Great Race' has been in my movie collection for years, and I've been watching (and loving) Wild Wild West for the past few months...when I found out that he's the one fencing Curtis in the scene, I was like, OMG! lol

I can't watch any swordfight that has the "shadows" scene without thinking about Robin Hood Men in Tights". Superb fencing from both actors!

you left the jump scene out where he crashes through the boat

classic errol flynn sword-fight - shadows on the wall taken from the classic 'Adventures of Robin Hood'. Both are among my favourite films!!! Love this scene!

Tony Curtis is another one of the Out of Shape In Shape guys from old movies

It's hard to compete with a sword fight this good.

They both grew up in the U.S., but I still think it counts for something that Ross Martin (Polish) and Tony Curtis (Hungarian) had their ethnic roots in countries that greatly valued swordsmanship.

I was the the hundredth thumb up. What an impressive fencing scene. I had no idea Curtis was such an excellent fencer.

Good Lord, I love this movie

What i find cool is that this is real fencing and not the stuff like in PotC. The best fencers at the time going at it with real swords is just a major treat to everyone.

I had such a crush on Tony Curtis when I was a teen😍

Incredible scene, and I understand the logic behind not showing the final few seconds.

The Stewart Granger swordfight in "Scaramouche" is great too!

Kudos to the Great Ross Martin!

As well as a master of disguise, Artemus Gordon was a heck of a swordsman!

Someone needs to make this a light saber duel

I was actually in Sweeden and watched the Olympic fencing team in the Ulivi stadium... we had the world sprint championships there at the time [ speed skating ]...and i was crazy about fencing as well ..and has a go too... Great sport !

You are totally right, it would've turned the duel from 'omg that was awesome' into, 'haha, what an idiot!'. Good thinking!

You can buy it or rent it online at Amazon. I've also seen it from time to time on Turner Classic Movies, and your local library might have it.

-My complimepts, Mr. Leslie. You handle the foil very well. -Thank you, baron, so do you. -Personally I prefer the man's weapon. -How do you play the saber? -There's only one way to find out. -Mr Leslie...

Once upon a time, I used to fence. Preferred saber over fool or epee’. This scene was one of my early inspirations to give it a try.

A trivial and slightly off-topic offering: Ross Martin was one of Peter Falk's (MAX in TGR) acting teachers, and was one of the first guest villains on COLUMBO.

I've gotten questions about why I left the last few slapstick seconds out when Martin's character crashes into the boat. To me it detracted from the whole scene. I mean, blood was drawn in this sword fight! Yes, it's a comedy, but this fight was great for its intensity and seriousness, and to include the last few seconds just robbed it of that. I wanted the scene to stand on its own for what it was, a great sword fight.

Superb always!!

Oh no !!!! The best part was cut off !! :(

I have a boat waiting…..

I love this film

Love this movie

The entire cast....now in the heaven.

Those nobility guys might have been training with a master for hours every day.

theres a bit just after the end of the vid where he dives right into his boat and smashes it. IT JUST SO STUPID AND FREAKING HILARIOUS!!!

One of my favorite movies. Ironically, I think Ross Martin is the better swordsman, by a narrow margin. They're both very good theatrical fencers, though -- compare this to that clown show "MTV Musketeers."

Sorry, had to thumbs down. Was cut 5 sec. early. The jump to the boat was hilarious.

Ross Martin was a very intelligent man. He spoke several languages and was a licensed attorney.

This scene scared me when I was four!

Not enough good fencing scenes like this in flims

@megathumb123 Indeed -- I wish this clip had run another 15 seconds.

Nunca mais, filmes bons igual a esses nunca mais!!!! Nunca!!!

I've compared every sword scene in a movie against this one. None compares. I yelled when this cut before he "dove" to the boat below.

This is the perfect theological example that superbia always leads to defeat.

Sampled by qwel and maker on en garde.

Where can I find a full movie? In advance thanks,

So you cut out the funniest part?

please revise the video and extend it by 10 seconds!

The best part (the ending of the scene) is cut off this one. Watch the other one instead.

Why did they feel that giving Tony Curtis a full chest wax would make him look good? Because it seriously doesn't. :/ Put the shirt back on!

they cut right before the best part

oh my god is that Eddie Izzard?