''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' is a children's novel written by
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...
for his son Caspar, with illustrations by
John Burningham
John Burningham (27 April 1936 – 4 January 2019) was an English author and illustrator of children's books, especially picture books for young children. He lived in north London with his wife Helen Oxenbury, another illustrator. His last publis ...
. It was initially published in three volumes, the first of which was released on 22 October 1964 by
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
in London.
Fleming, better known as the creator of
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
, took his inspiration for the subject from a series of
aero-engined racing cars called "
Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang was the informal name of a number of celebrated British racing cars, built and raced by Count Louis Zborowski and his engineer Clive Gallop in the 1920s, which inspired the book, film and stage musical ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Ban ...
", built by
Louis Zborowski
Louis Vorow Zborowski (20 February 1895 – 19 October 1924) was an English racing driver and automobile engineer, best known for creating a series of aero-engined racing cars known as the "Chitty-Bang-Bangs", which provided the inspiration for ...
in the early 1920s at
Higham Park
Higham Park is a Grade II* listed neoclassical style house and gardens, located at Bridge, Kent, south of Canterbury.
History Origins
The basis of Higham Park was formed from 1320, when lands on the north east of the Elham Valley now within the ...
. Fleming had known Higham Park as a guest of its later owner, Walter Whigham, chairman of
Robert Fleming & Co. It was the last book he wrote and he did not live to see it published.
''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'' was loosely adapted as a 1968 film
of the same name with a screenplay by
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
and
Ken Hughes
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
; a subsequent novelisation was also published. The film was produced by
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...
, co-producer of the
James Bond film series
James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Niv ...
. The story was also adapted as a stage musical under
the same name. In April 2011 a
BBC Radio 4 Extra
BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...
adaptation was broadcast with
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961) is an English actress and writer.
Her first leading part was in '' Privileged'' (1982), followed by ''A Summer Story'' (1988).
Her first play, ''We Happy Few'', was produced in 2004. In 2008 she joined '' ...
as the voice of Chitty. Three sequels to Fleming's book have been published, all written by
Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Frank Cottrell-Boyce (born 23 September 1959)"COTTRELL-BOYCE, Frank", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009 ; online edn, Nov 200 Retrieved 2010-05-16. is an English people, English screenwriter, ...
.
Plot
Commander
Caractacus Pott
Caractacus Pott (Caractacus Potts in the film adaptation) is one of the main characters in Ian Fleming's novel ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'' and its film adaptation. The film version of the story makes several changes to his character.
Caractacus ...
is an inventor who buys and renovates an old car after gaining money from inventing and selling whistle-like sweets to Lord Skrumshus, the wealthy owner of a local confectionery factory. The car, a "Paragon Panther", was the sole production of the Paragon motor-car company before it went bankrupt. It is a four-seat touring car with an enormous bonnet, or hood. After the restoration is complete, the car is named for the noises made by its starter motor and the characteristic two loud backfires it makes when it starts.
At first Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang is just a big and powerful car, but as the book progresses the car surprises the family by beginning to exhibit independent actions. This first happens while the family is caught in a traffic jam on their way to the beach for a picnic. The car suddenly instructs Commander Pott to pull a switch which causes Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang to sprout wings and take flight over the stopped cars on the road. Commander Pott flies them to
Goodwin Sands
Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...
in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
where the family picnics, swims, and sleeps. While the family naps, the tide comes in threatening to drown them. Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang wakes them just in time with a hiss of steam. At the car's direction, Commander Pott pulls another switch which causes it to transform into a hovercraft-like vehicle. They make for the French coast and land on a beach near
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
. They explore along the beach and find a cave boobytrapped with some devices intended to scare off intruders. At the back of the cave is a store of armaments and explosives. The family detonates the cache of explosives and flees the cave.
The gangsters/gun-runners who own the ammunition dump arrive and block the road in front of Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. The gangsters threaten the family, but Commander Pott throws the switch which transforms the car into an aeroplane and they take off, leaving the gangsters in helpless fury. The Potts stay overnight in a hotel in Calais. While the family sleeps, the gangsters break into the children's room and kidnap them and drive off towards Paris. Chitty tracks the gangsters' route, wakes Commander and Mrs. Pott, and they drive off in pursuit.
The gangsters are planning to rob a famous chocolate shop in Paris using the children as decoys. The Pott children overhear this and manage to warn the shop owner, Monsieur Bon-Bon. Chitty arrives in time to prevent the gangsters from fleeing. The police arrive and the gangsters are taken away. As a reward Madame Bon-Bon shares the secret recipe of her world-famous fudge with the Potts, and the two families become good friends. Chitty flies the family away to parts unknown, and the book implies that the car has yet more secrets.
Characters
*
Caractacus Pott
Caractacus Pott (Caractacus Potts in the film adaptation) is one of the main characters in Ian Fleming's novel ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'' and its film adaptation. The film version of the story makes several changes to his character.
Caractacus ...
– eccentric inventor and former
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
*Mimsie Pott – Caractacus's wife
*Jeremy and Jemima Pott – Caractacus's and Mimsie's twin eight-year-old children
*Lord Skrumshus – owner of a sweet factory
*Joe the Monster – leader of a criminal gang
*Man-Mountain Fink – member of Joe's gang
*Soapy Sam – member of Joe's gang; explosives expert, handy with
gelignite
Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpe ...
.
*Blood-Money Banks – member of Joe's gang; blackmailer
*Monsieur Bon-Bon – owner of a famous Parisian chocolate shop and the target of Joe's gang
Background
By 1961, Fleming had published nine
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
books. The most recent of these was
''Thunderball'', a novel Fleming initially published under his own name, but which was
the subject of a legal action by its co-authors,
Kevin McClory
Kevin O'Donovan McClory (8 June 1924 – 20 November 2006) was an Irish screenwriter, film producer, and film director. McClory was best known for producing the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' and for his legal battles with the character's cre ...
and
Jack Whittingham
Jack Whittingham (2 August 1910 – 3 July 1972) was a British playwright and screenwriter.
Early life
Whittingham was born in Heaton, West Yorkshire, England, and educated at Charterhouse between 1924 and 1929. He then went up Lincoln Colle ...
. In March 1961, McClory read an advance copy of the book and he and Whittingham immediately petitioned the
High Court in London for an injunction to stop publication. The case was heard on 24 March 1961 and allowed the book to be published, although the door was left open for McClory to pursue further action at a later date.
Fleming had also begun to write the children's book ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang''. The car itself was based on a composite of two cars: Fleming's own
Standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
Tourer
Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof).
"Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s.
Th ...
, which he had driven in Switzerland in the late 1920s, and
Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang was the informal name of a number of celebrated British racing cars, built and raced by Count Louis Zborowski and his engineer Clive Gallop in the 1920s, which inspired the book, film and stage musical ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Ban ...
, a chain-driven customised
Mercedes
Mercedes may refer to:
People
* Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name
Automobile-related
* Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
with a 23-litre 6-cylinder
Maybach
Maybach (, ) is a Automotive industry in Germany, German luxury car brand that exists today as a part of Mercedes-Benz. The original company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach, originally as a subsidiary of ''Lufts ...
aero-engine
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...
. Fleming had seen the car's owner,
Louis Zborowski
Louis Vorow Zborowski (20 February 1895 – 19 October 1924) was an English racing driver and automobile engineer, best known for creating a series of aero-engined racing cars known as the "Chitty-Bang-Bangs", which provided the inspiration for ...
race at the
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
race track. The origin of the name "Chitty Bang Bang" is disputed, but may also have been inspired by early aeronautical engineer
Letitia Chitty
Letitia Chitty (15 July 1897 – 29 September 1982) was an English engineer who became a respected structural analytical engineer, achieving several firsts for women engineers, including becoming the first female fellow of the Royal Aeronautica ...
. Like Zborowski, Fleming names his car because of the noise it made—and the noise a car made was important to Fleming.
As he wrote the novel, Fleming used aspects of his life to flesh out the details, much as he did with many of his Bond stories. Thus, in the novel, one of the children was called Jemima, after the daughter of his previous employer, Hugo Pitman; the advice Pott gave to his children also echoed that of Fleming: "Never say 'no' to adventures. Always say 'yes', otherwise you'll lead a very dull life."
In May 1961, Fleming sent his publisher the manuscripts for the first two volumes of ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang''. To illustrate the book, Fleming suggested the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' cartoonist Trog—the pseudonym of
Wally Fawkes
Walter Ernest Fawkes (born 21 June 1924) is a British-Canadian jazz clarinetist and satirical cartoonist. As a cartoonist, he usually worked under the name "Trog" until failing eyesight forced him to retire in 2005 at the age of 81.
Early hist ...
—as he admired the artist's work. While undertaking the preliminary drawings for the book, Trog tried to make the fudge recipe included in the book and found it was not particularly good: the editors at Jonathan Cape spent a day making up batches from different recipes to find a better one to use. Although Fawkes completed preliminary drawings for the project, the ''Daily Mail'' refused to allow him to complete the work as many of Fleming's works were serialised in its rival, the ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
''. Other early illustrative sketches were produced by artist Haro Hodson and motor engineer
Amherst Villiers
Amherst Villiers (1900–1991) was an English automotive, aeronautical and astronautic engineer and portrait painter.
He designed a land speed record-breaking car for Malcolm Campbell, and developed the supercharged "Blower Bentley", driven b ...
. After Trog was forced to withdraw from the project, Cape commissioned
John Burningham
John Burningham (27 April 1936 – 4 January 2019) was an English author and illustrator of children's books, especially picture books for young children. He lived in north London with his wife Helen Oxenbury, another illustrator. His last publis ...
, who had recently won the 1963
Kate Greenaway Medal
The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...
for his book ''
Borka: The Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers''.
On 19 November 1963, the case of McClory v Fleming, following up the 1961 case, was heard at the
Chancery Division
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...
of the High Court. The proceedings lasted three weeks, during which time Fleming was unwell, suffering a heart attack as the case progressed.
Two weeks after the case, during the weekly Tuesday staff conference at his employers, ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'', Fleming suffered a serious, second heart attack that necessitated convalescence, which he undertook at the Dudley Hotel in
Hove
Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...
. While there, one of Fleming's friends, Duff Dunbar, gave him a copy of
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was he ...
's ''
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
''The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in August 1903. The story is about an impertinent red squirrel named Nutkin and his narrow escape from ...
'' to read and suggested that he took the time to write up the bedtime story that Fleming used to tell his son Caspar each evening. Fleming attacked the project with gusto and wrote to his publisher, Michael Howard of
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
, joking that "There is not a moment, even on the edge of the tomb, when I am not slaving for you."
Fleming did not live to see ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'' published: he suffered a further heart attack on 11 August 1964 and died in the early morning of the following day—his son Caspar's twelfth birthday—in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
, Kent. The book was published two months after his death.
Release and reception
''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'' was first published in the UK in three hard-backed volumes by Jonathan Cape, each costing 10
s. 6
d.
The first volume was launched on Thursday, 22 October 1964, the second on 26 November 1964 and the third on 14 January 1965.
In July 1968, the three volumes were released in one single volume by
Pan Books
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
Pan Books began as an independent publisher, est ...
.
Reviews
Alexander Muir, in the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'', considered that the first two volumes of ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'', "would make wonderful Christmas presents for everybody's young ones",
declaring that they were "thrilling cliff-hanger adventures".
Writing in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
John Rowe Townsend
John Rowe Townsend (19 May 1922 – 24 March 2014) was a British children's writer and children's literature scholar. His best-known children's novel is ''The Intruder'', which won a 1971 Edgar Award. His best-known academic work is a reference se ...
was damning of the book, saying of the car "I don't care for her much, or the values she stands for"
and, of the writing, that "we have the adult writer at play rather than the children's writer at work. The style is avuncular, the writing down too evident."
The reviewer for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' noted that "junior Bonds-men ... can cut their teeth on" the novel. Concerning volume one of the book, ''The Sunday Times'' reviewer Oscar Turnill wrote that "Fleming was right in judging the children's market ripe for the ... cliff hanger"
and praised his "avuncular and knowledgeable storytelling",
which was matched by Burningham's illustrations.
Adaptations
''Daily Express'' serialisation (1964)
''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang'' was serialised in the ''Daily Express'' newspaper in five episodes over the course of a week, from Monday 19 October 1964, to Friday 23 October 1964.
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968 film)''
A
film loosely based on the novel was made in 1968, with a screenplay written by
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
and
Ken Hughes
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
, directed by Hughes. It was produced by
Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, who had made five
James Bond films
James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Nive ...
previously. The film starred
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage.
Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...
as Caractacus Potts and
Sally Ann Howes
Sally Ann Howes (20 July 1930 – 19 December 2021) was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film ''Chitty Chitt ...
as
Truly Scrumptious
Truly Scrumptious is a fictional character in the 1968 film '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' and stage production based on the children's novel of the same name by author Ian Fleming.
In the film the character is portrayed by Sally Ann Howes, after ...
, an additional character who was not in Fleming's novel. Two actors from the
Bond franchise were involved in the film:
Desmond Llewelyn
Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (; 12 September 1914GRO Register of Births: DEC 1914 11a 490 NEWPORT M. – Desmond W. Llewelyn, mmn = Wilkinson – 19 December 1999GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 2000 A70E 247 EASTBOURNE – Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn, D ...
and
Gert Fröbe
Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was best known in English-speaking countries for his work as Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Oper ...
, who played the parts of scrap-dealer Coggins and Baron Bomberst, respectively. A
novelisation
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of the film was published by Pan Books in 1968, written by author
John Burke.
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (2002 musical)
On 16 April 2002, ''
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...
'', a stage
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
based on the film, opened at the
London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...
theatre. It was directed by
Adrian Noble
Adrian Keith Noble (born 19 July 1950) is a theatre director, and was also the artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003.
Education and career
Noble was born in Chichester, Sussex, England. After l ...
with musical staging and choreography by
Gillian Lynne
Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne (née Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-runnin ...
, and starred
Michael Ball
Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...
. This version of the show closed in September 2005. It was the longest-running show ever at the London Palladium, taking over £70 million in its three-and-a-half-year run. The show was nominated for two
Laurence Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...
s.
A
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
version opened on 28 April 2005 at the
Lyric Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre) in New York City and closed on 31 December 2005, after 34 previews and 284 regular performances, grossing $27,509,505 during its run. The production was nominated for five 2005
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
s.
Radio adaptation (2011)
A one-hour adaptation of the novel by Sherry Ashworth was broadcast on
BBC Radio 4 Extra
BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...
(formerly BBC Radio 7) on 3 April 2011, starring
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961) is an English actress and writer.
Her first leading part was in '' Privileged'' (1982), followed by ''A Summer Story'' (1988).
Her first play, ''We Happy Few'', was produced in 2004. In 2008 she joined '' ...
as the voice of Chitty and
Alex Jennings
Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning for ...
as Caractacus Potts.
Sequels (2011, 2012 and 2013)
Three sequels to Fleming's work have been written by
Frank Cottrell Boyce
Frank Cottrell-Boyce (born 23 September 1959)"COTTRELL-BOYCE, Frank", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009 ; online edn, Nov 200 Retrieved 2010-05-16. is an English people, English screenwriter, ...
. The first—''
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again''—was published on 7 October 2011. The second, ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time'' was released on 27 September 2012. A third sequel, ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon'' was released on 26 September 2013.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{Ian Fleming
1964 British novels
British novels adapted into films
British novels adapted into plays
British children's novels
British fantasy novels
Novels by Ian Fleming
Novels published posthumously
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Jonathan Cape books
Flying cars in fiction
1964 children's books
Novels adapted into radio programs