Episode 83 - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The 1968 musical based on an Ian Fleming novel, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," tells the story of a criminally negligent single dad who falsely impersonates a carnival worker in order to scam money to buy a jalopy old race car, and then tells a story about how the car is supernaturally alive in some way that presumably is related to the previous owners of the car dying horribly in a fiery crash whilst driving it. The story also weaves in a weird subplot about a pirate who turns out to be a Baron who is obsessed with trying to murder his wife. And an even weirder subplot about an evil molesty child catcher who specializes in literally sniffing out his victims.

Dick Van Dyke plays Caractacus Potts, an absent-minded professor and widower who fritters away his time and money tinkering with inventions that are utter nonsense. He doesn't seem to have the sense to realize that his two children need him to be a responsible adult rather than a buffoon who barely ekes out a pathetic living by doing a song and dance routine whenever he's in a pinch.

Sally Ann Howes plays Truly Scrumptious, the sole heir to Lord Scrumptious's massive candy empire. With the way that she instantly falls in love with Caractacus Potts after he demonstrates himself to be quite the bumbling misogynist, her name should instead be Truly Desperate.

Join us as we take out the 'ol bam-boo and bludgeon this film to death with it.

Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at mailbag@filmsnuff.com.

This episode is sponsored by Indentured Drivitude.