Natalie Wood as Maggie Dubois in 'The Great Race' Designed by Donfeld/ Edith Head

Black satin and net Western saloon girl gown [091A] fitted bodice and shoulder straps, heavily ornamented with black multiple shaped beads, drop beads, plastic drop beads and sequins at shoulder straps, bust area and down center front, attached straight skirt with slight fishtail and train, overlay of fine black net bordered with self-fabric gathered trim and dotted throughout with black sequins; [091B] black silk slip trimmed with black net.

Natalie Wood, the doe-eyed, dark haired, petite actress began her career at the age of four but, probably entered the public’s attention in the 1947 in her first starring role, “Miracle on 34th Street.” She would later become known for such roles in “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Splendor in the Grass,” and “West Side Story.” The petite actress did not want to play the role of the zealous suffragette and reporter in “The Great Race,” partly due to the fact that her life seemed to be falling apart after her divorce from then husband Robert Wagner. As an incentive to play the part, Warner Brothers promised her the role in “Inside Daisy Clover,” a role she very much wanted to play.

The slapstick comedy concerns a car race from New York, racing westward to Paris, taking the participants through various exotic experiences in locations around the world. The film was originally financed through United Artists, but because of escalating costs, it was taken over by Warner Brothers. One of the highpoints of the film was the infamous pie fight which took five days to shoot and involved 4,000 pies being thrown. Even though it is a fun and beautiful film, it was not well-received and there was a feeling that they had failed to achieve the desired slapstick atmosphere.

Costume designer Edith Head created a wide array of colorful costumes for Natalie Wood in the film. This costume is an homage to the western film genre and goes from a saloon brawl to being stranded out in the desert. Because of the delicate nature of the net overlay, multiple copies of the dress was made to assure that filming was not stopped if the dress was damaged during production.