A couple of years ago, I finally managed to get IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD on video. I saw it as a kid and remember enjoying it but watching it again for 40 years later, I still found myself LMAO. This is still the granddaddy of all comedy/adventures directed by Stanley Kramer, who up to this point had only directed serious dramas like THE DEFIANT ONES and JUDGMENT AT NUREMBURG. A dying man (Jimmy Durante) who was thrown from a car that careened over a cliff, tells a group of witnesses to the accident (Sid Ceasar, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters) that there is $350,000.00 hidden under a big "W" in a nearby town, which sets off one of the wildest, craziest chase comedies made in the history of cinema. A rather tired and haggard looking Spencer Tracy heads the cast as the cop on the trail of these greedy money-mongers and just about every comedian or comic actor alive in 1963 appears in this film, either in a starring role or cameo and despite this impressive gathering of the best comedic talent in the business, towering over all of them in one of her few film performances, is Broadway legend Ethel Merman, who gives the performance of a lifetime as Berle's shrew of a mother-in-law. Her performance alone makes IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD worth seeing. Check out this classic if you've never seen it.
454 Reviews
Yes, It's Loud But It's An Incredible Comedy Classic
ccthemovieman-127 April 2006
Well, if I named all the famous comedians who were in this film it would a long, long review. Just check the credits - it's unbelievable! Suffice to say, it was an "all-star" cast of everybody you could think of who was a big-name comedian in 1963 including some old-timers like Mickey Rooney, Milton Berle, etc. Add a famous dramatic actor, Spencer Tracy, to the mix,, too, and you have one of the most famous comedies ever put on film.
When I saw this in the theater, and even in the '80s on tape, I liked it immensely, but now it's just a bit loud and too much for me in spots. I'm either getting too old or this film is getting to look dated and corny.....probably both. However, if you want three hours of pure lunacy and escapist fare, you could do a whole lot worse.
Despite all the shouting, this film has some of the all-time most memorable comedy scenes ever put on film. Plus, unlike today's comedies, there is no profanity, no sex, no blood....just silliness and one wild scene after another, with an unbelievable slapstick ending atop a building.
For anyone who collects movies, or enjoys a good laugh, this a "must" for your collection, and I don't say that very often. However, as I get older, all that yelling and screaming has made me downgrade my rating from 10 to 9 to 8 and now 7.
When I saw this in the theater, and even in the '80s on tape, I liked it immensely, but now it's just a bit loud and too much for me in spots. I'm either getting too old or this film is getting to look dated and corny.....probably both. However, if you want three hours of pure lunacy and escapist fare, you could do a whole lot worse.
Despite all the shouting, this film has some of the all-time most memorable comedy scenes ever put on film. Plus, unlike today's comedies, there is no profanity, no sex, no blood....just silliness and one wild scene after another, with an unbelievable slapstick ending atop a building.
For anyone who collects movies, or enjoys a good laugh, this a "must" for your collection, and I don't say that very often. However, as I get older, all that yelling and screaming has made me downgrade my rating from 10 to 9 to 8 and now 7.
Classic epic comedy with too much editing
Ddey6523 May 2002
Having been born in 1965, it's safe to say that the first time I ever saw "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was on network television. Every other user comment already reveals enough about the movie, so I'll just stick with my own experiences regarding the film.
If you must know, yes I do believe this film is a well-deserved comedy classic, but it's also loaded with breathtaking scenery (natural and contemporary) that's often overlooked by most critics. Many a fan wants to know where that mountain road is. Since I'm also a fan of big cars of the post-WW2 era I can easily spot every one. Mickey Rooney's Volkswagen must be worth a fortune if it's still around. And I don't care if this movie is over 3 hours long. As one commenter put it it has been edited to pieces. I envy those who saw the original 1963 version of this movie, but even they didn't see everything. The versions I've seen include the original television edit, the director's cut on 2 VHS tapes which contain some "lost scenes" and people I never even knew were in the movie, the DVD, and even a version on TV where some scenes were shown out of order. The director's cut VHS tapes is the best, partially because of those scenes such as additional police observations, as well as having the sense to keep the original overture, entr'acte, and exit music title cards. Unfortunately, the DVD removes those lost scenes and mixes them with a section of other deleted scenes, like a louder version of Buddy Hackett's "17 ways of figuring it" speech, and some riskier ordeals in Santa Rosita Park.
I've come to the conclusion that there's only one solution to this problem -- unless all footage is found and re-installed into the original version, the screenplay must be released into a book and sold to the public.
If you must know, yes I do believe this film is a well-deserved comedy classic, but it's also loaded with breathtaking scenery (natural and contemporary) that's often overlooked by most critics. Many a fan wants to know where that mountain road is. Since I'm also a fan of big cars of the post-WW2 era I can easily spot every one. Mickey Rooney's Volkswagen must be worth a fortune if it's still around. And I don't care if this movie is over 3 hours long. As one commenter put it it has been edited to pieces. I envy those who saw the original 1963 version of this movie, but even they didn't see everything. The versions I've seen include the original television edit, the director's cut on 2 VHS tapes which contain some "lost scenes" and people I never even knew were in the movie, the DVD, and even a version on TV where some scenes were shown out of order. The director's cut VHS tapes is the best, partially because of those scenes such as additional police observations, as well as having the sense to keep the original overture, entr'acte, and exit music title cards. Unfortunately, the DVD removes those lost scenes and mixes them with a section of other deleted scenes, like a louder version of Buddy Hackett's "17 ways of figuring it" speech, and some riskier ordeals in Santa Rosita Park.
I've come to the conclusion that there's only one solution to this problem -- unless all footage is found and re-installed into the original version, the screenplay must be released into a book and sold to the public.
Just push the button marked BOOZE!
TheCinemassacre30 January 2009
What can I say? It's an epic adventure and comedy rolled into one! It's been my #1 all-time favorite film since childhood, which says a lot. I was surprised to find out how underrated it is. Critics always talk about how it stars so many famous comedians. The novelty overshadows the movie itself. Like I said, I saw this at a very young age, and didn't know who all these actors were. This is the movie that introduced me to them.
It also gets downplayed, being labeled as "slapstick." But that's cutting it short. There's a lot of subtleness in there too. The performances are outstanding. I've never seen a movie that has so many memorable characters all in one.
Each of them go on their own adventure, inter-cutting along the way, as they each have to overcome their own obstacles and meet other characters on their journey. It's like several movies all intertwined together, and most of it happens in real time. The 2 1/2 hour run time feels appropriate and passes like nothing. Every second is entertaining, which is the greatest accomplishment for a motion picture to achieve.
The film resonates with me on a deeper level. All these characters met on the side of the road. They were just ordinary hard working people who had nothing in common, except for one dream. That unreachable fantasy. They all wanted the money so bad. They weren't happy with their lives. They wanted a change, and they would do anything to beat each other. They're overcome by greed which becomes their overlying problem.
Fantastic movie! Full of hilarious moments, and a great story!
It also gets downplayed, being labeled as "slapstick." But that's cutting it short. There's a lot of subtleness in there too. The performances are outstanding. I've never seen a movie that has so many memorable characters all in one.
Each of them go on their own adventure, inter-cutting along the way, as they each have to overcome their own obstacles and meet other characters on their journey. It's like several movies all intertwined together, and most of it happens in real time. The 2 1/2 hour run time feels appropriate and passes like nothing. Every second is entertaining, which is the greatest accomplishment for a motion picture to achieve.
The film resonates with me on a deeper level. All these characters met on the side of the road. They were just ordinary hard working people who had nothing in common, except for one dream. That unreachable fantasy. They all wanted the money so bad. They weren't happy with their lives. They wanted a change, and they would do anything to beat each other. They're overcome by greed which becomes their overlying problem.
Fantastic movie! Full of hilarious moments, and a great story!
Greatest comedy of all time, period.
Chromium_55 March 2005
I never planned to write a review for this movie, until I took a stroll through the user comments, and was shocked at all the people who think it is.... God help us... overrated. No way. If anything, it is UNDERrated. I see people complaining about the endless shouting, the over the top slapstick, the brashness, the loudness, the length. I can only conclude that these people are a bunch of humorless dorks.
First of all, you can't just sit down to watch a three hour movie without knowing what you're in for. This is not your typical comedy--this is an EPIC comedy, the first of its kind, that inspired other such epics as "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" and "The Great Race" (which happens to be my favorite comedy--in fact, I'd like to say it's the better movie, but props go to this one for inventing the genre). And I can't speak for everyone else, but this movie leaves me laughing from start to finish.
Yes, it is very long, but it NEVER has a dull moment. Even if the amazing car stunts aren't particularly funny, you can't tell me they aren't wildly entertaining. I have yet to see an action movie with better car chases than these. And yes, the slapstick is ridiculously over the top, although I can't see how that's a problem (the gas station scene is one of the funniest in movie history, in my opinion). But underneath all the slapstick and shouting, holding the whole movie together, is that incredibly cynical message. It is a movie about kind, decent folks turning into law-breaking lunatics and ruining their lives for the sake of money. The subplot with Spencer Tracey realizing his entire life has been a waste, and then ruining what life he has left, is one of the most tragic story lines I have seen. But it's also pretty darn funny.
All the critics need to lighten up and see this for the absurd, delirious, hysterical farce it is.
10/10 stars.
First of all, you can't just sit down to watch a three hour movie without knowing what you're in for. This is not your typical comedy--this is an EPIC comedy, the first of its kind, that inspired other such epics as "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" and "The Great Race" (which happens to be my favorite comedy--in fact, I'd like to say it's the better movie, but props go to this one for inventing the genre). And I can't speak for everyone else, but this movie leaves me laughing from start to finish.
Yes, it is very long, but it NEVER has a dull moment. Even if the amazing car stunts aren't particularly funny, you can't tell me they aren't wildly entertaining. I have yet to see an action movie with better car chases than these. And yes, the slapstick is ridiculously over the top, although I can't see how that's a problem (the gas station scene is one of the funniest in movie history, in my opinion). But underneath all the slapstick and shouting, holding the whole movie together, is that incredibly cynical message. It is a movie about kind, decent folks turning into law-breaking lunatics and ruining their lives for the sake of money. The subplot with Spencer Tracey realizing his entire life has been a waste, and then ruining what life he has left, is one of the most tragic story lines I have seen. But it's also pretty darn funny.
All the critics need to lighten up and see this for the absurd, delirious, hysterical farce it is.
10/10 stars.
More than the sum of its parts
vox-sane20 March 2001
Often accused of being less than the sum of its parts, "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is one of the most precious gems in filmdom. True, it's far from being the funniest movie ever. Once, when Monty Python was putting a film together, they found that after fifty-odd minutes the audience stopped laughing. Thinking it was the material, they recut it so the latter material came out first. The audience still stopped laughing at fifty-odd minutes, even with what MP assumed the funnier materials backloaded. The fact is, people can only laugh so long.
Even armed with the information that an audience cannot sustain laughter for three hours, "Mad World" is not overwhelmingly funny. Though lots of dialogue is amusing and all the performances are outstanding, but the movie suffers from a common delusion of people outside comedy, as Stanley Kramer was, that the mere vision of cars crashing is somehow funny in itself. One is reminded of the spectacular sequence in "1941" when a ferris wheel breaks loose and rolls off a pier into the ocean. The sequence itself is jaw-dropping and extremely well-done, and not funny for a moment.
The value in "Mad World" is its cast. Most of the big names in comedy in the 1950s and 1960s made it into the cast (Ernie Kovaks, arguably the brightest of the lot, originally cast in the Sid Caesar role, unfortunately died not long before shooting started). The casting of name comics in tiny roles doesn't do them justice: Stan Freberg has nothing to do but watch Andy Devine talk on the telephone; Doodles Weaver is an uncredited "Man Outside Hardware Store"; the Three Stooges merely show up to be recognized; even Jack Benny, in a miniscule role funny merely because he's in it, doesn't have an impact today because too few people remember who he was. Again, some milk their small roles for what they are worth, giving the movie an undercurrent of true humor beyond the principals: Don Knotts, Carl Reiner, Jesse White, Paul Ford, Jim Backus.
"Mad World" is most valuable simply because it is a cross-section of comedy in its day. Although he was talented in many ways, anyone unfamiliar with Phil Silvers will see him in a performance that was the epitome of what he was famous for. Dick Shawn's manic wildness is captured forever in a way that is little seen in his few other films. Terry-Thomas, whose brilliance was too often relegated to obscure British films rarely seen anymore, is a joy to watch and his British tilt provides a variation from Americans who learned their craft in the Catskills and Vaudeville. Jonathan Winters, whom Robin Williams used as a prototype, was the most gifted ad-lib comic of his day and rarely showed up well when he was constrained by a script and a sustained character, but he brings off many of the best laughs in this film, and, with Arnold Stang and Marvin Kaplan the most memorable set piece in the movie. Milton Berle and Micky Rooney both bring lifetimes of stage and screen work to the project, and their input was invaluable.
All the principals (Berle, Caesar, Adams, Rooney, Hackett, Terry-Thomas, Shawn, Silvers, Winters, Anderson, Falk) are good. Even the ones who seem to have been shorted of funny lines, like Edie Adams, and Eddie Anderson, nevertheless come off well. Although they blend well together, there is a subtle fight between them for attention, to steal a scene with a facial expressions (watch Adams' face, for instance, when Caesar drags her away, in front of the "Big W", though you may have to put it on slow-motion) or a bit of business. You can see each of them thinking, at all times. Each gives an intelligent performance, having laboriously hammered out their timing and their business, and they're all thinking, with the clockwork brains the best comedians have. They may not all be funny every minute, but every moment they know what they're doing, crafting better performances than many Oscar-winning serious actors have ever turned in.
Though the movie might be too bloated for the promised three hours' hilarious ride, with too much dependence on, "Hey, there's Edward Everett Horton flicking a switch!" But anyone who loves comedy and its history needs -- deserves -- to see the best in the business of comedy in 1963 interacting with their schtick, especially if they don't mind sitting through -- occasionally mindless -- car chases and crashes.
Even armed with the information that an audience cannot sustain laughter for three hours, "Mad World" is not overwhelmingly funny. Though lots of dialogue is amusing and all the performances are outstanding, but the movie suffers from a common delusion of people outside comedy, as Stanley Kramer was, that the mere vision of cars crashing is somehow funny in itself. One is reminded of the spectacular sequence in "1941" when a ferris wheel breaks loose and rolls off a pier into the ocean. The sequence itself is jaw-dropping and extremely well-done, and not funny for a moment.
The value in "Mad World" is its cast. Most of the big names in comedy in the 1950s and 1960s made it into the cast (Ernie Kovaks, arguably the brightest of the lot, originally cast in the Sid Caesar role, unfortunately died not long before shooting started). The casting of name comics in tiny roles doesn't do them justice: Stan Freberg has nothing to do but watch Andy Devine talk on the telephone; Doodles Weaver is an uncredited "Man Outside Hardware Store"; the Three Stooges merely show up to be recognized; even Jack Benny, in a miniscule role funny merely because he's in it, doesn't have an impact today because too few people remember who he was. Again, some milk their small roles for what they are worth, giving the movie an undercurrent of true humor beyond the principals: Don Knotts, Carl Reiner, Jesse White, Paul Ford, Jim Backus.
"Mad World" is most valuable simply because it is a cross-section of comedy in its day. Although he was talented in many ways, anyone unfamiliar with Phil Silvers will see him in a performance that was the epitome of what he was famous for. Dick Shawn's manic wildness is captured forever in a way that is little seen in his few other films. Terry-Thomas, whose brilliance was too often relegated to obscure British films rarely seen anymore, is a joy to watch and his British tilt provides a variation from Americans who learned their craft in the Catskills and Vaudeville. Jonathan Winters, whom Robin Williams used as a prototype, was the most gifted ad-lib comic of his day and rarely showed up well when he was constrained by a script and a sustained character, but he brings off many of the best laughs in this film, and, with Arnold Stang and Marvin Kaplan the most memorable set piece in the movie. Milton Berle and Micky Rooney both bring lifetimes of stage and screen work to the project, and their input was invaluable.
All the principals (Berle, Caesar, Adams, Rooney, Hackett, Terry-Thomas, Shawn, Silvers, Winters, Anderson, Falk) are good. Even the ones who seem to have been shorted of funny lines, like Edie Adams, and Eddie Anderson, nevertheless come off well. Although they blend well together, there is a subtle fight between them for attention, to steal a scene with a facial expressions (watch Adams' face, for instance, when Caesar drags her away, in front of the "Big W", though you may have to put it on slow-motion) or a bit of business. You can see each of them thinking, at all times. Each gives an intelligent performance, having laboriously hammered out their timing and their business, and they're all thinking, with the clockwork brains the best comedians have. They may not all be funny every minute, but every moment they know what they're doing, crafting better performances than many Oscar-winning serious actors have ever turned in.
Though the movie might be too bloated for the promised three hours' hilarious ride, with too much dependence on, "Hey, there's Edward Everett Horton flicking a switch!" But anyone who loves comedy and its history needs -- deserves -- to see the best in the business of comedy in 1963 interacting with their schtick, especially if they don't mind sitting through -- occasionally mindless -- car chases and crashes.
It's every man (and old bag) for himself.
hitchcockthelegend4 March 2008
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is one of those films that as a child I went to the cinema to watch and then proceeded to talk about it enthusiastically in the playground for weeks afterwards. So I find myself here in my middle age with mixed feelings after just revisiting this extravaganza for the first time in many a year.
It's very much a film of three parts to me, and each part impacts differently on the entertainment scale. The first part of this multi cast piece is as madcap and as mirthful as you could honestly wish to see, but this sadly ill prepares you for a middle part that outstays its welcome to the point that you can't believe they stretched it to an original cut of 3 hours! The final third of the film saves it from smug overkill because by now you have invested so much time into the film, you thank the gods for any sort of frivolity - and thankfully the film does lift you back up to the happy place that you had visited an hour previously.
The cast are fine, where some brilliant shows are mixed in with the merely acceptable ones, and I wouldn't want to be so churlish as to dissect each actors respective show. However, as a Phil Silvers fan I'm rewarded plenty enough and as a Spencer Tracy acolyte I'm burning candles again in his honour. Yet it's Ethel Merman as Mrs. Marcus that lives long and glorious in the memory here, and honestly I feel the film is worth a watch purely just for her. The set pieces are fine and the stunts are truly a feast for the eyes, but ultimately one comes away thinking this film should have been a masterpiece instead of the overkilled and overlong experience that it is. 6.5/10
It's very much a film of three parts to me, and each part impacts differently on the entertainment scale. The first part of this multi cast piece is as madcap and as mirthful as you could honestly wish to see, but this sadly ill prepares you for a middle part that outstays its welcome to the point that you can't believe they stretched it to an original cut of 3 hours! The final third of the film saves it from smug overkill because by now you have invested so much time into the film, you thank the gods for any sort of frivolity - and thankfully the film does lift you back up to the happy place that you had visited an hour previously.
The cast are fine, where some brilliant shows are mixed in with the merely acceptable ones, and I wouldn't want to be so churlish as to dissect each actors respective show. However, as a Phil Silvers fan I'm rewarded plenty enough and as a Spencer Tracy acolyte I'm burning candles again in his honour. Yet it's Ethel Merman as Mrs. Marcus that lives long and glorious in the memory here, and honestly I feel the film is worth a watch purely just for her. The set pieces are fine and the stunts are truly a feast for the eyes, but ultimately one comes away thinking this film should have been a masterpiece instead of the overkilled and overlong experience that it is. 6.5/10
A King With a Hundred Jesters
bkoganbing2 December 2006
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World has to be the funniest film ever made because no one, but Stanley Kramer ever got so many funny people together in one film. With a cast headed by his favorite dramatic player to boot.
Four out of Spencer Tracy's last five films were made for Stanley Kramer. The others, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner dealt with weighty issues like, free speech, genocide, and interracial marriage. What It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World deals with is greed, simple normal human greed. If something looks too good to be true, chances are it is.
Jimmy Durante an old time crook crashes off a highway and down a steep cliff. He's on the way to digging up the loot from a $350,000.00 robbery from years ago. His dying words tell those people went to aid him where in Santa Rosita Park the loot is buried. Off the group of them go, every man and woman for themselves, with some alliances of family and convenience. A few more treasure seekers get picked up along the way.
That barebones plot description doesn't begin to tell you about some of the funny sequences that follow, Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney in a private plane with a drunken pilot Jim Backus passed out, Edie Adams and Sid Caesar trapped in a hardware store desperately trying to get out, Jonathan Winters as the lunkhead truck driver generally running amuck wherever he goes, and Milton Berle the henpecked husband of all time married to the beautiful Dorothy Provine, her braindead brother Dick Shawn and Ethel Merman the mother-in-law from hell. Berle has a package deal and when you watch the film, you'll see what I mean.
Along the way, the treasure hunters pick up Terry-Thomas, Phil Silvers, Peter Falk and Eddie Anderson. And they leave a whole lot of some of the best character actors and comedians who each in their own way contributes a certain specialty they're famous for.
There are two unbilled appearances by Jack Benny and Jerry Lewis each in situations that show off their peculiar style of comedy.
Watching it all is Spencer Tracy as the Captain of Detectives of the Santa Rosita, Police Department both before the camera and between takes. I remember seeing a quotation by Stanley Kramer that with all these comedians on the set, Tracy was like a king with a hundred jesters, each looking to amuse him. Tracy besides keeping track of this freak show has some domestic problems of his own which are told in telephone conversations with the city pension bureau, his wife, and his daughter. Tracy's expressions are priceless.
My favorite in this film has always been Ethel Merman. Mainly because I know someone back in Brooklyn named Gladys who's exactly like Ethel is here right down to the flaming red hair. I haven't lived in Brooklyn for nine years now, but reports I get say she hasn't changed. I can't watch this film and see Merman without thinking of dear Gladys and the schlump that married her.
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World is about greed, yet greed has never been presented with such rip roaring humor as it is in this film. For those who need a good laugh and who in this world doesn't.
Four out of Spencer Tracy's last five films were made for Stanley Kramer. The others, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner dealt with weighty issues like, free speech, genocide, and interracial marriage. What It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World deals with is greed, simple normal human greed. If something looks too good to be true, chances are it is.
Jimmy Durante an old time crook crashes off a highway and down a steep cliff. He's on the way to digging up the loot from a $350,000.00 robbery from years ago. His dying words tell those people went to aid him where in Santa Rosita Park the loot is buried. Off the group of them go, every man and woman for themselves, with some alliances of family and convenience. A few more treasure seekers get picked up along the way.
That barebones plot description doesn't begin to tell you about some of the funny sequences that follow, Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney in a private plane with a drunken pilot Jim Backus passed out, Edie Adams and Sid Caesar trapped in a hardware store desperately trying to get out, Jonathan Winters as the lunkhead truck driver generally running amuck wherever he goes, and Milton Berle the henpecked husband of all time married to the beautiful Dorothy Provine, her braindead brother Dick Shawn and Ethel Merman the mother-in-law from hell. Berle has a package deal and when you watch the film, you'll see what I mean.
Along the way, the treasure hunters pick up Terry-Thomas, Phil Silvers, Peter Falk and Eddie Anderson. And they leave a whole lot of some of the best character actors and comedians who each in their own way contributes a certain specialty they're famous for.
There are two unbilled appearances by Jack Benny and Jerry Lewis each in situations that show off their peculiar style of comedy.
Watching it all is Spencer Tracy as the Captain of Detectives of the Santa Rosita, Police Department both before the camera and between takes. I remember seeing a quotation by Stanley Kramer that with all these comedians on the set, Tracy was like a king with a hundred jesters, each looking to amuse him. Tracy besides keeping track of this freak show has some domestic problems of his own which are told in telephone conversations with the city pension bureau, his wife, and his daughter. Tracy's expressions are priceless.
My favorite in this film has always been Ethel Merman. Mainly because I know someone back in Brooklyn named Gladys who's exactly like Ethel is here right down to the flaming red hair. I haven't lived in Brooklyn for nine years now, but reports I get say she hasn't changed. I can't watch this film and see Merman without thinking of dear Gladys and the schlump that married her.
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World is about greed, yet greed has never been presented with such rip roaring humor as it is in this film. For those who need a good laugh and who in this world doesn't.
Every Man And Merman For Himself
slokes6 June 2009
A hot morning on an isolated stretch of California desert road is interrupted by the crash of a speeding car. Five motorists stop to help (this is in 1963) and the dying driver tells them of a vast sum of riches, $350,000 (again, 1963), buried under "a big W". After he literally kicks the bucket, the motorists' budding partnership to fortune falls apart as greed and suspicion set in.
Stanley Kramer was known as a maker of serious social films about problems like racism and religious persecution. "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" was his foray into comedy, though one dealing with the problem of greed. Money was a problem for the film, too. Made as a "comedy spectacular" over three hours in length, "Mad4" only just earned back its high cost. Kramer later sighed the film "just had too much of everything". Ironically, it stands today as his most popularly remembered film.
I definitely see Kramer's point. "Mad4" is overloaded with everything: stars; stunts; setpieces; hairpieces; slow burns; gurns; twists and turns; one-liners; wisecracks; pratfalls, insult humor; and a walking, talking mother-in-law joke in the form of formidable Ethel Merman. There's little subtlety to the humor, and no heart. Everyone suffers miserably in pursuit of the money, deservedly or not.
Does everyone have their own favorite character, who they root for? It's J. Russell Finch (Milton Berle) for me. He's stuck with both Merman as mother-in-law and crazy Sylvester (Dick Shawn) for a brother-in-law. He does have a couple of things going for him, a jaunty captain's cap and a pleasant British traveling companion Col. Hawthorne (Terry-Thomas), though things sour between them when Hawthorne comments on the "totally emasculated" American male, of which Finch is a prime example.
"They die like flies from coronary thrombosis while their women sit under hair dryers eating chocolates and arranging for every second Tuesday to be some sort of Mother's Day," Hawthorne notes. "And this positively preposterous preoccupation with bosoms..."
The comedy is not always this sharp, however. More often, "Mad4" substitutes comedy with shots of people in crazy, dangerous situations screaming or crying, sometimes both at once. The film succeeds as much as it does from piling on talent: No sooner do the first group of comedians begin overstaying their welcome than they meet up with other, fresher characters, including Shawn, Terry-Thomas, and Phil Silvers as a delightfully snakey lowlife, one of the few characters in the story who genuinely deserves his miserable fate.
"Mad4" may celebrate film comedy, but most of its key actors earned lasting fame either on TV (Berle, Silvers, Sid Caesar) or on stage (Merman, Shawn, Jonathan Winters, Buddy Hackett). The only genuine comedy film legends here are Jerry Lewis and Buster Keaton, who have one line and 20 seconds on screen between them. But its great especially seeing Berle, Merman, Silvers, and Winters shining on screen, given the paucity of film roles in their otherwise sterling careers. Shawn is good, too, though I enjoyed his performance more when I was 15.
Maybe the film's biggest miscalculation, other than going as long as it does, is casting Spencer Tracy as Chief Culpepper, who watches the proceedings with wry, tired bemusement. He doesn't seem to be in the same film as anyone else, even when he's on the scene with the others at the end. I admit I'm not a Tracy fan, but even Katharine Hepburn couldn't have seen much to enjoy here.
Great stunts, though, and some genuine laughs make this fun to watch, even when it does drag. "Mad4" works today as both a comedy time capsule and a still-zany goofball lark for wiling away a lazy Sunday.
Stanley Kramer was known as a maker of serious social films about problems like racism and religious persecution. "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" was his foray into comedy, though one dealing with the problem of greed. Money was a problem for the film, too. Made as a "comedy spectacular" over three hours in length, "Mad4" only just earned back its high cost. Kramer later sighed the film "just had too much of everything". Ironically, it stands today as his most popularly remembered film.
I definitely see Kramer's point. "Mad4" is overloaded with everything: stars; stunts; setpieces; hairpieces; slow burns; gurns; twists and turns; one-liners; wisecracks; pratfalls, insult humor; and a walking, talking mother-in-law joke in the form of formidable Ethel Merman. There's little subtlety to the humor, and no heart. Everyone suffers miserably in pursuit of the money, deservedly or not.
Does everyone have their own favorite character, who they root for? It's J. Russell Finch (Milton Berle) for me. He's stuck with both Merman as mother-in-law and crazy Sylvester (Dick Shawn) for a brother-in-law. He does have a couple of things going for him, a jaunty captain's cap and a pleasant British traveling companion Col. Hawthorne (Terry-Thomas), though things sour between them when Hawthorne comments on the "totally emasculated" American male, of which Finch is a prime example.
"They die like flies from coronary thrombosis while their women sit under hair dryers eating chocolates and arranging for every second Tuesday to be some sort of Mother's Day," Hawthorne notes. "And this positively preposterous preoccupation with bosoms..."
The comedy is not always this sharp, however. More often, "Mad4" substitutes comedy with shots of people in crazy, dangerous situations screaming or crying, sometimes both at once. The film succeeds as much as it does from piling on talent: No sooner do the first group of comedians begin overstaying their welcome than they meet up with other, fresher characters, including Shawn, Terry-Thomas, and Phil Silvers as a delightfully snakey lowlife, one of the few characters in the story who genuinely deserves his miserable fate.
"Mad4" may celebrate film comedy, but most of its key actors earned lasting fame either on TV (Berle, Silvers, Sid Caesar) or on stage (Merman, Shawn, Jonathan Winters, Buddy Hackett). The only genuine comedy film legends here are Jerry Lewis and Buster Keaton, who have one line and 20 seconds on screen between them. But its great especially seeing Berle, Merman, Silvers, and Winters shining on screen, given the paucity of film roles in their otherwise sterling careers. Shawn is good, too, though I enjoyed his performance more when I was 15.
Maybe the film's biggest miscalculation, other than going as long as it does, is casting Spencer Tracy as Chief Culpepper, who watches the proceedings with wry, tired bemusement. He doesn't seem to be in the same film as anyone else, even when he's on the scene with the others at the end. I admit I'm not a Tracy fan, but even Katharine Hepburn couldn't have seen much to enjoy here.
Great stunts, though, and some genuine laughs make this fun to watch, even when it does drag. "Mad4" works today as both a comedy time capsule and a still-zany goofball lark for wiling away a lazy Sunday.
A classic you'll never get tired of watching
magnummike3224 January 2006
My parents took us when we were little kids and we saw It's a Mad Mad Mad World in 1964. I don't remember much about it because I was only 6 years old back then, but I do remember the audience in the movie theater laughing continuously.
I bought the DVD, which was remastered in DTS Surround Sound, a couple of months ago and it's definitely a good comedy classic to have. My parents came over and they watched it on my High Definition 52" DLP TV, with Surround Sound and they loved it. There's never a dull moment in it because it's good clean comedy that doesn't have to rely on vulgar language, nudity or violence to win the approval of crowds. They definitely don't make movies like that anymore, that's why I gave it a rating of 10.
Although most of the actors in it have passed on, I still love the comedy and acting styles of Milton Berle, Spencer Tracy, Ethel Merman, Buddy Hackett, Terry Thomas and others, plus there are cameo appearances in there with Jerry Lewis, Jack Benny and The Three Stooges.
I bought the DVD, which was remastered in DTS Surround Sound, a couple of months ago and it's definitely a good comedy classic to have. My parents came over and they watched it on my High Definition 52" DLP TV, with Surround Sound and they loved it. There's never a dull moment in it because it's good clean comedy that doesn't have to rely on vulgar language, nudity or violence to win the approval of crowds. They definitely don't make movies like that anymore, that's why I gave it a rating of 10.
Although most of the actors in it have passed on, I still love the comedy and acting styles of Milton Berle, Spencer Tracy, Ethel Merman, Buddy Hackett, Terry Thomas and others, plus there are cameo appearances in there with Jerry Lewis, Jack Benny and The Three Stooges.
"So come on. Let's have one big adventure!"
classicsoncall14 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
You probably have to be over, say, about forty years of age to appreciate this film if you're watching it today. The story is kind of unexceptional and some of the slapstick is way overdone and cheesy. The merit for Baby Boomers like myself, is seeing so many of the era's comedy greats in one place at one time. The cast is a stellar Who's Who of comedians and comic actors and getting them all together to make the film must have been some kind of whirlwind process. Heading the cast is the venerable Spencer Tracy, who portrays just about the only character who doesn't compete for comedy honors, playing it straight throughout except when it comes time to wrap things up. And they do get wrapped up in a rather serious fashion, but you'll have to see the film to check that out.
Things get under way with Jimmy Durante sailing off a cliff in a speeding automobile, but before he quite literally kicks the bucket, mentions to a coterie of bystanders that he's got a stash of three hundred fifty thousand dollars buried under the 'Big W' somewhere in the Santa Rosita countryside. From there on it's a mad scramble of folks trying to outdo each other to get to and claim the big prize. There's a core group of treasure hunters that includes Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett and Jonathan Winters, but besides them, the fun is in catching all the other players who come and go during the nearly three hour chase. Phil Silvers shows up pretty much doing his Sergeant Bilko schtick, while Jack Benny makes a quick appearance to relay his single word signature line. Some of the cameos are a complete blur, like Leo Gorcey as the first cab driver, and Buster Keaton as the garage attendant near the end of the story when Spencer Tracy's trying to make a quick getaway.
With the all star lineup, and I can't imagine what the payroll would have been for this flick, the film makers did take some noticeable shortcuts, like the flimsy garage operated by Ray (Arnold Stang) and Irwin (Marvin Kaplan). For example, there are no bathrooms behind the 'Men' and 'Women' doors inside the establishment, so when the walls come down in that bizarre melee with Lennie Pike (Winters), all you've got is the surrounding countryside. There's also all that money that's neatly bundled when the core group digs it up, which goes fluttering away as a flurry of bills when it's lost in a 'Sierra Madre' moment near the finale.
None of it matters though if you grew up in the Fifties and Sixties and got to see these greats in their own shows and stand up routines. Jack Benny and sidekick Eddie' Rochester' Anderson were favorites of mine, and I always got a kick out of Andy Devine and William Demarest. They're all here and a whole host of others you'll be trying to pick out amidst all the mayhem going on. And if you're intimidated by the length of the movie going in, watch it in a couple of installments like I did, and it won't seem nearly as long.
Things get under way with Jimmy Durante sailing off a cliff in a speeding automobile, but before he quite literally kicks the bucket, mentions to a coterie of bystanders that he's got a stash of three hundred fifty thousand dollars buried under the 'Big W' somewhere in the Santa Rosita countryside. From there on it's a mad scramble of folks trying to outdo each other to get to and claim the big prize. There's a core group of treasure hunters that includes Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett and Jonathan Winters, but besides them, the fun is in catching all the other players who come and go during the nearly three hour chase. Phil Silvers shows up pretty much doing his Sergeant Bilko schtick, while Jack Benny makes a quick appearance to relay his single word signature line. Some of the cameos are a complete blur, like Leo Gorcey as the first cab driver, and Buster Keaton as the garage attendant near the end of the story when Spencer Tracy's trying to make a quick getaway.
With the all star lineup, and I can't imagine what the payroll would have been for this flick, the film makers did take some noticeable shortcuts, like the flimsy garage operated by Ray (Arnold Stang) and Irwin (Marvin Kaplan). For example, there are no bathrooms behind the 'Men' and 'Women' doors inside the establishment, so when the walls come down in that bizarre melee with Lennie Pike (Winters), all you've got is the surrounding countryside. There's also all that money that's neatly bundled when the core group digs it up, which goes fluttering away as a flurry of bills when it's lost in a 'Sierra Madre' moment near the finale.
None of it matters though if you grew up in the Fifties and Sixties and got to see these greats in their own shows and stand up routines. Jack Benny and sidekick Eddie' Rochester' Anderson were favorites of mine, and I always got a kick out of Andy Devine and William Demarest. They're all here and a whole host of others you'll be trying to pick out amidst all the mayhem going on. And if you're intimidated by the length of the movie going in, watch it in a couple of installments like I did, and it won't seem nearly as long.
Personifies everything I hate in movies yet oh how I laughed.
triple831 December 2004
Well-so far I haven't read one good review of this movie on here. I don't have a lot to add except growing up, this was one of my favorite comedies. This is totally slapstick, lots of chases and things breaking-silly and almost plot less-but oh how I laughed. I'm not quite sure WHY I did but I have never been able to view this movie without breaking out into Gales of laughter. Since I'm writing a review, I'd like to try to give a specific reason Why this off the wall, completely silly movie appealed to me so much but I can't because there is no reason. This movie is ridiculous in it's way, but it knows it, and doesn't Take itself at all seriously. It's like Seinfeld-a movie about nothing.(Except Chases, things falling, breaking etc). That's it. But It's funny. It's mindless and it's entertaining and I loved it! Since, I haven't seen it in quite awhile, maybe I wouldn't love it now and I can see how it wouldn't be for everybody but all I know is this is one of the few comedies that rendered me absolutely hysterical through most of it and I'm not the only person who had that reaction. This is coming from someone who isn't particularly fond of slapstick. There's not much else to say about it-it's certainly a mad, mad movie and one that gave me numerous laughs many a time.
Screwball epic
byght29 September 2004
It's hard to call to mind a comedy as massive in scope as "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," because there aren't any. Even "Dr. Strangelove," where the fate of the world hangs in the balance and several plot lines unfold, seems restrained compared to this sprawling but light-hearted showbiz extravaganza.
Starring everyone, featuring everything, unfolding more or less in real time, and clocking in at an absurdly overlong 161 minutes in the restored version (still short of the incomprehensible 188-minute original cut), "IAMMMMW" is Hollywood at its most...well...Hollywood. It makes "Cannonball Run" look like "Annie Hall."
But Hollywood excess from 1963 tastes a lot sweeter and more wholesome than Hollywood excess from today, and it's hard to imagine anyone not enjoying the razor-sharp comic performances (especially from Ethel Merman), the spectacular chase/race sequences, the ditzy slapstick, and the general sense of goofiness.
It's so entertaining I'd probably vote it an 8 if it were, say, two or two-and-a-quarter hours. But the sheer length causes it to drag heavily for a while after the intermission (YES! INTERMISSION! IN A COMEDY!) before it picks up for the climax, bringing it down to a strong 7 (7.5, maybe?). Whatever you want to grade it, it's an absolute must-see.
Starring everyone, featuring everything, unfolding more or less in real time, and clocking in at an absurdly overlong 161 minutes in the restored version (still short of the incomprehensible 188-minute original cut), "IAMMMMW" is Hollywood at its most...well...Hollywood. It makes "Cannonball Run" look like "Annie Hall."
But Hollywood excess from 1963 tastes a lot sweeter and more wholesome than Hollywood excess from today, and it's hard to imagine anyone not enjoying the razor-sharp comic performances (especially from Ethel Merman), the spectacular chase/race sequences, the ditzy slapstick, and the general sense of goofiness.
It's so entertaining I'd probably vote it an 8 if it were, say, two or two-and-a-quarter hours. But the sheer length causes it to drag heavily for a while after the intermission (YES! INTERMISSION! IN A COMEDY!) before it picks up for the climax, bringing it down to a strong 7 (7.5, maybe?). Whatever you want to grade it, it's an absolute must-see.
Dated, overrated and full of dead space
Whythorne30 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
The overblown title of this film gives a clue as to what appears to be the creative and pretentious intention of its makers, and that was no doubt to make the most ambitious, epic "comedy" with the biggest comedic cast ever.
Unfortunately, somewhere in all that effort, they forgot to include a script that would actually elicit laughter.
"Mad etc. World" attempted to utilize a "bigger is better" approach with the misguided notion that that approach alone would guarantee hilarity. Unfortunately it does not. Much is made over the cast, which was well padded with cameo roles. Apparently, just the appearance of a Don Knotts, or the Three Stooges, or a Jerry Lewis, et al was supposed to be cause for laughter, so no attempt at actually giving the cameo comedians funny lines or utilizing them in a clever way was a consideration.
Not only are the attempts at humor lame and unfunny, but a heck of a lot of time in this 3 hour movie is nothing but dead space, with a lot of film footage spent on the cast getting into and out of automobiles, transitioning from point A to point B, and chases that are neither cleverly choreographed nor funny. It makes me shudder to think that the director had to reluctantly cut this mess down from an original running time of FIVE hours!
Anyway, no sense in beating this dead horse, it's not even worth the commentary. Suffice to say, the final scene perfectly captures the essence of this film. Ethel Merman slips on a banana peel, and the rest of the cast immediately launches into forced and extremely fake laughter, as if trying to ram down the viewer's throat what he or she is supposed to find hilarious. If that brand of humor, completely devoid of anything subtle, clever or creative is what makes you laugh, then by all means don't miss this one.
Unfortunately, somewhere in all that effort, they forgot to include a script that would actually elicit laughter.
"Mad etc. World" attempted to utilize a "bigger is better" approach with the misguided notion that that approach alone would guarantee hilarity. Unfortunately it does not. Much is made over the cast, which was well padded with cameo roles. Apparently, just the appearance of a Don Knotts, or the Three Stooges, or a Jerry Lewis, et al was supposed to be cause for laughter, so no attempt at actually giving the cameo comedians funny lines or utilizing them in a clever way was a consideration.
Not only are the attempts at humor lame and unfunny, but a heck of a lot of time in this 3 hour movie is nothing but dead space, with a lot of film footage spent on the cast getting into and out of automobiles, transitioning from point A to point B, and chases that are neither cleverly choreographed nor funny. It makes me shudder to think that the director had to reluctantly cut this mess down from an original running time of FIVE hours!
Anyway, no sense in beating this dead horse, it's not even worth the commentary. Suffice to say, the final scene perfectly captures the essence of this film. Ethel Merman slips on a banana peel, and the rest of the cast immediately launches into forced and extremely fake laughter, as if trying to ram down the viewer's throat what he or she is supposed to find hilarious. If that brand of humor, completely devoid of anything subtle, clever or creative is what makes you laugh, then by all means don't miss this one.
An Epic Comedy
Eric-62-24 September 1999
This was the first time a comedy got the "epic" film treatment and after getting increasingly pretentious in his previous two dramas, Stanley Kramer just went all out for simple old-fashioned fun with the largest ensemble of comic talent he could get his hands on. How big? Consider that this is a film in which both Jack Benny and Rochester appear, but not together (also true of Phil Silvers and his "Sergeant Bilko" nemesis Paul Ford). Just about every big name in TV comedy of the 50s and 60s is here and the results, while not the greatest of its kind ("The Great Race" is a funnier film in my opinion) still manages to deliver the laughs.
It's too bad the remaining ten minutes (plus the police bulletins intermission) of the road show version still is missing, because the expanded version helped me appreciate the film a lot more than I did the first time out when I saw it on TV as a faded pan and scan atrocity. This is one film that makes great use of the widescreen.
It's too bad the remaining ten minutes (plus the police bulletins intermission) of the road show version still is missing, because the expanded version helped me appreciate the film a lot more than I did the first time out when I saw it on TV as a faded pan and scan atrocity. This is one film that makes great use of the widescreen.
This really isn't a review.....
saintmike80122 July 2020
...since I first saw this movie in 1963 when it opened in my hometown of Salt Lake City, UT. I was 14 years old and went with a church group. The theater where it played did fund raisers for local churches and I remember my mom giving me money to go, which seems like about $1.00. The theater had a big curved; I think was called Cinerama but not sure now.
Anyway, I was so taken with IAMMMMW and it had been playing a while and I saw that it was playing at a different theater; smaller and farther away but it didn't matter. I saw it there at least twice.
I think the next time I saw it was after I was married in 1973 and VHS tapes hit the market. I had a copy of it on VHS and then moved on to DVD when that came about.
I know that in a box someone in my garage, I have about 40 DVD's of movie I love. Whether I'll dig out IAMMMMW since it's available online in several places.
Anyway, I've read about it and talked to others about it and it just dawned on me that for a long time Carl Reiner was the last living cast member. And now, as of 6/29/2020 there are none of the major stars around.
I love IAMMMMW. I know there's some slow parts and things that don't make sense. Doesn't matter to me....
Anyway, I was so taken with IAMMMMW and it had been playing a while and I saw that it was playing at a different theater; smaller and farther away but it didn't matter. I saw it there at least twice.
I think the next time I saw it was after I was married in 1973 and VHS tapes hit the market. I had a copy of it on VHS and then moved on to DVD when that came about.
I know that in a box someone in my garage, I have about 40 DVD's of movie I love. Whether I'll dig out IAMMMMW since it's available online in several places.
Anyway, I've read about it and talked to others about it and it just dawned on me that for a long time Carl Reiner was the last living cast member. And now, as of 6/29/2020 there are none of the major stars around.
I love IAMMMMW. I know there's some slow parts and things that don't make sense. Doesn't matter to me....
The greatest comedy ever made; period.
dbogosian-125 April 2007
If ever a movie (and in particular, a comedy) deserved a 10-star rating, this is it. From first to last, this movie is terrific. I have seen it so many times (and so has my family) that we have dozens of standing jokes/gags in our collective repertoire derived from it. Two things make it great: (1) the script, which is just crackling with fabulously hilarious lines for all the actors; and (2) the cast which, without doubt, is the greatest comic cast ever assembled in the history of the civilized world.
It's so hard to single out individual performances when they were all so good, but...
This film is the gold standard by which every comedy is judged; very few even come close, and there isn't one that has surpassed it. Nor is there likely ever to be one, given how comic creativity is generally in the skids.
It's so hard to single out individual performances when they were all so good, but...
- Spencer Tracy: his portrayal of the henpecked, tired, ready-to-retire civil servant is phenomenally realistic.
- Ethel Merman: can you even begin to imagine someone else in that role?
- Jonathan Winters: the big sweet guy you can't help but like.
This film is the gold standard by which every comedy is judged; very few even come close, and there isn't one that has surpassed it. Nor is there likely ever to be one, given how comic creativity is generally in the skids.
Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad film - that's for sure.
gfast19 May 2006
A fully restored brand new 70mm print in it's original format of "Super Panavision" (the image on the 70mm frame was squeezed which resulted in a much wider picture than regular "CinemaScope/Panavision") - was recently produced, and for which to present it, theaters had to hire special lenses from Panavision - and re-configure their screens, BUT the pleasure of witnessing this comedy gem in its original theatrical format far outweighed the logistical hassles of its presentation. From the deliriously choreographed opening titles and memorable music, you knew you were in for a treat. Although some of the plot line and dialog are now dated, the performances were spot on the mark. In particular Ethel Merman's demented mother-in-law character will leave you in stitches. For those lucky enough to have seen this in a 70mm Super Panavision theatrical screening - you have witnessed a vanished part of Hollywood history.
It's a Funny, Funny, Funny, Funny Movie
matlefebvre2029 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" could be described as the "quintessential comedy". It features elements from almost every kind of comedy that has been made before. An unrelenting farce, "Mad World" never gives you a moment to rid yourself of the smiling face that you'll have during the two and a half hours it lasts.
The story is supposedly very simple and it begins quite quick. An old prisoner who escaped from jail has a serious accident and before passing away, he reveals to the five witnesses around him that he buried a treasure in Santa Rosita Park "under the big W".
The five men agree to search for the treasure altogether, but because one of the guys is accompanied by his wife, another one by his spouse and his annoying mother-in-law, two of them are together and the last one is alone, dividing the treasure into equal parts becomes too much difficult (ah, women...), so it becomes "every man for himself".
From that moment, the movie turns into a monumental collection of goofy moments, involving more and more characters, each one earning his merit. They're all played by legendary comedic actors, ranging from Spencer Tracy to Jonathan Winters, and including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney. Other legends are also only cameos, such as Buster Keaton and the Three Stooges.
The comic elements of "Mad World" are so much diverse that we could think that every joke or funny moment that has been put on screen is presented here.
The movie is profoundly silly but is also surprisingly intelligent. I say intelligent because each gag is carefully plotted and it never seems out of context and never looks like an excuse.
The result, for each scene, is the following one: everything that could possibly go wrong DOES go wrong. And each plot element that could make the treasure chase easier for one of the contestants hides a trap that cancels the character's excitement and ignites ours.
To prove it, just consider this part: Melville (Sid Caesar) and his wife Monica (Edie Adams) are in Santa Rosita well before the others. All they have to do is go to the hardware to get a shovel and a pick. They're told that the owner is downstairs in the basement so they go there. However, the owner was upstairs and he unconsciously locks the basement, confining Melville and Monica into the basement.
There are so many comedic moments like this one that we could almost forget that it is a treasure hunt. It's because of the quality of the Roses' (William and Tania) screenplay and of Stanley Kramer's solid direction, which is surprising when you consider that Kramer is a drama expert.
The makers of the movie are so talented that they're able to turn a very simple plot into a comic extravaganza that lasts for about 155 minutes and we never notice time's running. And even when they all arrive into the Santa Rosita park, there's about one hour remaining, but surprises occur at every corner and the comic lot goes over again.
The different jokes portrayed on screen vary from the unintentional firing of several firework boxes to the very last one (and most classic one): the legendary banana peel on which we stumble. Some of the most unforgettable moments are the tower controller falling and hanging from the tower, Melville and Monica "jailed" inside the hardware basement and their numerous escape attempts, Dingy and Benjy trying to fly a plane and the list goes on and on and on...
However, the best moments are certainly the climatic triple-car chase and the slapstick finale in a condemned building and on a firetruck's ladder...
So, so, so... You want to laugh a lot and you don't know what to rent, buy or watch? Look no further. This hilarious near-celebration of comedy itself is unrelentingly funny from the beginning to the end. Because of the laughs it provides, it makes you understand how the world is mad, mad, mad, mad...
The story is supposedly very simple and it begins quite quick. An old prisoner who escaped from jail has a serious accident and before passing away, he reveals to the five witnesses around him that he buried a treasure in Santa Rosita Park "under the big W".
The five men agree to search for the treasure altogether, but because one of the guys is accompanied by his wife, another one by his spouse and his annoying mother-in-law, two of them are together and the last one is alone, dividing the treasure into equal parts becomes too much difficult (ah, women...), so it becomes "every man for himself".
From that moment, the movie turns into a monumental collection of goofy moments, involving more and more characters, each one earning his merit. They're all played by legendary comedic actors, ranging from Spencer Tracy to Jonathan Winters, and including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney. Other legends are also only cameos, such as Buster Keaton and the Three Stooges.
The comic elements of "Mad World" are so much diverse that we could think that every joke or funny moment that has been put on screen is presented here.
The movie is profoundly silly but is also surprisingly intelligent. I say intelligent because each gag is carefully plotted and it never seems out of context and never looks like an excuse.
The result, for each scene, is the following one: everything that could possibly go wrong DOES go wrong. And each plot element that could make the treasure chase easier for one of the contestants hides a trap that cancels the character's excitement and ignites ours.
To prove it, just consider this part: Melville (Sid Caesar) and his wife Monica (Edie Adams) are in Santa Rosita well before the others. All they have to do is go to the hardware to get a shovel and a pick. They're told that the owner is downstairs in the basement so they go there. However, the owner was upstairs and he unconsciously locks the basement, confining Melville and Monica into the basement.
There are so many comedic moments like this one that we could almost forget that it is a treasure hunt. It's because of the quality of the Roses' (William and Tania) screenplay and of Stanley Kramer's solid direction, which is surprising when you consider that Kramer is a drama expert.
The makers of the movie are so talented that they're able to turn a very simple plot into a comic extravaganza that lasts for about 155 minutes and we never notice time's running. And even when they all arrive into the Santa Rosita park, there's about one hour remaining, but surprises occur at every corner and the comic lot goes over again.
The different jokes portrayed on screen vary from the unintentional firing of several firework boxes to the very last one (and most classic one): the legendary banana peel on which we stumble. Some of the most unforgettable moments are the tower controller falling and hanging from the tower, Melville and Monica "jailed" inside the hardware basement and their numerous escape attempts, Dingy and Benjy trying to fly a plane and the list goes on and on and on...
However, the best moments are certainly the climatic triple-car chase and the slapstick finale in a condemned building and on a firetruck's ladder...
So, so, so... You want to laugh a lot and you don't know what to rent, buy or watch? Look no further. This hilarious near-celebration of comedy itself is unrelentingly funny from the beginning to the end. Because of the laughs it provides, it makes you understand how the world is mad, mad, mad, mad...
The Crazy Things People Do for Money
entertainmentish28 January 2019
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world , saying it four times is a mouthful . I thought the first scene was really funny, did get my attention and made me interested in finishing it till the end. A man before his death tells a group of people there is buried treasure in Santa rosita and they all race for it. There was a really loud woman which I didn't like ( the mother in law ) the man with the phony english accent that makes you laugh and so many different characters that bring a little something for your entertainment, so many cameos if big actors . The movie was a little too long for me as a comedy, two hours and a half but a classic is always fun to watch and the comedy is simple and entertaining . Bottom line is , those people did the extreme to reach for the treasure. Makes you think what money really does to people.
Ignore the conventional wisdom; see this movie!
portobellobelle6 June 2001
The critical conventional wisdom on this movie is that it's too forced, too overblown, etc. This usually comes from the same people who tell us that There's Something About Mary is brilliant. No offense to that funny movie, but this is something on a higher plain. Stanley Kramer, director of many heavy films, brings an intensity to this film rarely seen in comedy. He evokes career performances from a number of performances: Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Phil Silvers--people I usually can't stand! And the really funny folks are beyond funny in this film: Jonathan Winters, Milton Berle, and above all, Sid Caesar. See Sid in this film!
A Fun Classic
socrates42 April 2020
This seems to be the film that RAT RACE was inspired by, so if you're a fan of that film you may enjoy this one. It's more of a classic comedy feel than the later film, but it is without a doubt a better movie.
The acting and story are fun and good. It's a tad on the longer side, so that may turn some viewers off from it. But if you don't have anything better to do and you don't mind longer films, it's a great time. Recommend for fans of longer movies.
The acting and story are fun and good. It's a tad on the longer side, so that may turn some viewers off from it. But if you don't have anything better to do and you don't mind longer films, it's a great time. Recommend for fans of longer movies.
While very, very long, it still manages to be one of the funniest and most quotable comedies ever
TheLittleSongbird2 December 2009
I saw this movie for the first time when I was like 11 and I remember crying with laughter. This is also one of the few movies where I remember my mum rolling about on the floor with laughter. Watching it again, as I noticed its flaws, it doesn't quite wow me as much. It is very very long, and I did feel as though the film could have been trimmed a bit as there are some scenes when little happens. The flaws aside it is still one of the funniest and most quotable comedies I have ever seen. The scenery is breathtaking, and the stunts are constantly constructed at a breakneck pace and directed with unusual care and precision. The music is good too, but I have to say the quality of the script is simply genius. There are many lines that are comedy gold and ever quotable, such as "Dingy don't let this worry you-*we're gonna get killed*!" though my favourite is "What do you mean who's flying the plane? No one's flying the plane!" There are many priceless scenes, the aeroplane flying scene especially was hilarious. The performances from the entire cast are outstanding, including Spencer Tracy in his penultimate film and while he is visibly ailing he still shows he is going strong. Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dorothy Provine and Jonathan Winters also give brilliant performances, but it is Buddy Hacket and Terry-Thomas who steal the film and with panache I must say. All in all, a long but fun and worthwhile comedy. 8/10 Bethany Cox
It's like the all-star game
ClawedLeMew30 October 2005
The plot device and the actual quality of the script is nearly irrelevant.
It's like going to an all-star game. You don't go because it's going to be a great game. You go because you want to see all of your favorite players in one place at one time.
Or one of those rock concerts with 20 different acts playing a couple of songs each. They may have their moments but by necessity their greatness is strictly in the number of big name acts to perform.
This film is now over 40 years old. If you aren't familiar with and are not big fans of the cast of this film, you aren't going to enjoy this film very much. Probably if you are under 45 years old, you won't know many of the actors all that well, unless you've spent many years watching Nick at Nite reruns.
I saw this for the first time in a theater in 1970 and enjoyed it very much then. But some of these actors were even before my time.
It's like going to an all-star game. You don't go because it's going to be a great game. You go because you want to see all of your favorite players in one place at one time.
Or one of those rock concerts with 20 different acts playing a couple of songs each. They may have their moments but by necessity their greatness is strictly in the number of big name acts to perform.
This film is now over 40 years old. If you aren't familiar with and are not big fans of the cast of this film, you aren't going to enjoy this film very much. Probably if you are under 45 years old, you won't know many of the actors all that well, unless you've spent many years watching Nick at Nite reruns.
I saw this for the first time in a theater in 1970 and enjoyed it very much then. But some of these actors were even before my time.
This was funny when I was a child
mdonohue-18 August 2010
I remembered watching this film on television as a child and I remember it being very funny to me at the time.
Today, I sat down to watch it again, nearly 40 years later, and I regret it.
It's amazing how our tastes change over the years.
With a star studded cast of well established comedians, you'd think this movie would have an easy time at being funny. Instead it struggles along *trying* to be funny instead of actually being funny.
This movie is a non stop conglomeration of bad slapstick humor, car chases, and people yelling at the top of their lungs over a paper thin plot. It's painful to watch as an adult.
If you're 8 years old, give it a try. Otherwise give this one a miss.
Today, I sat down to watch it again, nearly 40 years later, and I regret it.
It's amazing how our tastes change over the years.
With a star studded cast of well established comedians, you'd think this movie would have an easy time at being funny. Instead it struggles along *trying* to be funny instead of actually being funny.
This movie is a non stop conglomeration of bad slapstick humor, car chases, and people yelling at the top of their lungs over a paper thin plot. It's painful to watch as an adult.
If you're 8 years old, give it a try. Otherwise give this one a miss.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
