Rating: 
Summary: What a delight!
Review: If you like Dilbert's brand of office politics, then you'll love this one's. I first saw this movie when it was playing in theaters in the 60s, and had to add the video to my collection.
Rating:
Summary: No other word but Fabulous!
Review: If you love "How to succeed...," you'll love this CD of the Motion Picture Soundtrack. Wonderful to hear Michelle Lee's renditions of "I believe in you!" The Original Broadway Cast recording is wondferful, but this is a very faithful recapturing the wonderful spirit and humor of the 1967 film. So if you like the DVD of this movie, this is the best way to listen to the music in your car! The disc also has a video of the movie trailer that can be viewed on a PC or Mac, which is the "enhanced" part of this presentation.
Rating: 
Summary: Incomplete but well-recorded version of the score.
Review: In typical Hollywood fashion the Pulitzer Prize winning musical was brought to the screen with a nearly intact script and much of the original cast but the score was not respected. Five of the original thirteen songs were dropped (COFFEE BREAK was recorded and filmed but cut out of the final print - it is here on this recording). At least all of Robert Morse's numbers are kept. So with only eight numbers it's a "part-time" musical. The sound here is quite excellent and the performances are superb. Michelle Lee (who took over from Bonnie Scott in the original cast on Broadway) is much more appealing and much less of a conniver here than in the original. It's been softened somewhat but the meat of the original production is on screen and the score (what there is of it) is lovingly and respectfully scored and performed. Of the three recordings available of the work, the best by far is the Broadway revival with Matthew Broderick.
Rating: 
Summary: How To ... Write a Great Musical!
Review: Let me begin by saying that this release should, in my opinion, get 5 stars. The reason I have only awarded it 4 stars is due to the poor picture quality. I can live without extras but to have such a 'video-quality' picture on a DVD is unforgivable!
Anyway, gripe over - here we go! This is one of the finest, funniest, most colourful and tuneful musicals ever commited to film! Frank Loesser had already written the best stage musical ever (Guys and Dolls natch) and although this doesn't top it, it gets damn well near.
The plot and in particular the sexual politics may be a little dated (A Secretary is not a Toy is a great number but the sentiment jars somewhat now) but the comments on office politics is just as relevant now as they were forty years ago. It's not how well you do your job, it's who you suck up to. Robert Morse as J. P. Finch is a natural sucker-upper and gives a career defining performance as the ruthless window-washer. Without exception the rest if the cast are absolutly spot-on with special mention going to Rudy Vallee as J. B. Bigley - a role that came late in his career and made a whole new generation aware of him.
Bob Fosse's choreography is as excellent as ever with the afore mentioned A Secretary is Not a Toy rivaling Steam Heat from The Pajama Game as one of his beat and most bizarre. Other musical highlights include the hilarious The Company Way, the catchy It's Been a Long Day and the rousing Brotherhood of Man.
As with the very popular comic-strip Dilbert, anyone who works or has worked in an office will easily recognise a lot of the characters and plot points. This film was the Dilbert of the 1960s. But with a great Broadway score!
Rating:
Summary: Long before there was Dilbert...
Review: Musicals aren't generally my favorite type of movie, but this one is great! Everyone who's worked for a company will see plenty of his fellow workers and perhaps even himself. You gotta see this if you already haven't. P. S. The music is delightful, too.
Rating:
Summary: A great musical saved by letterbox
Review: Oh, wow! This is a marvelous production that I saw as a one-day-only offering in a theater eons ago when I was a college student (in West Texas of all places). I loved it then, and other feedback does a decent job of saying "why."All I can add is this outstanding Broadway musical translated to the big movie screen extremely well, and then it almost disappeared from broadcast/cable TV -- and for reason. To much theatrical action and choreography was lost through cropping for the TV screen, and the magic was lost. (I only saw it listed once for TV before letterbox, and it was a mega disappointment). Even if you've never heard of it before, please consider this late 1960s-era musical comedy if you want to enjoy some solid entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: A Sharp Comic Rap Across The Corporate Knuckles
Review: One of the most often overlooked movie musicals of the 1960s is also one of the most successful: the screen version of the Broadway smash HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, which delivers a sharp comic rap across the corporate knuckles in its tale of a nobody (Robert Morse) who uses a self-help book to rocket up the corporate ladder--and by the time our hero reaches the heights, romantic complications leads him to wonder what price corporate success. Although the business world has changed quite a bit since 1967, SUCCEED is so dead-on with its attack that even modern corporate leaders will be bloodied from the fray. The company is just large enough so that no one knows what is actually going on, leadership cries out for creative solutions then promptly fires any one who shows a talent for it, and promotion doesn't hinge so much upon ability as it does upon [kissing] up, backstabbing, and looking like you know what you're doing. There are jabs at dressing for success, the idea that employees don't engage in sexual hankypanky, hidden nepotism, and the importance of belonging to the "right" clubs. And along the way our hero meets the classic business crowd: the company man, the bombshell secretary, the boss' nephew, and a host of largely incompetent yes-men VPs. The film is very stylized, making no pretense at naturalism per se, and the cast follows suit, playing in a way that blends beautifully with the self-boosting and jingoistic tone that pervades the piece. Robert Morse gives a truly brilliant performance in the lead--and one wonders why Hollywood so seldom used him in later years; Michele Lee, as the secretary who befriends him, is equally fine, and the supporting cast is wonderful all the way around. The musical numbers (which includes such numbers as "The Company Way," "A Secretary Is Not A Toy," "It's Been A Long Day," and "Brotherhood of Man") are remarkably sly and memorably performed. All in all, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING is sure to appeal to any one who has had the misfortune to graple with the idiocies of corporate America--and it will almost certainly outrage every "company man" on your city block. Strongly recommended, but make sure you get the widescreen version; pan-and-scan doesn't cut it on this one!
Rating:
Summary: A Joyous Extravaganza
Review: Robert Morse recreates his Broadway role of J.Pierpont Finch in the screen version of Frank Loesser's musical smash. Michele Lee as Rosemary Pilkington and Maureen Arthur as Hedy La Rue are delightful in their roles as the two women in Finch's life. Bob Fosse works wonders with the highly original and invented choreography,and it is a treat to watch! Featuring the songs 'How To Succeed','I Believe In You',and 'It's Been A Long Day'.
Rating:
Summary: It's Not What You Know, But How Well You Brownnose
Review: The 1967 musical comedy "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" is based upon a 1962 Broadway musical of the same name, as well as the similarly titled novel that was written by Shepherd Mead. The story begins with J. Pierpont Finch (Robert Morse) who works as a skyscraper window washer. He finds and begins to read a self-help book entitled "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying". Following advice from the book and while washing windows outside, he sneaks into of an office of the World Wide Wicket Corporation (WWWC). Quickly stripping out of his orange window-washing coveralls, Finch wears a smart business suit beneath and quickly endears himself to the company's president, J.B. Biggley (Rudy Vallee), one of the secretaries, Rosemary Pilkington (Michelle Lee), as well as a host of yes-men vice presidents. Impressed, J.B. sends Finch to the personnel office to be promptly hired to work in the company's mailroom. There, Finch meets J.B.'s nephew, Bud Frump (Anthony Teague), who also works for WWWC in the mailroom. Continuing to follow advice from the self-help book, Finch finagles and brownnoses his way up the corporate ladder in record speed and develops a love interest with Rosemary, but not everyone is happy with Finch's rise within the company. J.B. also hires a very attractive 'friend', Hedy LaRue (Maureen Arthur), who has little experience working in an office, but has a lot of experience with men. The engaging, original music in the film, which was written by Frank Loesser, includes the songs: * "How To" (sung by Robert Morse).
* "The Company Way" (sung by Robert Morse).
* "A Secretary Is Not A Toy" (sung by company employees).
* "Been A Long Day" (sung by company employees).
* "Rosemary" (sung by Robert Morse).
* "Grand Old Ivy" (sung by Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee).
* "I Believe In You" (sung by Michelle Lee).
* "Brotherhood Of Man" (sung by company employees). Though some of the activities shown in "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" are dated and chauvinistic by today's business standards (and discouraged by the Labor Department and the EEOC), the basic message of the story regarding nepotism, brownnosing, favoritism, scapegoating, affairs between employees, people hired for their appearance, backstabbing and mismanagement within corporations is just as relevant today as it was over 40 years ago. Creative employees are summarily fired for their ideas, others with more corporate clout get those same ideas approved by management. People who went to the right schools or joined the right clubs move up quickly, as well as people who easily agree with superiors and/or dress as well as possible. It's not what you know, but who you know, how well you brownnose, how good of an appearance you make and how well you avoid trouble that makes one successful in the corporate world. Robert Morse is hilarious in the film, as are Rudy Vallee, Maureen Arthur and Michelle Lee. The film was well scripted and the sets are appropriate for a late 1960's office building. It is likely that the film inspired Michael J. Fox's 1987 film, "The Secret of My Succe$s". Overall, I rate the film with 5 out of 5 stars. So sit back, get a bowl of popcorn and see whether you want to do things the company way.
Rating:
Summary: I Loved it but the show is better!
Review: The movie is great! The characters are great and its a great satire on life in the business world. Im doing this for my spring musical and playing Twimble the mailroom executive who sings the Company Way! It's a great song and a great musical!. The only problem with this movie is they cut out some priceless numbers which are found in the show such as "Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm". Also some other parts such as the female lead Rosemary and her best friend Smitty are significantly smaller. The show however for the most part stays true to its meaning and I highly recommend it.
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