It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Rating:
Summary: That Guy Is Dead
Review: An absolute riot.

Sid Ceaser just kills me in this movie--"We fell in yellow"--and the casting against type of Milton Berle, here a mealy-mouthed hen-pecked husband, is pure genius.

One bit of advice: this film was made, like few other films were made, for a realllllllllly big screen. Get the widescreen version and watch it on the biggest TV you can find.

Rating:
Summary: This is quality humor
Review: Just because this movie was made in 1963 doesn't mean it isn't still funny. What makes it timeless is the plot. A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Or basically the tale of a map and some hidden treasure. And a whole group of people who have greed written all over their faces and the balls to do anything necessary to get the prize even if it means flying stolen crop dusters.

Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Jimmy Durante, Spencer Tracy, Jerry Lewis Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman are just a few of the actors in this gem. These for those who do not remember or who were born after the "golden era" in television should know, were the giants in movies and television and comic geniuses.

In a day and age when we now hear such vulgur and in your face "humor", being able to see these gems in action and using REAL humor over blunt "humor" was/is so refreshing and a welcome change. This is a movie that my kids and grandchildren love and in my opinion is timeless. That alone makes it unique.

Rating:
Summary: "RUSSELL WAIT!! I GOTTA ASK YOU SOMETHING ABOUT MOMMA!!!"
Review: Whether you are a first time novice viewer, or can instantly recognize the above line and are a hard-core line-by-line reciting lunatic, this movie is an absolute hoot from beginning to end. I won't bore you with meager descriptions of some of the antics. What I wanted to say is that all that unbelievable comedy by so many people was done without a single curse. I know it sounds puritan and old-fashioned, but regardless - it is amazing. Some have said this movie couldn't be made again because of budget. (Too many stars wanting too much money.) That might be true, however I believe it truly could never be made again because we don't have that abundance of talent around any more. --- See you at the "Big W".

Rating:
Summary: Comedy at its Best!
Review: I first saw this movie when it was released at the Cinerama theater in Hollywood. I was ten, and I loved it. It was my favorite picture at the time. My expectations seeing it decades later were not high, thinking that it might be silly and boring. WRONG! It was even funnier seeing it as an adult. Non-stop laughs.

One of my favorite scenes is when Phil Silvers gets outwitted by a little indian boy.

For those of you familiar with California, or perhaps having been born or raised there, many will recognize some of the locales such as Santa Monica and PCH, Malibu, and Long Beach (The Pike, Villa Riviera), etc.; albeit four decades ago.

By today's standards this is a relatively simple movie (minimal sex, profanity, special effects, etc.) yet it goes to show that good movie making is an art and doesn't require all the titilations found in current movies or huge budgets to be enjoyable.

If a DVD version were available, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Rating:
Summary: GOTTA LOVE IT
Review: I actually think it's illeagal in some states not to love this movie. Phil Silvers and Johnathan Winters are at thier best. Just sit back, hit play, and laugh your way through a couple of hours. It's only drawback is that it's not yet available on dvd.

Rating:
Summary: 60s Hype, and That's All
Review: Noisy, witless, overblown, tedious, overlong, a waste of actual talent, and above all, VIOLENT. Not a film for kids, it's dated and thank goodness for that. Leonard Maltin is right...big doesn't add up to great. I saw this movie when it was first released and didn't smile once. Just vulgar, noisy claptrap. Ugh.

Rating:
Summary: There is no zero.
Review: Guffaw! as Stanley Kramer spends a fortune, and generations of America's most beloved comedians, in creating a tortuous anti-comedy! Chortle! as the inversely talented Kramer mimics one of the world's greatest directors, Luis Bunuel! Chuckle! at a three-and-a-half hour long mother-in-law joke! Laugh! at the great liberal's race-mongering and cheerful misogyny, where shrewish women get their comeuppance! Hoot! as noise and violence become synonyms for character! Be confused! as the film's biggest waste - a brief cameo from Buster Keaton - is also the film's one important moment, as the abandoned comedian stands in an empty landscape watching the main players drive off, teaching valuable lessons in comedy to people who can't listen! Watch! Paint! Dry!

Rating:
Summary: Ethyl Merman is My Favorite
Review: Ms. Merman and that purse never get old.

My parents took me to see this one at the drive-in theatre when I was about five. It was long, and I was sleepy, but it held my attention. IMO, this is about the best comedy ever made. I love watching this movie with someone who has never seen it before. They become instant fans.

If you haven't seen "Mad Mad World," I envy you. Buy it and enjoy it.

I, too, am hoping for a DVD version.

Rating:
Summary: All-Star Cast of Vaudevillians in Mad, Mad, Mad Movie!
Review: This is a slap-stick-comedy tour de force for the leading cast, as well as the countless cameo performances delivered by "everybody who's anybody" in classic comedy. Ethel Merman steals the show as the overbearing, constantly complaining woman, who, along with a string of others are "in" on the same secret: A fortune in cash is burried hundreds of miles away, and the race to get it before anyone else can get to it is on. The group at one point agree to split the money "evenly", but soon everyone is on their own. -- This is pure nonsense, but what fun! To see Jimmy Durante "kick the bucket" is worth the price of this video by itself, but there are so many "visual" gags that I couldn't even count them all. The gas-station demolition by Jonathan Winters is another highlight. If after 3 hours of watching you still have room for a final "belly laugh", Ethel Merman's entrance into the hospital room (with yet another complaint) will definitely deliver! This is a mad, mad, mad movie, and boy is it funny! -- The soundtrack featuring The Shirelles (with an infectious use of "31 Flavors" in a scene with a gogo-dancer) is an added touch. They don't make movies like that anymore, probably because there are hardly any of the authentic vaudevillians with us anymore. Roll back the clock to a hot summer day in 1963, and enjoy this hilarious chase for the cash.

Rating:
Summary: A Soviet Ending
Review: I read Stanley Kramer's obit yesterday and rented "Mad World." I was pleased at how fresh it is. The 60's were better at introducing profanity and nudal frontity than creating comedy movies, so it was nice this one didn't dry rot.

I hadn't seen it in about 15 years. It stays focused due to good writing, performing and direction. The cast overshadowed it's content on release (to me at least), but I was surprised at how little scene stealing there was. Even hams like Silvers and Berle knew when someone else had the stage. Of course, most of the major players never made another movie even close to being this good, so they were smart.

The score is perfect, and it is a pretty movie. Remembering the stars and huge original screen, I was captivated last night by the gorgeous backdrops. I think my concept of California was established by this movie. The cars are varied and color mixed, the Rooney-Hackett airplane is pretty, even splattered paint on Caeser and Adams is pulchritudinous.

Much is made of the length. Really, the center of it is a series of 20 minute slapstick shorts. It is long, but spins multi-character predicaments, like a long Seinfeld.

Like many kids, I wished other comedians were included, such as Art Carney, Zero Mostel, The Ritz Brothers, The Marx Brothers (at least Groucho; I know Chico was dead), the Mayo Brothers, the Dolly Sisters and Col. Tom Parker. However, thank God Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason and Jack Lemmon were not included.

Greed is overwhelming throughout, and it was filmed before the term billionair was coined. Remembering that the title of the past 30 years in America is "Follow the Money," Dorothy Provine's water fountain conversion struck me as sweet.

This flick deserved its rating in the top 100 by the AFI.

A CLASS STRUGGLE NOTE: My wife is Russian and enjoyed the film a lot. She said it had a very Soviet ending; i.e., after a struggle for money, the state end up with it. I really don't understand the comment, but I like it.

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