Rating: 
Summary: The Right Place
Review: Let me start by addressing something the other fans of this wonderful musical, mostly, did not and that is the way Michele Lee and in particular, Robert Morse approached their roles. They came straight from the smash Broadway production, reprising their roles as many of the other players did, including Rudy Vallee. Vallee, though, unlike Lee and Morse had vast movie experience and knew the difference between a Broadway stage performance and a screen performance. So, where his performance is perfectly tuned for this screen adaptation, Lee's and especially Morse's tend to be over the top. As one Amazon reviewer stated Morse may be a bit too 'cuddly' for some people's taste. Lee's performance is fine till it comes to "I Believe In You" when she plays it to the back row of a Broadway theater. Don't let their energentic take on their roles turn you off, though, roll with it, get with the program and see it "The Company Way".
The 1930s were the real time of great musicals and the great ones after that period were few and far between. This is one of those very few. It's teriffic. Funny, smart, great songs, limited choreography, but what there is, is fantastic. Fabulous Nelson Riddle arrangements, attractive leads and wonderous supporting cast headed by the screamingly funny Rudy Vallee make this a must see for near anyone who likes musicals.
From J Pierpont Finch's(Morse)first meeting with JB Biggley(Vallee)the laughs begin and Finch's position in World Wide Wicket Inc. begins to climb, helped along with advice from his handy self-help book, from which the title is derived. On his climb we meet a host of wonderfully drawn characters played by a superbly talented cast. Incidentally, Morse won a Tony Award for his stage performance, probably ample reason for him to not find any cause to change his style for the screen. Rudy Vallee shows the same kind innate ability to make us laugh that he showed in The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, It's In the Bag and The Palm Beach Story. He was a great, underrated and under-used comic actor.
Some seem to think the sexaul attitudes portrayed here pertaining to secretaries and sex in the workplace to be dated. Frankly, I don't think those things have changed in several thousand years and won't for another several. The only thing I find slightly dated is Maureen Arthur's portrayal of Hedy LaRue and even at that, she still pretty funny.
Of course, the bottom line of any musical is the songs. I can't understand the popularity of some musicals with their lack of decent songs(I won't start naming names for fear of stepping on anyone's toes), but there's absolutely no worries here. This Book, The Company Way, A Secretary Is Not A Toy, Well It's Been A Long Day, I Believe In You, Grand Old Ivy, Rosemary, Gotta Stop That Man/I Believe In You and best of all, Brotherhood of Man. Nothing but gold. Not to mention all those Nelson Riddle instrumental reprises. And if you really think about it this actually quite a piece of Americana.
Don't let it preoccupy your viewing of this gem but after watching the DVD a second time I was checking out the credits and noticed one of the actors had dual roles and I hadn't noticed in two viewings. You might want to try and figure it out, especially if you have already seen the movie and didn't realize before, like I didn't. If you're watching the movie for the first time though, don't concern yourself with such trivial matters and just enjoy all that great music and loads of laughs.
Rating: 
Summary: How To Succeed As A Musical
Review: A bright and breezy and somewhat cynical 1960's musical comedy satire of American big business with lots of energy, some good (but not great) songs and a powerhouse of a central performance, How To Succeed In Business is a pleasant romp that can by enjoyed by everyone but especially appreciated by anyone who has ever had to work in an office. Its silly story of a guy who uses a "how to" book to progress from window washer to company president is like a modern urban fairy tale with music, romance, and a bit of sex thrown in. If it has a moral (which is doubtful) it is to demonstrate to the anti-Establishment mob that being part of the Establishment could be fun too.
Leading the way and holding the whole thing together is Robert Morse, reprising his Broadway role as J. Pierrepont Finch in a super star-making performance. Morse's long experience with this character is obvious as he sings, dances, grins, mugs and schemes his way through the film. He is never better than when performing his big number "I Believe In You" - sung to his reflection in the mirror of the executive washroom.
A couple of other players from the Broadway original are also in the film, most notably Sammy Smith (again playing two roles) and veteran crooner Rudy Vallee. Michelle Lee is pert and pretty as Morse's love interest, Anthony Teague (one of the Jets in West Side Story) is the slimy boss's nephew, and Maureen Arthur provides more than a dash of sex appeal as an inept secretary. But the show really belongs to Robert Morse.
The bouncy songs are by ace tunesmith Frank Loesser (this was his followup to his classic Guys And Dolls). Unfortunately, as so often happens with Hollywood versions of Broadway shows, some of the songs got dropped with gems such as "Coffee Break" and "Paris Original" among the lamented casualties. But the songs that remain are enthusiastically and imaginatively performed, especially the popular "A Secretary Is Not A Toy".
I have heard, but never been able to confirm, that this film was released in France with all the songs removed - that it was shown as just a comedy. If so, it is a good indication of just how strong and funny the script is on its own. It also tells us something about the weirdness of the French...
For the rest of us, How To Succeed In Business remains a fun time to be enjoyed by all. It never takes itself seriously and that is one of its great virtues. Its other assets are color, laughs, music, slapstick, sex, and - more than anything else - Robert Morse. He was great on stage - he's great in this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: This is how to succeed from stage to screen
Review: A clever movie musical with a true transfer from stage musical to screen document. Although not as flashy or 'clever' as the recent Matthew Broderick revival, the film introduces us to the, 'why-do-we-likable' Robert Morse as J. Pierpont Finch. He is a normal guy that is an up-n-comer based on the fact he is reading a self-help business book. The chapters of the book quickly propel him up the corporate ladder through hilarious hi-jinx. An enjoyable movie with surprisingly colorful scenery, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING is an enjoyable New York romp and may just be the longest title for a movie we'll ever see...
Rating:
Summary: Go back to the book, J. Pierrepont
Review: After working with Blue Eyes, Nelson Riddle got a suitably inflated impression of himself, and he took it out on one of Frank Loesser's best scores with a big dose of bombast. Why use understatement when you can have a symphonic orchestra doink and boink all over the place? That Riddle got himself in over his swelled head was no clearer than when he decided to replace the quote from Grieg's Piano Concerto in "Rosemary" with something better. As Pauline Kael said of Rex Harrison in the film version of My Fair Lady, everyone seems to have done this a million times already -- Rudy Vallee is in bad voice here -- but Robert Morse is Old Faithful, singing well if a bit too cuddly for a thirty-five-year-old. Like Rykodisc's other "MGM" albums, this is straight from the LP masters, complete in this case with truncated cues and not-quite-top-notch mixing. Stick with Victor's five-star '61 cast album.P. S. Was Robert Q. Lewis really as smarmy as I remember him?
Rating:
Summary: Go back to the book, J. Pierrepont
Review: After working with Blue Eyes, Nelson Riddle got a suitably inflated impression of himself, and he took it out on one of Frank Loesser's best scores with a big dose of bombast. Why use understatement when you can have a symphonic orchestra doink and boink all over the place? That Riddle got himself in over his swelled head was no clearer than when he decided to replace the quote from Grieg's Piano Concerto in "Rosemary" with something better. As Pauline Kael said of Rex Harrison in the film version of My Fair Lady, everyone seems to have done this a million times already -- Rudy Vallee is in bad voice here -- but Robert Morse is Old Faithful, singing well if a bit too cuddly for a thirty-five-year-old. Like Rykodisc's other "MGM" albums, this is straight from the LP masters, complete in this case with truncated cues and not-quite-top-notch mixing. Stick with Victor's five-star '61 cast album. P. S. Was Robert Q. Lewis really as smarmy as I remember him?
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!!!!
Review: I first saw this movie in my drama class, because our spring musical was HTSIBWRT, where I played Finch. This movie is just awesome. I highly Recommened it.
Rating:
Summary: A great musical saved by letterbox
Review: I haven't seen the Broadway play, so I can't make any comparisons in that regard. What I can say of the movie is: WELL DONE!! This is by far one of my favorite movies in the musical genre. What can I say? The cast is outstanding; every character is unique, expressive and played to virtual comedic perfection. I won't take time to list all the actresses and actors, or all the songs, as I'm sure others have done a good job of that in their reviews. Well, ok, I'll mention Robert Morse: he plays J.P. Finch without flaw. Innocent, sincere, devious, ambitious and lucky, Morse combines all these traits into an entertaining character. I instantly became a Robert Morse fan. I went out and rented all the Robert Morse movies I could find. Unfortunately, strangely, in all Morse's other starring roles he displays nary a hint of the comedic originality or aptitude he does in this film, ah well. As might be expected, I have a number of favorite parts, here are two: 1) Morse as he "walks the dance" down a New York street--real life, good stuff, wish it were a longer scene. 2) I have to laugh when, during the song "Brotherhood of Man," Mr. Biggley's secretary suddenly rises up on the desk behind the men and starts belting it out. These are not particularly significant scenes in terms of the whole story, nor do they tell you anything at all about the plot, but they are, perhaps, representative of the lively and light-hearted humor this movie serves up so well. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: It's Good! It's Very Good!
Review: I haven't seen the Broadway play, so I can't make any comparisons in that regard. What I can say of the movie is: WELL DONE!! This is by far one of my favorite movies in the musical genre. What can I say? The cast is outstanding; every character is unique, expressive and played to virtual comedic perfection. I won't take time to list all the actresses and actors, or all the songs, as I'm sure others have done a good job of that in their reviews. Well, ok, I'll mention Robert Morse: he plays J.P. Finch without flaw. Innocent, sincere, devious, ambitious and lucky, Morse combines all these traits into an entertaining character. I instantly became a Robert Morse fan. I went out and rented all the Robert Morse movies I could find. Unfortunately, strangely, in all Morse's other starring roles he displays nary a hint of the comedic originality or aptitude he does in this film, ah well. As might be expected, I have a number of favorite parts, here are two: 1) Morse as he "walks the dance" down a New York street--real life, good stuff, wish it were a longer scene. 2) I have to laugh when, during the song "Brotherhood of Man," Mr. Biggley's secretary suddenly rises up on the desk behind the men and starts belting it out. These are not particularly significant scenes in terms of the whole story, nor do they tell you anything at all about the plot, but they are, perhaps, representative of the lively and light-hearted humor this movie serves up so well. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: What a great movie!
Review: I love this musical!Whilst plain and sometimes colourless, it is very well written and the way Finch climbs the corporate ladder is clever and sometimes hilarious.I recommend it for all musical buffs who want to see a spoof of the business world
Rating:
Summary: An interesting adaptation
Review: I thought this movie was a lot more fun before I listened to the original Broadway cast recording, and heard the songs that were left out. With that said, this is a fun movie. The sets and costumes have an almost cartoonish quality to them that works well, and the cast seems to have a lot of fun with their parts. In the context of today's business world, where so much has changed and women are much more a part of management, some of the girl secretary/male executive hijinks might seem offensive to some of the more humorless types, but I found it to be a smart, sophisticated comment on male/femail relationships that still rings true today. Bottom line: It may not be PC, but it's a lot of fun.
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