It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) 7.6
The dying words of a thief spark a madcap cross-country rush to find some treasure. Director:Stanley Kramer |
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It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) 7.6
The dying words of a thief spark a madcap cross-country rush to find some treasure. Director:Stanley Kramer |
|
0Share... |
Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Spencer Tracy | ... | ||
Milton Berle | ... | ||
Sid Caesar | ... | ||
Buddy Hackett | ... | ||
Ethel Merman | ... | ||
Mickey Rooney | ... | ||
Dick Shawn | ... | ||
Phil Silvers | ... | ||
Terry-Thomas | ... | ||
Jonathan Winters | ... | ||
Edie Adams | ... | ||
Dorothy Provine | ... | ||
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson | ... | ||
Jim Backus | ... | ||
Ben Blue | ... |
Biplane Pilot
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After a long prison sentence Smiler Grogan is heading at high speed to a California park where he hid $350,000 from a job 15 years previously. He accidentally careens over a cliff in view of four cars whose occupants go down to help. The dying Grogan gives details of where the money is buried and when the witnesses fail to agree on sharing the cash, a crazy chase develops across the state. Written by Col Needham <col@imdb.com>
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.