[.ca] "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)"

From Amazon.com:
Stanley Kramer's sprawling 1963 comedy about a search for buried treasure by at least a dozen people--all played by well-known entertainers of their day--is the kind of mass comedy that Hollywood hasn't made in many years. (Another example from around the same time is Blake Edwards's The Great Race.) After a number of strangers (including Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and others) witness a dying stranger (Jimmy Durante) identify the location of hidden money, a conflict-ridden hunt begins, watched over carefully by a suspicious cop (Spencer Tracy). The ensuing two and a half hours of mayhem has its ups and downs--some bits and performers are certainly funnier than others. But Kramer, who is better known for socially conscious, serious cinema (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?), is in a mood for broad comic characterization, and some of his jokes are so intentionally obvious (Durante literally kicks a bucket when he dies), they'd have a place in Airplane! Watch for lots of cameo appearances, including Jerry Lewis (who had called Kramer and asked him why he hadn't been invited to participate). --Tom Keogh

It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad DVD:
I would give this DVD 5 stars if all the movie was here, but it isn't, hence 3 stars. There's no excuse for this considering that no major restoration has been attempted here, the storage capabilities of DVDs are huge, and MGM has already released the full-length movie on VHS. The deleted scene feature is a mess. Watching the scenes seperately is tedious and not much fun. The least they could do would be to put the deleted scenes in the order that they appeared in the original film. The third and fourth scenes appear to be exactly the same as do others later on. Sometimes the scene appears the same only zoomed in. Others scenes have no sound. Some of the last scenes go on and on up to 10 minutes and contains everything that is included in the feature except for very minor snippets of dialogue. Sometimes you can't detect anything new, like in the money dividing proposal scene. I can see why MGM would want to keep their pristine 35mm print whole and transfer that to DVD but perhaps they should have included a 2nd disc and a 2nd version that patched together all the missing scenes, no matter what condition, and reconstructed the film as best as they could to the longest originally released version. MGM, when you finally "Special Edition" this movie offer a rebate with the proof of purchase from this inferior edition!

Mad but Funny:
More than 200 reviews of this film already so it's obviously pretty popular. My two cents: Jonathan Winters and Dick Shawn were the best of a great cast. This was the only time either man was allowed to create a full comic characterization on film and both demonstrated that they were fine actors, not just clowns. The desert scenery was great and for some reason it adds to the enjoyment of this treasure hunt; just made a cleaner stage, I guess. The only drawback: poor Spencer Tracy, one of America's greatest actors, was so out of it by this stage he could barely get through his scenes. Check out "Northwest Passage" to see him at the height of his powers.

Best, Most Memorable Comedy Ever Made !!:
I originally saw the movie in '63. I was 8. Dad started my Birthday party with it. After the movie, Dad drove the route of the Santa Monica portion of the car chase(yes, there really was a "Big W"). Just finished watching the movie on Turner TV. The narrator came on after the movie and said that THE ORIGINAL WAS 5 HOURS long(Just too much "good stuff"). The movie studio had it edited to the shortened current version of three hours. Back in '63 it was a terrific movie-In '04 it is still a terrific movie.

Best Comedy Film Ever:
"It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" is simply the best comedy film ever made. I have yet to come across any other movie which is as enjoyable and timeless. I have watched it when I was a kid and I have watched it with my kids - it was enjoyable then and as enjoyable for me and my kids now! It is a pity, it cannot be watched in theaters now as I have seen people stand up with joy and fall down rolling in laughter. From the first scene, until the last one - it is one big string of hilarious situations and action. Each comedian (there are dozens of famous ones) seems committed to the ultimate goal - the booty of 350Gs and relentlessly pursues it in the most natural way - greedily! It is to be watched to be experienced. Go - get one and watch with all your friends and loved ones!

An all star cast of comics, great comedy:
Director: Stanley Kramer Format: Color Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios Video Release Date: September 26, 1995 Cast: Spencer Tracy ... Capt. T.G. Culpeper Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump, DDS Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin Ethel Merman ... Mrs. Marcus Mickey Rooney ... Ding 'Dingy' Bell Dick Shawn ... Sylvester Marcus Phil Silvers ... Otto Meyer Terry-Thomas ... Lt.Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne Jonathan Winters ... Lennie Pike Edie Adams ... Monica Crump Dorothy Provine ... Emeline Marcus-Finch Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ... Second cab driver Jim Backus ... Tyler Fitzgerald Ben Blue ... Biplane pilot Joe E. Brown ... Union official Alan Carney ... Police sergeant Chick Chandler ... Detective outside Chinese laundromat Barrie Chase ... Sylvester's girlfriend Lloyd Corrigan ... The Mayor William Demarest ... Police Chief Aloysius Andy Devine ... Sheriff of Crockett County Selma Diamond ... Ginger Culpeper Peter Falk ... Third cab driver Norman Fell ... Detective at Grogan's crash site Paul Ford ... Col. Wilberforce Stan Freberg ... Deputy sheriff Louise Glenn ... Billie Sue Culpeper Leo Gorcey ... First cab driver Sterling Holloway ... Fire Chief Edward Everett Horton ... Mr. Dinckler Marvin Kaplan ... Irwin Buster Keaton ... Jimmy the boatman Don Knotts ... Nervous man Charles Lane ... Airport manager Mike Mazurki ... Miner Charles McGraw ... Lt. Matthews Cliff Norton ... Reporter Zasu Pitts ... Switchboard operator Gertie Carl Reiner ... Tower controller at Rancho Conejo Madlyn Rhue ... Secretary Schwartz Roy Roberts ... Policeman outside Irwin & Ray's Garage Arnold Stang ... Ray Nick Stewart ... Migrant truck driver Joe DeRita ... Fireman Larry Fine ... Fireman Moe Howard ... Fireman Sammee Tong ... Chinese laundryman Jesse White ... Radio tower operator at Rancho Conejo Jimmy Durante ... Smiler Grogan Roy Engel ... Patrolman/Police radio voice unit F-14 Nicholas Georgiade ... Detective at Grogan's crash site Stacy Harris ... Police radio voice unit F-7 Don C. Harvey ... Policeman in helicopter Allen Jenkins ... Police officer Tom Kennedy ... Traffic cop Harry Lauter ... Police dispatcher Ben Lessy ... George the steward Jerry Lewis ... Man who runs over hat Bob Mazurki ... Eddie (miner's son) Jack Benny ... Man in car in desert Eddie Ryder ... Air traffic control tower staffer Paul Birch ... Policeman Doodles Weaver ... Dinckler's Hardware Store clerk Stanley Clements ... Detective in squad room Bobo Lewis ... Pilot's wife Minta Durfee ... Bit Part Intended to be the comedy to end all comedies, with a cast including virtually all the name comedians at the time. Jimmy Durante plays a guy who is in a fatal auto accident, but before he dies, tells 5 bystanders where there is $350,000 hidden under a "W", whuch leads to a chase to find the money. Meanwhile, Capt. T.G. Culpeper (Spencer Tracy) is aware of the stolen money and he and his policemen observe the chase with interest through the desert, mountains, and along the California coast, with the contestants using aircraft, cars, trucks, a bicycle and every method of transportation in their attempt to be first to reach the money. Tracy was ill when the film was shot, and so only worked four hours per day. The long shots and physical stuff was performed by stand-ins. This is a fun movie. If there is a criticism, it is that the comedy is perhaps overdone. With so many top comedians, there is certainly no dearth of funny lines, pratfalls, and laughs--that's for sure. Joseph (Joe) Pierre author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance and other books