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

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

November. 07,1963
|
7.5
|
G
| Adventure Action Comedy

A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.

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TrueJoshNight
1963/11/07

Truly Dreadful Film

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TinsHeadline
1963/11/08

Touches You

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Allison Davies
1963/11/09

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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Sarita Rafferty
1963/11/10

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

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joshfedderson
1963/11/11

This movie defined comedy at it's best, I remember watching this with my dad when I was younger and laughing my head off. Now I am 25 years old and I have my own copy and still am laughing pretty hard. This hilarious movie has some of the greatest comedians and actors ever to appear on screen all in one big movie. Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Sid Caesar,Buddy Hackett to name just a few. These were the classic actors, actors that really loved their jobs and showed it. The story follows 14 ordinary people living their ordinary lives, one day 8 of them witness a man going crazy on the road and driving himself off a cliff. In the words of the dying man 5 of them hear "It's under a big W" and the dying man claims $350,000 is buried under it. What they don't know is that the dying man is a thief and the loot that is buried is from all his robberies. Then all of the sudden these people go mad and race to uncover the cash, every man and woman for himself and herself. Meanwhile, the police are hot on their tails witnessing just how "Mad" these people really are. It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a chase comedy, each of the 14 people involved goes through a horrible yet hilarious experience to get to the buried loot. The characters are a wimpy man J. Russell Finch, his down to earth wife Emeline Marcus Finch, A know it all dentist Melville Crump, His overprotective wife Monica Crump, A short feisty man named Ding Bell and his friend Benjy Benjamin, The bossy and sassy mother of Emeline and mother in law of Russell Mrs. Marcus, a strong stubborn truck driver named Lennie Pike, A crook and smooth talker named Otto Meyer, A Talkative and annoying English man named J. Algernon Hawthorne, a Mama's boy and son, brother, and brother in law Sylvester Marcus, and a crooked dirty cop named Captain T.G. Culpepper.All of these ordinary people have dangerous, life threatening experiences yet to the audience these experiences are outrageously hilarious as they try to get to their precious money. A lot of people say this movie is not so funny, and overly slapstick. But what they don't realize is this movie was one of the greatest comedies of all. Plus this comedy is very clean, no swearing, there are two scenes where a woman is dancing in a swimsuit and bikini though it is only shown twice and for small moments. All in all it's a clean comedy and very funny, what I don't understand is why do comedies today have all the filth in them, to me that doesn't make it funny. If your in the right mood, you will laugh with this movie.It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a classic, nothing will ever come close to it. They did do a movie called "Rat Race" that is like this, but I have not seen it yet. 10/10 stars for "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World."

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Danielpotato
1963/11/12

I saw this one 10 years ago, at the time I could not get past the first 30 minutes. Yesterday I managed to pass the longest version - 210 minutes. I felt that I stood for a month looking at a wall. This movie perfectly sums up everything that is wrong in Hollywood. Excess. Excess. Excess. Everything in this movie is in excess. And Who had the sad idea in putting in this film more than 3 decades of actors, by just putting them, and what is the meaning? Answer - only to increase the ego of the producers and studios, who managed to make a film with a big length. The story of this film could be told in 40 minutes. 210 minutes is an oversized exaggeration. Everything in this film is oversized, and the jokes are so unnecessary (most of the jokes in this movie are not even fun) that more than 85% of jokes and fun times are forgotten even before the start of the third act. And for what? Only for the writers to present at the end a moral lesson. Spare me. And the end, we saw the protagonists (who look more like monkeys) dancing on a ladder of a fire truck. Horrible.Someone burns this movie, please.

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poetcomic1
1963/11/13

How can you take the biggest names in comedy of that period and make an immense film showcasing all their talents and the single funniest character is.... Ethel Merman? The problem is that these are not 'character actors' but major comedians who each live and are funny in their own 'comic universe'. Brought together into a single narrative and a single movie it is leaden.Everyone from Phil Silvers to Jonathan Winters and Sid Caesar are wasted because these are comedians meant to comically DOMINATE their surroundings. The movie itself 'climaxes' in spectacular pandemonium but all the comedians never achieve that comic 'high' one expects of them. It is too long by a good 45 minutes as well. Ethel Merman DID make me laugh.

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SimonJack
1963/11/14

With a cast of 50 people, including many big names of the movies and comedies of the era, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" is one of the funniest movies of all time. It may be the very best and funniest film of those that barely have a plot. It has just enough of one to set in motion the hijinks and madcap race of numerous people to find their fortune, "tax free." All of the cast perform very well. Some stand out for their characters or particularly funny lines. Ethel Merman plays perfectly the nagging, shrill-voiced mother-in-law, Mrs. Marcus, whom no one can stand. Buddy Hackett is excellent as Benjy Benjamin, both for his character portrayal and some very funny lines. Phil Silvers is Otto Meyer, and reprises his Sgt. Bilko character to a tee; only this time he is as much disliked for his conniving as we find him funny. Terry-Thomas is the English gentleman, J. Algernon Hawthorne, who is "actually Colonel Hawthorne." He, too, has a touch of greed amidst his genteelness. Peter Falk and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson have somewhat smaller roles as cabbies, but their roles and lines are very funny. Others of the big name stars, Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar and Mickey Rooney have very good roles and some funny scenes, but otherwise straight dialog. The many smaller roles are funny or lend to the hilarity. Jerry Lewis, Jack Benny and the Three Stooges have very funny cameos. But, you'll notice I haven't yet mentioned one name that has a prominent role. Jonathan Winters as Lennie Pike steals every scene in which he appears. His character, his expressions, his temperament, and his lines at times are riotously funny. One particularly laugh out loud scene is the fight between Thomas's Hawthorne and Milton Berle's Russell Finch. I couldn't stop laughing in the long scene of Lennie Pike tearing into the two service station owners, Ray (played by Arnold Stang) and his partner after they tie him up. I can't think of another film that had such a hilarious total demolition of a set. Each encounter after that between Winters and Silvers was hilarious. Two of the funniest scenes also had the dialog to match the facial expressions and the setting. Jonathan Winters and Buddy Hackett are the laughter kings in these scenes. In the first, Hackett's Benjy says, "So now, there's only one way to figure it. And that is, every man … including the old bag (Mrs. Marcus), for herself." Mickey Rooney's Ding Bell says, "So, good luck and may the best man win." Benjy, "Right! Except you, lady. May you just drop dead." Pike, "All right. All right. We all agree on that."I'm chuckling as I write this last hilarious scene. Winters' Pike says, "If we find the money we still have to report the taxes. Otherwise it's like stealing from the government." Melville Crump (played by Sid Caesar) says, "Could you explain it to him please?" Berle's Russell Finch, "Who me? Well, don't you see, if we find the money, there may not be any taxes to pay on it … just because we did find the money." (Winters has an incredulous look of disbelief on his face). Finch continues, "What he was trying to say is …" Pike interrupts, "Everybody has to pay taxes. Even businessmen that rob and steal and cheat from people every day … even they have to pay taxes."This movie came out while I was serving in the Army in Europe, during the Cold War. I didn't see it for the first time until years later on TV. I think movie buffs today will find it as funny as it must have been when it came out. It's a very good family film for lots of laughs. Parents or grandparents can explain to the younger kids (who should enjoy some of the hijinks), that there's a message amidst the laughter. Crime and dishonesty don't pay.

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