Review of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) by Scott W — 03 Sep 2010

So much about IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD can never be duplicated, and all attempts to imitate it have fallen harder than a firetruck ladder. Stanley Kramer's 1963 epic stands alone in assembling a stunning cast of comedic legends who literally crowd the Ultra-Panavision widescreen cinematography.

The story is ridiculously simple and the plot is hilariously convoluted, but it's the multiple lead performances -- thankfully preserved forever -- that keep fans of this masterpiece coming back for multiple viewings. Spencer Tracy, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Edie Adams, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Jonathan Winters, Terry-Thomas . . . the cast list goes on and on boasting stars across the board. Their on-the-spot embodiments of these broadly typed characters mine the endless wordplay to make this one of the most quotable comedies of all time.

Naturally Kramer offers liberal set pieces of outstanding and outrageous physical comedy and death-defying stunts, including one of the longest car chase sequences ever which manages to be both suspenseful and laughable at the same time. The cast backs it up with plenty of their own heightened physical action and expressions scaled-up to fill the big, big, big, big screen.

Kudos well-earned for Ernest Laszlo's brilliant, kinetic photography, superb comedic/action editing by Frederic Knudston, Robert C. Jones and Gene Fowler Jr., and a memorable score by Ernest Gold and Mack David.

While I continue to praise TCM for showing this cinematic treasure unedited and in full widescreen ratio, I dearly wish and hope for a long-overdue restoration of the film for the high-definition era. TCM's print shows significant color fading of image in many scenes, especially visible in outdoor shots where the sky/background literally change tones. Given MGM's current financial woes, I don't think it will happen soon, but the film desperately needs a new transfer for the HD era worthy of its historical value and legacy.

Still, IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD remains a most enjoyable race to comedic joy whether you're watching it for the first time or the fiftieth!