Review of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) by Irwin H — 23 Jun 2009
It's case of spot the comedy legend in this madcap comedy about the pursuit of hidden loot.
An old ex con (Jimmy Durante) drives off a hillside and in his final act tells a group of other drivers who have rushed to help him, that he has hidden a fortune under a "Big Dubya". The great race to the "Big W" begins and there's a lot of slapstick fun along the way.
You'll see plenty genuine comedy legends in this one - I counted over twenty and one of my friends told me there was 33. But they practically pop up all over the film. Only Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy and The Marx Bros are absent but look out for Buster Keaton, Jerry Lewis, Jonathan Winters, the great Phil Silvers, Jack Benny, Sid Ceaser, Milton Berle and the Three Stooges.
Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy are re-united some 30 years after they first appeared together in Captain's Couragous and both turn in good performances. Arguably the star of the show is Dick Shawn. He certainly has some of the funnier moments as does the quintessential English cad, Terry Thomas.
For all it's fun, the plot is fairly basic and the script not exactly sparkling with wit but it's the antics that make this movie enjoyable. The incredible lengths people will go to just to get their hands on the filthy lucre.
Nothing is spared in the finale, car chases galore, comedians flying through the air from ten storey buildings and falling into palm trees, swimming pools, banqueting tables, electrical streetwires and even pet shops.
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is one Mad Mad Mad Mad movie. It's usually bank holiday monday fare on TV but it's worth getting the DVD just to replay the stunts - some are quite incredible for the times.
This review of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) was written by Irwin H on 23 Jun 2009.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
