It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

This 1963 comedy classic should be required viewing for all comics and, for that matter, fans of funny movies everywhere. I'd love to see a production like this today, where every major name in Hollywood comedy either starred or made cameos. It'd probably never happen in today's world of big money contract egos, but Producer/Director Stanley Kramer brought all the big names in -- Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Jonathan Winters, Edie Adams, Jim Backus, Alan Carney, William Demarest, Andy Devine, Peter Falk, Edward Everett Horton, Buster Keaton, Don Knotts, Carl Reiner, Madlyn Rhue, and the Three Stooges. The plot is not that different from last year's Rat Race: a dying man tells of a treasure buried under a giant "W" and a madcap race begins to uncover the treasure. Retiring police captain Culpeper (Spencer Tracy) uses all his resources to track this caper, aiming to grab the loot himself once he finds out where this "giant dubya" exists. These legends of laugh give brilliant performances for a good two hours, 41 minutes; showing the skills of timing, sight gags, character embellishment, and joke telling. Like most of the bigtime entertainment of its day, this is all done without resorting to sexual innuendo and "blue language." The extras on the dvd include a few extended scenes and a generous documentary with interviews and stories from many of these actors and actresses. Fans of the original will appreciate the 16x9 widescreen transfer from the original 35mm film, as well as seeing the original and re-issue trailers. You really owe it to yourself to see this movie, at least a few times. [MGM / Doug Van Pelt]

Ratings:
Obscenities 0
Graphic Violence 0
Nude Scenes 0
% spiritual relevancy 20

This DVD review is an "online exclusive," and hasn't seen the printed page.

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