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Actors: Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World |
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About ten or twelve people see acar crash happen. The man in the car crash is on the brink of death and then tells them where they can find $30,000. And so the chase begins. And on the way they pickup a couple of "friends". Everyone wants that money for themselves!
--Cal Tormey, Resident Scholar
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Fresh out of prison after serving a long sentence, Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) races at high speed toward a California park where he hid $350,000 in loot from a job 15 years before. Unfortunately, his vehicle careens over a cliff and his dying words -- overheard by the occupants of four different cars who show up to help -- are that the money is hidden below a giant "W" in Santa Rosita, some 200 miles away. A short discussion reveals that none of the bystanders is willing to split the dough, and the race is on! Some borrow a plane, others suffer busted tires, a plunge into deep water, a drunken millionaire, a little girl's bicycle, a mother-in-law from hell and her imbecile son, and many other tools and impediments on the way to the big prize. This film is what they used to call "madcap" -- with almost nonstop car stunts, sight gags, and stupid jokes. Apart from the luminaries mentioned above, the cast includes Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Jonathan Winters, Edie Adams, Jim Backus, Joe E. Brown, Peter Falk, Norman Fell, Stan Freburg, Buster Keaton, Sterling Holloway, Edward Everett Horton, Don Knotts, Zasu Pitts, Carl Reiner, Arnold Stang, the Three Stooges, and (uncredited!) Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, and Doodles Weaver. At 161 minutes, it's a bit long for a comedy (the director's cut was rumored to be 5-1/2 hours!), and it's not very deep, but this 1963 show is a real hoot.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Kind of comedy
- road trip
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- 40's-50's
- 60's-90's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- obsessed
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- red
- white
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
- (woman) short/butch/lez
Body type
- (man) average
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
Events of movie makes character more...
- irritated
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Dumb?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 60%
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- doctor
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
- 90%-100%
Hair color
- white
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
- California
Air?
Yes
Air:
- passenger plane
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
- rude people
Misc setting
- moving train
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- full of laughter
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
If this is a kid's movie...
- Ages 10-15
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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