It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) | |
| Director(s) | Stanley Kramer |
| Producer(s) | Stanley Kramer |
| Top Genres | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family |
| Top Topics | |
Featured Cast:
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Overview:
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) was a Action - Adventure Film directed by Stanley Kramer and produced by Stanley Kramer.
SYNOPSIS
They emptied the comedy hall of fame to make this frantic epic. It's like a wide-screen, big-budget disaster movie - only played for laughs - in which half the fun is pointing to famous faces. Tracy is the relatively calm center of a whirlwind as a detective keeping an eye on a herd of citizens out to uncover a stash of stolen bank loot. He has his hands full following Berle, Caesar, Rooney, Winters, Durante, Adams, et al. and on and on. After a long prison sentence Smiler Grogan is heading at high speed to a California park where he hid $350,000 from a job 15 years previously. He accidentally careens over a cliff in view of four cars whose occupants go down to help. The dying Grogan gives details of where the money is buried and when the witnesses fail to agree on sharing the cash, a crazy chase develops across the state. (imdb)
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
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Academy Awards 1963 --- Ceremony Number 36 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Cinematography | Ernest Laszlo | Nominated |
| Best Film Editing | Frederic Knudtson, Robert C. Jones, Gene Fowler, Jr. | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Ernest Gold | Nominated |
| Best Music - Song | Music by Ernest Gold; Lyrics by Mack David | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD From Criterion
By Dan Day Jr. on Feb 11, 2014 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogCriterion has just come out with one of their most impressive home video releases ever. Stanley Kramer's IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD gets a 3-DVD, 2-Blu-ray set featuring two different versions of the movie and tons and tons of extras. The 1963 super-epic all-star comedy was the brainchild of s... Read full article
CMBA Film Passion Blogathon: IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD
By Irish Jayhawk on Dec 4, 2013 From Outspoken and FreckledGrowing up as a kid, classic comedies were a shaping influence in my life. My earliest memories of classic film derives from the comedies I watched with my family. I recall my grandmother and my uncle Patrick introducing me to comedy classics like Marx Brothers films, the Pink Panther films, Blake E... Read full article
TCM Classic Film Festival - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
By Raquel Stecher on May 19, 2013 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film BlogCinerama Dome's Honeycomb Ceiling On Sunday April 28th, 2013, I attended a special screening of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles. Even though this film is played regularly on TCM and I have had many chances to see it, this was my first time I had watched t... Read full article
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
By David on May 30, 2012 From The Man on the Flying TrapezeMy name is David, and I am a recovering baby boomer. I mention this to help explain the affection I have for movies made when I was a kid, especially from about 1957-65. You can tell me they're cheesy and cliched, and tell me that they reinforce negative stereotypes. I know, and the "intellectual" w... Read full article
See all It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World articles
Quotes from
Ding Bell: You see our grandmother lives in Rosita Beach, see, and she's dying and she kinda like to have us be with her when she goes.
Benjy Benjamin: Otherwise she won't go.
[Bell bumps him]
Benjy Benjamin: Uh, she'll go!
Otto Meyer: So, what's wrong with your wife?
Miner: That's the trouble, the doc's not sure. He says whatever it is, she's too sick even to be moved. She needs this special stuff and we haven't got a phone so I went to get it and that's when... Slow down, the turning is just up here.
Otto Meyer: Turning? You mean it's off the road?
Miner: Only a mile.
Otto Meyer: Now look, Pal, I'm in a hurry...
Miner: HOLD IT! Stop the car. Now listen, buddy, I'm sorry about your problems. But the doc said to hurry and this is my wife. Now come on, we turn right here.
Otto Meyer: But there isn't even a road...
Miner: LISTEN! Don't force me to get rough!
[Rips the steering wheel ring off]
Miner: Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bust up your car.
Otto Meyer: That's alright. You say it's a mile? Heck, a mile ain't asking too much.
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Facts about
The famously stone-faced Buster Keaton was originally set to play "Smiler Grogan." When the part was re-assigned to Jimmy Durante, Keaton was given another role as "Jimmy", a former smuggler who Captain Culpepper forces to help him in his plan to run away with the money.
The roles of Melville and Monica Crump were originally larger roles and written for Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in mind. However, when production on Garland's TV variety show ran into trouble, she had to turn down the part. Rooney was eventually given the supporting role of Ding "Dingy" Bell. Edie Adams, who was originally cast in the role of Emeline, was given the role of Monica. Ernie Kovacs was then cast as Melville but was tragically killed in a car crash before shooting began and was replaced by Sid Caesar.
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