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Movies / On DVD / It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

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It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

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Reviews Counted:26

Fresh:20

Rotten:6

Average Rating:6.7/10

Runtime: 3 hrs 12 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: This wacky comedy classic directed by Stanley Kramer features one of the largest collections of American comedians ever brought together on celluloid, resulting in the kind of far-out comic gem... This wacky comedy classic directed by Stanley Kramer features one of the largest collections of American comedians ever brought together on celluloid, resulting in the kind of far-out comic gem that only the 1960s could dish out. Filled with sharp one-liners, plenty of pratfalls and double takes, and unstoppable slapstick humor, this film never stops entertaining. The laughs come mostly from vehicle accidents of all kinds: car crashes, bike accidents, airplane failures, and almost everything else imaginable. But a good amount of humor is also lent to major wrestling matches, terrible mix-ups and misunderstandings, and increasingly absurd personalities such as Mrs. Marcus (Ethel Merman), the screeching and impossible mother-in-law. The film even laughs at itself, showing its flimsy cardboard sets as characters punch out walls or accidentally explode whole boxes of dynamite. The cast includes such favorites as Jonathan Winters, Phil Silvers, Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Sid Caesar, Spencer Tracey, Terry-Thomas, and Dick Shawn, among countless others. Brilliantly simple, the plot concerns a caravan of motorists who witness a terrible accident on a dangerously windy California highway. The auto-crash victim (Jimmy Durante) reveals in his dying words that he has hidden a fortune of stolen cash, sending the drivers on a rambunctious race to see who can claim the loot first! [More]

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Ethel Merman, Buddy Hackett

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Ethel Merman, Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Jimmy Durante, Dick Shawn, Jonathan Winters, Terry-Thomas, Phil Silvers, Carl Reiner, Dorothy Provine, ZaSu Pitts, Buster Keaton, Sterling Holloway, Leo Gorcey, Paul Ford, Peter Falk, Edward Everett Horton, William Demarest

Director: Stanley Kramer

Director: Stanley Kramer
Screenwriter: William Rose, Tania Rose
Producer: Stanley Kramer
Composer: Ernest Gold

[See More Credits]

Reviews for It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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Spencer Tracy, Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney and host of good-old-fashioned-comedy chums cram in the action, but miss the laughs in this frantic bank caper comedy.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/07/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Kramer's 'comedy to end all comedy' stretches its material to snapping point but offers happy hours of star-spotting.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
10/03/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Stanley Kramer strikes out again with this elephantine 1963 attempt at uproarious comedy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
11/07/07
Don Druker
Don Druker
Chicago Reader

This movie defines the words "comic romp."

comment Comment
12/05/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Favorite line: "Why don’t we just shoot ‘em down and be through with it.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
10/02/01
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment 1 Comment
07/04/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Bloated mega-comedy best for its many cameos

comment Comment
02/11/05
Daniel Eagan
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

The ensuing adventures stretch the definition of the word madcap.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
02/13/01
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
11/01/02
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

An overblown elephant of a comedy. Not very funny and dated.

comment Comment
08/21/02
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Still the funniest star packed comedy ever.

comment Comment
01/02/05
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment Comment
11/07/03
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

Funny and energetic, but a long way from Kramer's best work.

comment Comment
07/27/02
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

A huge cast wasted in this interminable mess

comment Comment
07/30/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
04/18/03
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

So many excellent actors and stunt men do so much in this film that it is beyond my space allowance to begin to credit them.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/17/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

comment Comment
12/11/07
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

February 14, 2007: Zombie Keeps Adding Bodies to His "Halloween" Cast
At this point it feels like Rob Zombie is doing a remake of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" instead of a "Halloween" reboot. We have some more casting news... More...

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