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ActionAdventureComedyCrime

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

- The comedy event of the century, In glorious 70mm!

A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.

Release Date : 1963-11-07

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : United ArtistsCasey Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Spencer Tracy

Character Name : C. G. Culpepper

Original Name : Spencer Tracy

Gender : Male

Milton Berle

Character Name : J. Russell Finch

Original Name : Milton Berle

Gender : Male

Sid Caesar

Character Name : Melville Crump

Original Name : Sid Caesar

Gender : Male

Buddy Hackett

Character Name : Benjy Benjamin

Original Name : Buddy Hackett

Gender : Male

Ethel Merman

Character Name : Mrs. Marcus

Original Name : Ethel Merman

Gender : Female

Mickey Rooney

Character Name : Ding 'Dingy' Bell

Original Name : Mickey Rooney

Gender : Male

Dick Shawn

Character Name : Sylvester Marcus

Original Name : Dick Shawn

Gender : Male

Phil Silvers

Character Name : Otto Meyer

Original Name : Phil Silvers

Gender : Male

Terry-Thomas

Character Name : J. Algernon Hawthorne

Original Name : Terry-Thomas

Gender : Male

Jonathan Winters

Character Name : Lennie Pike

Original Name : Jonathan Winters

Gender : Male

Edie Adams

Character Name : Monica Crump

Original Name : Edie Adams

Gender : Female

Dorothy Provine

Character Name : Emeline Marcus-Finch

Original Name : Dorothy Provine

Gender : Female

Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson

Character Name : Second Cab Driver

Original Name : Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson

Gender : Male

Jim Backus

Character Name : Tyler Fitzgerald

Original Name : Jim Backus

Gender : Male

Ben Blue

Character Name : Biplane Pilot

Original Name : Ben Blue

Gender : Male

Joe E. Brown

Character Name : Union Official

Original Name : Joe E. Brown

Gender : Male

Alan Carney

Character Name : Police Sergeant

Original Name : Alan Carney

Gender : Male

Chick Chandler

Character Name : Detective Outside Chinese Laundromat

Original Name : Chick Chandler

Gender : Male

Barrie Chase

Character Name : Sylvester's Girlfriend

Original Name : Barrie Chase

Gender : Female

Lloyd Corrigan

Character Name : The Mayor

Original Name : Lloyd Corrigan

Gender : Male

William Demarest

Character Name : Police Chief Aloysius

Original Name : William Demarest

Gender : Male

Selma Diamond

Character Name : Ginger Culpepper (voice)

Original Name : Selma Diamond

Gender : Female

Andy Devine

Character Name : Sheriff of Crockett County

Original Name : Andy Devine

Gender : Male

Norman Fell

Character Name : Detective at Grogan's Crash Site

Original Name : Norman Fell

Gender : Male

Paul Ford

Character Name : Col. Wilberforce

Original Name : Paul Ford

Gender : Male

Stan Freberg

Character Name : Deputy Sheriff

Original Name : Stan Freberg

Gender : Male

Louise Glenn

Character Name : Billie Sue Culpepper (voice)

Original Name : Louise Glenn

Gender : Female

Leo Gorcey

Character Name : First Cab Driver

Original Name : Leo Gorcey

Gender : Male

Sterling Holloway

Character Name : Fire Chief

Original Name : Sterling Holloway

Gender : Male

Marvin Kaplan

Character Name : Irwin

Original Name : Marvin Kaplan

Gender : Male

Edward Everett Horton

Character Name : Mr. Dinckler

Original Name : Edward Everett Horton

Gender : Male

Buster Keaton

Character Name : Jimmy the Crook

Original Name : Buster Keaton

Gender : Male

Charles Lane

Character Name : Airport Manager

Original Name : Charles Lane

Gender : Male

Don Knotts

Character Name : Nervous Motorist

Original Name : Don Knotts

Gender : Male

Mike Mazurki

Character Name : Miner

Original Name : Mike Mazurki

Gender : Male

Charles McGraw

Character Name : Lt. Matthews

Original Name : Charles McGraw

Gender : Male

Cliff Norton

Character Name : Reporter

Original Name : Cliff Norton

Gender : Male

Zasu Pitts

Character Name : Gertie - Switchboard Operator

Original Name : Zasu Pitts

Gender : Female

Carl Reiner

Character Name : Tower Controller at Rancho Conejo

Original Name : Carl Reiner

Gender : Male

Madlyn Rhue

Character Name : Secretary Schwartz

Original Name : Madlyn Rhue

Gender : Female

Roy Roberts

Character Name : Policeman Outside Irwin & Ray's Garage

Original Name : Roy Roberts

Gender : Male

Arnold Stang

Character Name : Ray

Original Name : Arnold Stang

Gender : Male

Nick Stewart

Character Name : Driver run off highway

Original Name : Nick Stewart

Gender : Male

Moe Howard

Character Name : Airport Firemen #1

Original Name : Moe Howard

Gender : Male

Larry Fine

Character Name : Airport Firemen #2

Original Name : Larry Fine

Gender : Male

Joe DeRita

Character Name : Airport Firemen #3

Original Name : Joe DeRita

Gender : Male

Sammee Tong

Character Name : Laundryman

Original Name : Sammee Tong

Gender : Male

Jimmy Durante

Character Name : Smiler Grogan

Original Name : Jimmy Durante

Gender : Male

Jack Benny

Character Name : Man in Car in Desert (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Benny

Gender : Male

Jerry Lewis

Character Name : Driver Who Runs Over Hat (uncredited)

Original Name : Jerry Lewis

Gender : Male

Doodles Weaver

Character Name : Hardware Store Clerk (uncredited)

Original Name : Doodles Weaver

Gender : Male

Jesse White

Character Name : Air Traffic Controller

Original Name : Jesse White

Gender : Male

Al Bain

Character Name : Spectator (uncredited)

Original Name : Al Bain

Gender : Male

Stanley Clements

Character Name : Reporter (uncredited)

Original Name : Stanley Clements

Gender : Male

Max Wagner

Character Name : Spectator (uncredited)

Original Name : Max Wagner

Gender : Male

Morey Amsterdam

Character Name : Uncle Mike (voice) (uncredited)

Original Name : Morey Amsterdam

Gender : Male

Lovyss Bradley

Character Name : Matron (uncredited)

Original Name : Lovyss Bradley

Gender : Female

Dick Cherney

Character Name : Detective (uncredited)

Original Name : Dick Cherney

Gender : Male

John Clarke

Character Name : Helicoper Pilot (uncredited)

Original Name : John Clarke

Gender : Male

Roy Engel

Character Name : Patrolman / Police Radio Voice Unit F-14 (uncredited)

Original Name : Roy Engel

Gender : Male

Nicholas Georgiade

Character Name : Detective at Grogan's Crash Site (uncredited)

Original Name : Nicholas Georgiade

Gender : Male

Stacy Harris

Character Name : Police Radio Unit F-7 (voice) (uncredited)

Original Name : Stacy Harris

Gender : Male

Don C. Harvey

Character Name : Policeman in Helicopter (uncredited)

Original Name : Don C. Harvey

Gender : Male

John Indrisano

Character Name : Hard Hat in Crowd (uncredited)

Original Name : John Indrisano

Gender : Male

Allen Jenkins

Character Name : Cop (uncredited)

Original Name : Allen Jenkins

Gender : Male

Tom Kennedy

Character Name : Traffic Cop (uncredited)

Original Name : Tom Kennedy

Gender : Male

Charles Sherlock

Character Name : Crowd Member (uncredited)

Original Name : Charles Sherlock

Gender : Male

Paul Sorensen

Character Name : Hardhat in Crowd Next to Joe E Brown. (uncredited)

Original Name : Paul Sorensen

Gender : Male

Lennie Weinrib

Character Name : F-14 / Ladder Fireman (voice) (uncredited)

Original Name : Lennie Weinrib

Gender : Male

Rudy Germane

Character Name : Police Officer (uncredited)

Original Name : Rudy Germane

Gender : Male

Peter Falk

Character Name : Third Cab Driver

Original Name : Peter Falk

Gender : Male

Reviews

J

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

It's every man (and old bag) for himself. It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is one of those films that as a child I went to the cinema to watch and then proceeded to talk about it enthusiastically in the playground for weeks afterwards. So I find myself here in my middle age with mixed feelings after just revisiting this extravaganza for the first time in many a year. It's very much a film of three parts to me, and each part impacts differently on the entertainment scale. The first part of this multi cast piece is as madcap and as mirthful as you could honestly wish to see, but this sadly ill prepares you for a middle part that outstays its welcome to the point that you can't believe they stretched it to an original cut of 3 hours! The final third of the film saves it from smug overkill because by now you have invested so much time into the film, you thank the gods for any sort of frivolity - and thankfully the film does lift you back up to the happy place that you had visited an hour previously. The cast are fine, where some brilliant shows are mixed in with the merely acceptable ones, and I wouldn't want to be so churlish as to dissect each actors respective show. However, as a Phil Silvers fan I'm rewarded plenty enough and as a Spencer Tracy acolyte I'm burning candles again in his honour. Yet it's Ethel Merman as Mrs. Marcus that lives long and glorious in the memory here, and honestly I feel the film is worth a watch purely just for her. The set pieces are fine and the stunts are truly a feast for the eyes, but ultimately one comes away thinking this film should have been a masterpiece instead of the overkilled and overlong experience that it is. 6.5/10

W

Wuchak

@Wuchak

2021-06-23

_**Epic screwball comedy-adventure with an all-star cast is overlong**_ Released in 1963, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” is grand comedy-adventure about several motorists in the remote desert of Southern Cal learning of a buried cache of moolah in Santa Rosita State Park along the coast 200 miles south. A mad scramble to get to the money ensues. The cast is superlative with too many old-time greats to cite. The opening is compelling, the first act culminating with an amusing sequence where Jonathan Winters’ character levels a gas station in the desert. The wild close with the fire truck ladder and corresponding hospital gag is also superb entertainment. The middle of the film, while fun, can get tedious because emptyheaded shenanigans can only hold your interest for so long. In other words, the movie’s just too long for such madcap misadventures. Nevertheless, it’s a fun, energetic flick with top-rate locations and this is the only way to see so many classic celebrities on screen together. The theatrical cut runs 2 hours, 41 minutes whereas the longest cut runs 3 hours, 30 minutes. There are several other cuts. It was shot entirely in various areas of Southern Cal. GRADE: B-

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2025-01-14

Maybe not since Michael Anderson managed to put together a stellar cast for his "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1956) have we seen quite such an ensemble group of famous faces peppering a light-comedy. This time, it all starts with Jimmy Durante being thrown from his crashing car and surviving just long enough to tell the gathered crowd of a $350,000 fortune buried under the "Big W". Initially the gang decide to work together to find and share the loot, but they can't agree on a formula to distribute it and so quickly it's every man (or dame) for themselves. How to get there? Well there are cars, trains and even an aeroplane put to good use as their "Wacky Races" style antics see friends and families fall out, fall in, row, squabble and use quit a bit of ingenuity to get to the Santa Rosita State Park first!. Meantime, disillusioned cop "Culpeper" (Spencer Tracy) is fed up with his measly pension provision, and it's likely to be his final act to try and locate some stolen cash. Yep. The self same $350,000! He's no fool and as he learns of this group of treasure hunters, he decides to let them do the all of the heavy lifting then just pop up and wave his badge. Can it be that simple? Well, first of all these disparate folks have to find it - and as their journey gradually fills with acrimony and mistrust, you wouldn't want to bet on it. The star here for me is Terry-Thomas, a Brit who happens to be travelling in his car and who picks up the family from hell. They are led by fiery matriarch (Ethel Merman) and her drip of a son and pretty quickly their driver is in on their not-so-secret gig and devising some suitably mischievous plans of his own! Mickey Rooney's "Ding Bell" is also in on the chase; there's Phil Silvers rather over-acting as "Otto" and a slew of other familiar faces like Andy Devine, Zazu Pitts, Peter Falk - even Buster Keaton makes an appearance which is apt for the conclusion is straight out of one of his slapstick efforts from forty years earlier. At 3½ hours duration, it's too long. The action is fun for a while as they scramble for advantage but once we've met each of them and got to know their foibles the joke starts to wear a little bit thin and I found it really sagged, repetitively, for an hour in the middle. The occasionally pithy writing quickly gives way to a clunky screw-ball style that was as predictable as it was strained. The stereotypes of the plucky Englishman, the harridan mother-in-law, the ditzy gal - they all all work for a while but soon become a bit laboured and though it does liven up at the ending, I could probably have done with that about an hour earlier. It's fun at times, but I prefer a little more subtlety in my humour - and there's very little of that here.