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

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a comedy movie that followed the Hollywood trend in the 1960s of producing "gigantic" and "epic" films as a way to woo audiences into movie theaters. Television had sapped the regular moviegoing audience and box office revenues were dropping, and the major studios experimented with a number of "gimmicks" to attract audiences, including widescreen films. It premiered on November 7, 1963.

Related Topics:
Comedy - Hollywood - 1960s - Film - Television - Widescreen - November 7 - 1963

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Written by Tania and William Rose, not only was It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World filmed in Ultra Panavision and projected in Cinerama (becoming the first Cinerama film originated with one camera) , but it also had an all-star cast, with literally dozens of major comedy stars from all eras of cinema making appearances in the film.

Related Topics:
Tania - William Rose - Ultra Panavision - Cinerama

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The plot of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World follows the occupants of four vehicles who stop to help a man who has just careened off the highway. With his dying breaths, the man tells the bystanders about $350,000 that he hid in the town of Santa Rosita, less than a day's drive away, under ?the big W?. A wild race across the desert follows, as each carload of people tries to be first to find the money and claim it for themselves.

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Stanley Kramer claimed he wanted to make the ultimate comedy film. At more than two and a half hours (originally including an intermission) it is certainly one of the longest. Most of the humor is not especially sophisticated, consisting mainly of very noisy slapstick gags. Terry-Thomas's character's rant against the American obsession with bosoms still strikes a chord with non-American audiences. The movie is a showcase for these fabulous comedians because each plays his role in his own comedic style. For example, preserved for all time is classic Phil Silvers, classic Milton Berle, even classic Buster Keaton.

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The title was taken from Thomas Middleton's 1605 comedy A Mad World, My Masters. Kramer claimed to have considered adding a fifth "mad" to the title before deciding that it would be redundant.

Related Topics:
Thomas Middleton's - 1605 - Comedy - A Mad World, My Masters

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The film had a wonderful title theme song with music by Ernest Gold and lyrics by Mack David. They also wrote for the film "You Satisfy My Soul" and "Thirty-One Flavors."

Related Topics:
Ernest Gold - Mack David

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The airport terminal scenes were filmed at the now-defunct Rancho Conejo Airport in Newbury Park, California. The plane sequences with the control tower were filmed at the Sonoma County Airport north of Santa Rosa, California. The gas station scene with Jonathan Winters and Arnold Stang was filmed at a specially constructed set built on composer Jimmy Van Heusen's property near Palm Springs, California.

Related Topics:
Newbury Park, California - Sonoma County - Santa Rosa, California - Palm Springs, California

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