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.

Cast

Stars of this film included (alphabetical):

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Edie Adams as Monica Crump, wife of Melville Crump
• Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson as a cab driver
• Milton Berle as edible seaweed salesman, J. Russell Finch
• Sid Caesar as dentist, Melville Crump (a role originally meant for Ernie Kovacs before his death in a car accident)
• Jimmy Durante as Smiler Grogan
• Peter Falk as a cab driver
• Buddy Hackett as gambler, Benjy Benjamin
• Ethel Merman as Mrs. Marcus, mother-in-law of J. Russell Finch
• Dorothy Provine as Emeline Marcus-Finch, wife of J. Russell Finch
• Mickey Rooney as gambler, Ding Bell
• Dick Shawn as Sylvester Marcus, Emmaline's brother
• Phil Silvers as Otto Meyer
• Terry-Thomas as Lt. Col. Algernon Hawthorne
• Spencer Tracy as Captain Culpepper
• Jonathan Winters as truck driver, Lennie Pike

There were also cameo appearances by:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Jim Backus as Tyler Fitzgerald
• Jack Benny as man in the car
• Ben Blue as the biplane pilot
• Joe E. Brown as the union official
• Alan Carney as police sergeant
• William Demarest as the chief of police
• Andy Devine as the sheriff
• Norman Fell as a detective
• Stan Freberg as a deputy sheriff
• Sterling Holloway as the fire chief
• Edward Everett Horton as Mr. Dinckler
• Buster Keaton as Jimmy the boatman
• Tom Kennedy as the traffic cop
• Don Knotts as the nervous motorist
• Charles Lane as the airport manager
• Jerry Lewis as man who runs over hat
• Zasu Pitts as the switchboard operator
• Carl Reiner as the tower controller
• Arnold Stang as Ray, the garage man
• and the Three Stooges as firemen

Judy Garland, Groucho Marx, Stan Laurel, George Burns, and Red Skelton were among the many other celebrities considered or offered for roles in the film, but they most likely turned down the offers.

Related Topics:
Judy Garland - Groucho Marx - Stan Laurel - George Burns - Red Skelton

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~