Main Menu

Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 5,559,174
  • Total Topics: 106,348
  • Online Today: 719
  • Online Ever: 3,311
  • (July 08, 2021, 03:14:41 AM)
Users Online
Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 02:30:19 AM

Login with username, password and session length

1960's Comedy

Started by Small Man Big Horse, November 22, 2015, 11:56:41 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Small Man Big Horse

Felt the urge to ramble about It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World as I watched it tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it, but rather than dumping it in the Film's Recently Seen thread I thought it might be worth making a thread about any and all comedy films from the sixties. So what are your favourites? Are there any that you despise? And feel free to chat about those inbetween.

It's A Mad Mad Mad World (1963)

So this is a daft and enjoyably silly affair, where seven strangers witness a car driving off a cliff, and hear the driver's final words, in which he claims $350,000 is buried under a big W somewhere. Cue a big road race and lots of slapstick and idiocy. It has an all star cast including Spencer Tracey, Phil Silvers, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Terry Thomas and about a million and one cameos, including (often all too) brief appearances from The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, and Jerry Lewis. It does get off to a fairly slow start, and it's only about thirty minutes in that the laughs start coming frequently, but it's worth the wait. Hackett, Silvers and Thomas are the highlights of the cast, but everyone's pulling their weight here, only Ethel Merman annoyed me a bit with the constant screeching, but it's worth having her in the cast alone for the bit where she puts the keys down her bra. It's weird though, I didn't particularly root for any one character to find the money as they're nearly all a bit dickish in their own ways, but I guess if pushed I'd have gone for Buddy Hackett just because his cute face and daft voice amused throughout.

The best bits for me were:
Spoiler alert
Jonathan Winters destroying the gas station run by the guy who does the voice of Top Cat; Terry Thomas's bizarre speech about America being a matriarchy; Any scene with Ethel Merman's son Sylvester, but especially his funky dancing; the big mix of set pieces just before the intermission, along with the big set piece at the end.
[close]

It is undoubtedly a little over long, but that's my only complaint about this pretty charming film, and I'd say it's a definite must see.


samadriel

Can't go wrong with Dr Strangelove! Does anyone know where one might find footage of the abortive pie fight that was going to close the movie? I've always thought that might have made for a slightly superior ending; not that there's anything wrong with the existing one.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on November 22, 2015, 11:56:41 PM
Felt the urge to ramble about It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World as I watched it tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it, but rather than dumping it in the Film's Recently Seen thread I thought it might be worth making a thread about any and all comedy films from the sixties...

Great idea for a thread and a great pick – would it be best sticking to just US comedies? Just a thought as that might give some good opportunity to compare and contrast, whereas if it could be anywhere there would be less focus. Just a thought.

Quote from: samadriel on November 23, 2015, 01:23:26 PM
Can't go wrong with Dr Strangelove! Does anyone know where one might find footage of the abortive pie fight that was going to close the movie? I've always thought that might have made for a slightly superior ending; not that there's anything wrong with the existing one.

Although there are stills of it, I'm pretty sure the footage is missing presumed thrown away.

The usual reason that's been given why the pie fight wasn't used was because Kubrick was dissatisfied with the result – a lot of the information about this comes from Terry Southern and for your convenience: http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0081.html

Blinder Data

Some Like It Hot

'well I have penis, actually!'
'that's OK, I like to fuck guys in dresses'
*the end*

Great film

EDIT: 1959. Dammit.

Serge

I've never been able to spot Buster Keaton in 'It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'. I agree that Dick Shawn (Sylvester) is one of the highlights of the film - as a kid, his reckless driving and "Mama! I'm comin'" antics used to have me in hysterics. His other best-known role is as Lorenzo St. DuBois in 'The Producers', where he is equally brilliant. Though the funniest moments in the latter film for me usually come from Kenneth Mars' character, although I'm not sure he's actually present for
Spoiler alert
the courtroom scene where he's encased from head to toe in bandages.
[close]

zomgmouse

The Bellboy. Jerry Lewis wrote, produced and directed this (and did the music too). Admirable stuff.

From Italy, "comic realism" - Il sorpasso and Il boom. Dark comedies with a serious underpinning. Following from the neorealist movement things became a bit lighter but still socially conscious.

The Czech New Wave - Daisies is a shining example.

Charade. Once described as the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn outfoxing each other in Paris. Really lovely and rather funny. Directed by Stanley Donen who also directed Bedazzled - and while we're on the topic of Cook & Moore there's the very silly The Wrong Box.

The Pink Panther (the first one anyway) - masterclass in master farce. As is Play Time which is on a totally different level altogether, an absolute masterpiece of cinema.

Two great American comedy directors make their beginnings in the 60s: Mel Brooks directs The Producers and Woody Allen directs Take the Money and Run[nb]also What's Up, Tiger Lily? but I didn't really enjoy that[/nb].

The British New Wave saw mostly dramas but you did get the odd glint of comic madness such as in A Hard Day's Night.

Norton Canes

I remember seeing the end of It's A Mad Mad Mad World on TV when I was little - the W-shaped palm trees terrified me.

The Odd Couple is fucking good.

Also, if it pleases the court, I'd like to mention Batman.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Ignatius_S on November 23, 2015, 01:39:46 PM
Great idea for a thread and a great pick – would it be best sticking to just US comedies? Just a thought as that might give some good opportunity to compare and contrast, whereas if it could be anywhere there would be less focus. Just a thought.

Sounds like a good idea to me, and if there's a need we could always do a parallel thread for UK comedy of the decade.

Quote from: Serge on November 23, 2015, 01:52:53 PM
I've never been able to spot Buster Keaton in 'It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'. I agree that Dick Shawn (Sylvester) is one of the highlights of the film - as a kid, his reckless driving and "Mama! I'm comin'" antics used to have me in hysterics. His other best-known role is as Lorenzo St. DuBois in 'The Producers', where he is equally brilliant. Though the funniest moments in the latter film for me usually come from Kenneth Mars' character, although I'm not sure he's actually present for
Spoiler alert
the courtroom scene where he's encased from head to toe in bandages.
[close]

I only found out after reading the wiki page after the film, but he plays the guy with the garage who Culpepper drives to after stealing the money (and then immediately buggers off from when the two taxis arrive). Bit of a pointless cameo really, like The Three Stooges one. Then again I've just found out I saw a shorter version than the most recent blu-ray release, so maybe both are in it a bit more in the extended cut.

Women often stood screaming on tables when they saw mice in early-60s sitcoms, didn't they?  That's what Arthur Dent claimed, anyway.

Brundle-Fly

The best Carry On and genuinely scary.


non capisco

Quote from: clingfilm portent on November 24, 2015, 05:03:33 PM
Also, if it pleases the court, I'd like to mention Batman.

It pleases me, it's pretty great. I showed the 'getting rid of a bomb' scene to my nephew recently and he was in fits of laughter.

https://vimeo.com/91815457

Ambient Sheep

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on November 22, 2015, 11:56:41 PM
Felt the urge to ramble about It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World...

Hah!  That was the first film that came to mind when I saw the thread title.

Second the love for Batman and Carry On Screaming.  Both excellent films.


"Frrrrrying tonight!!"

Blumf

Just checking here reminds me of a few gems:

School for Scoundrels
The Rebel
The Producers
Take the Money and Run

I'll give Casino Royale a mention just for Welles' appearance.

prwc

The films of Robert Downey .Sr[nb]Yes, he is the dad of that guy[/nb] are well worth a look.

Putney Swope is his most famous, and is very enjoyable, but my favourite is the utterly absurd Chafed Elbows. It's done entirely with found still frames and shamelessly stupid voice overs, I've rarely laughed so much at something achieved via such simple means. Criterion released a (sadly barebones) boxset of his films a few years ago which is well worth obtaining.

Replies From View

Quote from: zomgmouse on November 24, 2015, 08:27:51 AM
The Pink Panther (the first one anyway) - masterclass in master farce.

A Shot in the Dark is surely not to be ignored in this breath.  Do that breath again please.

zomgmouse

Quote from: Replies From View on November 26, 2015, 07:04:05 PM
A Shot in the Dark is surely not to be ignored in this breath.  Do that breath again please.
I know lots of people like it but it didn't do much for me, except the stuff with the pool table.

Brundle-Fly

Bedazzled (1967) No brainer on CaB.


I loved The Big Job (1965) as a kid, Does it still stand up I wonder?

zomgmouse

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on November 27, 2015, 06:21:53 PM
Bedazzled (1967) No brainer on CaB.


I mentioned it in my earlier post but I think it's worth noting that Stanley Donen directed this and the very excellent but not really a comedy at all Two for the Road (also featuring Eleanor Bron) in the same year. That's pretty awesome.

Blumf

He did Saturn 3, never put that together before. From Singin' in the Rain to that. Odd career.

zomgmouse

Quote from: Blumf on November 28, 2015, 10:49:33 PM
He did Saturn 3, never put that together before. From Singin' in the Rain to that. Odd career.
The opening scene of Saturn 3 is very Donenesque. The rest of it... not so much. But yeah, I think overall he's had more misses than hits - which is suprising given the utter quality of his hits.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: zomgmouse on November 24, 2015, 08:27:51 AM
The Bellboy. Jerry Lewis wrote, produced and directed this (and did the music too). Admirable stuff.

The one film I'd recommend to anyone unconvinced of Jerry Lewis' genius. The fact that it's basically a silent, plotless film, in which Lewis barely says a word, is a major selling point, as I appreciate that his wheedling voice and penchant for icky pathos tends to put people off.

The Bellboy lasts for just over an hour, and - dud moments aside - it's a fantastic compendium of surrealist, inventive sight gags.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: zomgmouse on November 26, 2015, 10:50:15 PM
I know lots of people like it but it didn't do much for me, except the stuff with the pool table.

Clouseau pompously searching for clues and getting a splurge of face cream on his nose is one of my favourite comedy moments. So it has that to offer, too.