With a cast of virtually every comedian from vaudeville, TV, movies, etc. who was alive and in the buisiness at that time thrown together and all given a chance to show their stuff, however briefly, you're going to have plenty of funny moments. And they're there in this film, which should be seen for that reason alone. All the comics are pretty much in top form, with Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Phil Silvers, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Sid Caesar, Jimmy Durante, and of course, Ethel Merman standing out, and Spencer Tracy in his penultimate film appearence as the police officer following them in their search for the dough buried under the big W is, as usual, the only person around with a brain in his head... until the end! That may be possibly one of the best twists in film history.
But the film itself does go on seemingly forever, and drags in more than a few spots. After a while, you can only take so many more car chases, yelling and purse swinging, but amazingly enough, it's never completely boring. And though it is amazing that Stanley Kramer, otherwise known for his serious, preachy dramas, directed this, I think a lot of the credit for the film turning out so well goes to the talent involved and, if the surviving actors are to be believed in a documentary I saw, the great script that largely kept them from adlibbing, and not unwillingly. Kramer basically seems to just sit back and let everybody do their thing (without bothering to make them stop), and it works. "I'm comin' Mama, your baby's comin'!"
But the film itself does go on seemingly forever, and drags in more than a few spots. After a while, you can only take so many more car chases, yelling and purse swinging, but amazingly enough, it's never completely boring. And though it is amazing that Stanley Kramer, otherwise known for his serious, preachy dramas, directed this, I think a lot of the credit for the film turning out so well goes to the talent involved and, if the surviving actors are to be believed in a documentary I saw, the great script that largely kept them from adlibbing, and not unwillingly. Kramer basically seems to just sit back and let everybody do their thing (without bothering to make them stop), and it works. "I'm comin' Mama, your baby's comin'!"