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

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Timing: 3:12 (192 min)

6.984/10
663

7.679/10
15370

7.5/10
51000

All about film

Video 6

Photo 47

Actors and characters

Release date

1963-11-07

Country

United States

Production

United Artists, Casey Productions

Genre

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime

Budget

$9 400 000

Revenue

$106 332 858

Website

Director

Stanley Kramer

Actors

Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Jonathan Winters
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Stanley Kramer

Operator

Ernest Laszlo

Composer

Ernest Gold

Artist

Audition

Editing

Frederic Knudtson, Robert C. Jones, Gene Fowler Jr.
All team (83)

• Eldar Ryazanov filmed a kind of remake based on this film: "The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia" (1973).
• The film was released in Soviet cinemas in 1965 with a single-voice voiceover dubbing by the "Central Studio of Film Actors." The text was read by Artem Karapetyan.
• The film was cut by 12 minutes for Soviet cinema release.
• In 1965, the film's screenplay was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award.
• The cameo role eventually played by Jack Benny was initially offered to Stan Laurel, but Laurel (a comedic actor, screenwriter, and director famous for his work with the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy) declined the offer. In 1957, he lost his close friend and stage partner Oliver Hardy and vowed never to perform again. He kept his promise. By this point, a long shot with a stunt double wearing Laurel’s signature bowler hat had already been filmed. This is why Benny is shown wearing the bowler hat in the film, even though he never wore one before or after.
• At the time of filming this movie, there were approximately 100 stunt performers in the United States, and around 80 of them were involved in this project.
• The scene with the blowtorch, hammer, and ladder, and the character played by Sid Caesar, was filmed with 86 takes.
• Peter Falk improvised a significant portion of his own lines in the taxi.
• During the premiere of the film in Hollywood, during the so-called "Intermission," what were supposedly police negotiations describing the events unfolding with the film's characters were broadcast over the speakers. It was possible to hear everything not only directly in the auditorium but even in the cafeteria and restrooms.
• The film has so many stunts that all the main actors were given two scripts – one listed the lines, and the other listed the comedic stunts.
• Edie Adams, who played Monica, lost her husband, Ernie Kovacs, in a car accident a couple of months before filming began. Adams agreed to the role because Kovacs had left her with many debts, and she could only pay off her creditors by earning money filming this and other movies.
• A significant portion of the film was shot during a hot summer in California. Director Stanley Kramer ordered a fully air-conditioned van with plenty of seating to be brought to the set so that the actors and crew could catch their breath between takes.
• During the filming of the scene where the car with Otto at the wheel drives into the river, the actor playing the role, Phil Silvers, nearly drowned because he couldn't swim.
• The film featured many celebrities, and assigning names to the posters and promotional materials presented a problem. Stanley Kramer solved it as follows: the top line featured Spencer Tracy's name, as he was the most famous actor of everyone in the film. Below him were the names of the leading comedians, listed alphabetically, followed by the supporting actors (also in alphabetical order). The only exception to this rule was Jimmy Durante. Kramer wanted to give him special recognition, as his screen appearance (as Grogan) was very brief.
• Stanley Kramer cast practically every comedic actor he could think of in the film. Some even contacted Kramer themselves, offering their services or wondering why they hadn't been offered a role yet.
• Arnold Stang (who played Ray) broke his left arm just a few days before filming the scenes with his character. In the shots, he constantly wears work gloves, and his left arm is in a cast hidden by his uniform. Director Stanley Kramer suggested replacing him in the role of Ray with someone else, but Stang insisted on receiving his full salary, stating he would play the role even if he lost his arm.
• After filming the scene of Jonathan Winters' gas station destruction (he played Lennie Pike), he was accidentally left tied up with the cable, and everyone went to lunch. The actors and crew returned a couple of hours later and immediately found Winters still tied up, having spent the entire time unsuccessfully trying to free his hands.
• Spencer Tracy filmed all his scenes in 9 days. Stanley Kramer was aware that the actor was in very poor health. Kramer didn't allow him to work more than 3-4 hours a day and didn't schedule him for scenes in the desert. In the most extreme cases, a stunt double stood in for Tracy there.
• Phil Silvers was injured and towards the end of filming, Otto was replaced by a stunt double. In all the scenes near the end, Otto consistently looks away from the camera.
• When the actors involved in the film gathered for their first meeting with director Stanley Kramer, they were shown footage shot by the second unit. Buddy Hackett was so impressed by what he saw that he couldn't help but ask Kramer, “What are we even here for?”