It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
The biggest entertainment ever to rock the screen with laughter!
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Production
Budget
$9 400 000
Revenue
$60 000 000
Director
Scenario
William Rose
Author
Composer
Producer
Actors
Spencer Tracy
C. G. Culpepper
Milton Berle
J. Russell Finch
Sid Caesar
Melville Crump
Buddy Hackett
Benjy Benjamin
Ethel Merman
Mrs. Marcus
Mickey Rooney
Ding 'Dingy' Bell
Dick Shawn
Sylvester Marcus
Phil Silvers
Otto Meyer
Short description
Stanley Kramer's comedy follows several groups of motorists travelling through the California desert who witness a car crash. Before he dies, the driver tells the people who stop to help him that a large sum of money is buried in a park some distance away. The strangers, who had no connection to one another before the accident, each resolve to reach the hiding place first and claim the money for themselves, and their competing journeys turn into a cross-country scramble in which each party tries to slow the others down.
Spencer Tracy plays C. G. Culpepper, the police captain overseeing the search, while Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman and Mickey Rooney are among the motorists pursuing the buried cash. Kramer directed and produced the film from a screenplay by William Rose and Tania Rose, with a large credited cast and crew built around extended comic set pieces. It followed a run of serious dramas in Kramer's filmography, including The Defiant Ones, Inherit the Wind and Judgment at Nuremberg.
The film was released in November 1963 and runs just over three hours. Made for about 9 million dollars, it returned roughly 106 million dollars worldwide, a strong result for its time. On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from around 51,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7 out of 10 from a far smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 6.9 out of 10 from 39 reviews places it close to, though slightly below, the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- 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?”
- According to Edie Adams, she only found out after the fact that real dynamite had been used during the filming of the scene in the store basement.
- Spencer Tracy, an extremely disciplined actor who was accustomed to knowing exactly what would happen in a given scene before stepping onto the set, adapted well to the company of the comedic actors and even adopted their love for improvisation.
- When Milton Berle filmed scenes with other characters, he was always the last one to leave the frame. He even came up with movements or actions for his character that weren't in the script, but which justified his presence in the shot.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
