A group of motorists witnesses a car crash in the California desert, and after the driver's dying words indicate the location of a hidden stash of loot, they turn against each other in a rac... Read allA group of motorists witnesses a car crash in the California desert, and after the driver's dying words indicate the location of a hidden stash of loot, they turn against each other in a race across the state to get to it.A group of motorists witnesses a car crash in the California desert, and after the driver's dying words indicate the location of a hidden stash of loot, they turn against each other in a race across the state to get to it.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 10 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJack Benny's cameo role was originally offered to Stan Laurel, but Laurel turned it down. When his best friend and partner Oliver Hardy died in 1957, he pledged never to perform again. He kept that promise for the rest of his life. By the time this happened, a long shot of the character had already been filmed with a stand-in wearing Laurel's trademark bowler hat. This is why Benny is seen wearing a bowler hat despite never having worn one as part of his regular work.
- GoofsWhen Pike destroys the restrooms to get at Ray and Irwin, it's clear neither restroom has a toilet stall or a sink.
- Quotes
J. Algernon Hawthorne: I must say, if I had the grievous misfortune to be a citizen of this benighted country, I should be the most hesitant at offering any criticism whatever of any other.
J. Russell Finch: Wait a minute, are you knocking this country? Are you saying something against America?
J. Algernon Hawthorne: Against it? I should be positively astounded to hear of anything that could be said FOR it. Why, the whole bloody place is the most unspeakable matriarchy in the whole history of civilization! Look at yourself, and the way your wife and her strumpet of a mother push you through the hoop! As far as I can see, American men have been totally emasculated. They're like slaves! They die like flies from coronary thrombosis, while their women sit under hairdryers, eating chocolates and arranging for every second Tuesday to be some sort of Mother's Day! And this positively infantile preoccupation with bosoms. In all my time in this wretched, godforsaken country, the one thing that has appalled me most of all is this preposterous preoccupation with bosoms. Don't you realize they have become the dominant theme in American culture: in literature, advertising and all fields of entertainment and everything. I'll wager you anything you like: if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight.
- Crazy creditsWhen the globe explodes and credits fall everywhere, the credits of the animators who worked on the title sequence can be seen.
- Alternate versionsBuster Keaton had a longer, earlier scene (cut after premiere). In it, Culpepper telephone's Jimmy at his dockside warehouse and discusses his plans to use Jimmy's boat to escape to Mexico with the stolen money.
- ConnectionsEdited into Bass on Titles (1982)
- SoundtracksIt's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
(uncredited)
Music by Ernest Gold
Lyrics by Mack David
[Sung by an offscreen chorus during the Overture, with instrumental variations in the score throughout the film]
First of all, you can't just sit down to watch a three hour movie without knowing what you're in for. This is not your typical comedy--this is an EPIC comedy, the first of its kind, that inspired other such epics as "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" and "The Great Race" (which happens to be my favorite comedy--in fact, I'd like to say it's the better movie, but props go to this one for inventing the genre). And I can't speak for everyone else, but this movie leaves me laughing from start to finish.
Yes, it is very long, but it NEVER has a dull moment. Even if the amazing car stunts aren't particularly funny, you can't tell me they aren't wildly entertaining. I have yet to see an action movie with better car chases than these. And yes, the slapstick is ridiculously over the top, although I can't see how that's a problem (the gas station scene is one of the funniest in movie history, in my opinion). But underneath all the slapstick and shouting, holding the whole movie together, is that incredibly cynical message. It is a movie about kind, decent folks turning into law-breaking lunatics and ruining their lives for the sake of money. The subplot with Spencer Tracey realizing his entire life has been a waste, and then ruining what life he has left, is one of the most tragic story lines I have seen. But it's also pretty darn funny.
All the critics need to lighten up and see this for the absurd, delirious, hysterical farce it is.
10/10 stars.
- Chromium_5
- Mar 4, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
- Filming locations
- Portuguese Point, 5500 Palos Verdes Dr. S., Palos Verdes, California, USA(Santa Rosita Beach State Park - site of the 'Big W')
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $9,400,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $46,332,858
- Gross worldwide
- $46,333,064
- Runtime3 hours 30 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
- 2.55:1