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

Play trailer Poster for It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World G Released Nov 7, 1963 2h 55m Comedy Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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69% Tomatometer 39 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
The story begins during a massive traffic jam, caused by reckless driver Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante), who, before kicking the bucket, cryptically tells the assembled drivers that he's buried a fortune in stolen loot, under the Big W. All of the motorists set out to find the fortune.
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It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

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

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Critics Consensus

It's long, frantic, and stuffed to the gills with comic actors and set pieces -- and that's exactly its charm.

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Critics Reviews

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Don Druker Chicago Reader Stanley Kramer strikes out again with this elephantine 1963 attempt at uproarious comedy. Nov 7, 2007 Full Review Variety Staff Variety The comic competition is so keen that it is impossible to single out any one participant as outstanding. Nov 7, 2007 Full Review Time Out Kramer's 'comedy to end all comedy' stretches its material to snapping point but offers happy hours of star-spotting. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review Rachel Wagner Hallmarkies Podcast So many funny scenes. Ethel Merman steals the movie Mar 23, 2025 Full Review Penelope Gilliatt Observer (UK) This is a grim new variant of the old knockabout form, a comedy that deliberately brutalises every convention that makes people laugh. What it be comes, not surprisingly, is a comedy hat makes people feel battered and bleak. Mar 6, 2024 Full Review Judith Crist New York Herald Tribune It's a comic's field day. We haven't seen such a salute to the gift of lunacy for decades. Aug 8, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert L It is one of my all time favorite movies. Definitely my favorite comedy. Great group of actors and non-stop action. I saw it for the first time with my Dad when it came out in 1963. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/15/24 Full Review Honnest Jonn The original comedy epic, containing the ultimate all-star cast of comedy legends! Non-stop laughs, historic locations all around Southern California, and some heart stopping stunts and car chases! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/17/23 Full Review Stephen C 2 hours and 55 minutes is too long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/04/25 Full Review Clark J Possibly a bit over hyped, and definitely over analyzed by those who live by being negative, it’s a fun, chaotic movie with many laughs and zero subtlety . Worth seeing again every 10 years. The ending was a major disappointment, so enjoy the journey. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/03/25 Full Review thiago s Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é mais ou menos, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/28/25 Full Review Russ G Everyone in show biz even remotely associated with comedy wanted a part in this film and most of them got it due to the bloated running time. Over three plus hours, some of it works, some of it doesn't, and some of it just gets tiresome. I saw this as a kid when it came out at the local run-down movie house that's long gone now; admission might have been as cheap as 50c for a matinee. The slapstick humor and madcap destruction was entertaining at the time but when I sat through it as an adult I found it silly and overlong. It had definitely jumped the shark by the concluding scene on the fire ladder. Jimmy Durante did the right thing by "kicking the bucket" at the open! Yes, the "Big w" was the movie's In Joke, as warner Bros. bankrolled this. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/07/25 Full Review Read all reviews
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

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Cast & Crew

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Stanley Kramer

Director

Spencer Tracy

Capt. T.G. Culpeper

Edie Adams

Monica Crump

Milton Berle

J. Russell Finch

Jimmy Durante

Smiler Grogan

Jonathan Winters

Lennie Pike

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

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis The story begins during a massive traffic jam, caused by reckless driver Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante), who, before kicking the bucket, cryptically tells the assembled drivers that he's buried a fortune in stolen loot, under the Big W. All of the motorists set out to find the fortune.
Director
Stanley Kramer
Producer
Stanley Kramer
Screenwriter
Tania Rose, William Rose
Distributor
United Artists
Production Co
United Artists, Casey Productions
Rating
G
Genre
Comedy, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 7, 1963, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 19, 2016
Runtime
2h 55m
Aspect Ratio
Cinerama (2.59:1), Scope (2.35:1)
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