Movie · 1963 · Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime · 3h 12m · G · English
Curator score: 5.5/10 (92.6K ratings)
The biggest entertainment ever to rock the screen with laughter!
Overview
A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.5/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.71/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 69%
Metacritic: 59
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Stanley Kramer
Production
United Artists, Casey Productions
Cast
Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Jonathan Winters, Edie Adams, Dorothy Provine, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Jim Backus, Ben Blue, Joe E. Brown, Alan Carney, Chick Chandler, Barrie Chase, Lloyd Corrigan
Where to watch
fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A sprawling, old-school comedy spectacle that trades tight joke-writing for sheer scale, stunt work, and manic ensemble energy. It’s uneven and very long, but the big set pieces and parade of comic personalities make it a landmark if you enjoy oversized road-movie chaos.
Best for
fans of broad ensemble comedies
viewers who like elaborate practical stunt comedy
classic Hollywood and roadshow-era spectacle
people who enjoy chaotic chase narratives
Skip if
you need brisk pacing and modern comic timing
you dislike long runtimes or episodic structure
you prefer subtle, character-driven humor
you’re allergic to broad slapstick and dated gags
Overview
It’s a giant comic traffic jam: a treasure hunt that keeps multiplying characters, vehicles, and disasters until the whole movie feels like it’s careening downhill. The pleasure is less in elegant plotting than in accumulation—one absurd encounter after another, with the scale of the production becoming part of the joke.
Worth noting
The film is famously bloated, and that criticism is fair. Some stretches drag, and the humor can feel very broad by modern standards. But when it clicks, it clicks hard: the physical comedy, the destruction, and the sheer commitment to escalation give it a kind of manic grandeur that few comedies attempt anymore.
Bottom line
What makes it endure is the sense of event cinema. This is a comedy built to be watched big, with a crowd, and with enough star power and stunt choreography to turn nonsense into spectacle. If you’re in the mood for a classic studio-era madhouse, it’s still a blast.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Carlos Valladares (4★) · 1417 likes
I had one of the most exciting encounters at a movie theater EVER yesterday, so bear with me.
Yesterday, I re-watched It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Bland-ley Kramer, 1963) in glorious 70mm at LACMA! It's gotten a lot of hate around these parts for being cataclysmically unfunny. And while I can see why people would think so (Kramer has an awful eye for comedic direction, and the sheer pomposity of his statement that he would make "the comedy… more
James (Schaffrillas) (4★) · 1181 likes
Holy shit dude lmfao
demi adejuyigbe (4.5★) · 806 likes
gas station scene and the ending are some of the best, most insane, aspirational set pieces i've ever seen. what a blast. jonathan winters mvp
Karsten (3.5★) · 663 likes
some advice for those who don’t enjoy this: LIGHTEN UP
demi adejuyigbe (5★) · 587 likes
Watched this movie just two months ago and jumped at the chance to watch the 192 min version in 70mm at the Egyptian tonight. What a stunner. Beautiful, dangerous, madcap silliness, packed with cameos I only somewhat understand. Genuinely loved how much the older crowd lost their minds every time a new white guy showed up, like a million back-to-back Glup Shitto moments at a Star Wars fan event. I can't express how giddy it makes me to watch Phil… more Watched this movie just two months ago and jumped at the chance to watch the 192 min version in 70mm at the Egyptian tonight. What a stunner. Beautiful, dangerous, madcap silliness, packed with cameos I only somewhat understand. Genuinely loved how much the older crowd lost their minds every time a new white guy showed up, like a million back-to-back Glup Shitto moments at a Star Wars fan event. I can't express how giddy it makes me to watch Phil… more
1966 · Music, Comedy, Romance · 1h 37m · Curator 3.9/10 (18.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Another broad, high-energy farce that thrives on frantic pacing and comic excess.