It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
The comedy event of the century, In glorious 70mm!
Country
Production
Budget
$9 400 000
Box office
$106 332 858
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Ernest Laszlo
Composer
Artist
Audition
Editing
Frederic Knudtson, Robert C. Jones, Gene Fowler Jr.
Whole Team (84)
Whole Team (84)
Short description
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.
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?”
- The supporting role eventually played by Jack Benny was initially offered to Stan Laurel, but Laurel (the comedic actor, writer, and director famous for the 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 that vow. By that time, a long shot had already been filmed with a double wearing the bowler hat that had become Laurel's trademark. This is why Benny is seen wearing a bowler hat in the film, although he wore one neither before nor after.
- The scene featuring the blowtorch, hammer, ladder, and the character played by Sid Caesar took 86 takes to film.
- A few months before filming began, Ernie Kovacs, the husband of Edie Adams, who played Monica, died in a car accident. Adams accepted the role because Kovacs had left her with numerous debts, and she could only pay off her creditors by earning money from this and other films.
- A significant portion of the film was shot during a hot summer in California. Director Stanley Kramer ordered an air-conditioned trailer with plenty of seating to be brought to the set so that the actors and crew could catch their breath between takes.
- 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.
- When the actors cast 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 struck by what he saw that he couldn't help but ask Kramer, 'What are we even doing here?'
- During the filming of the scene in which the car with Otto at the wheel drives into a river, Phil Silvers, who played the role, nearly drowned because he didn't know how to swim.
- Many celebrities appeared in the film, and the arrangement of names on the marquees and promotional posters presented a problem. Stanley Kramer solved it as follows: the top line was reserved for Spencer Tracy, as the most famous actor in the film. Following him were the names of the lead comedians in alphabetical order, then the supporting actors (also in alphabetical order). The only exception to this rule was Jimmy Durante. Kramer wanted to give him special recognition because his screen time (as Grogan) was extremely brief.
- Stanley Kramer cast practically every comedy actor he could think of. Some even contacted Kramer themselves, offering their services or asking why they hadn't been offered a role yet.
- Arnold Stang (who played Ray) broke his left arm just a few days before his scenes were to be filmed. In the frame, he constantly wears work gloves, and his left arm is in a cast hidden by his uniform. Director Stanley Kramer suggested replacing Stang with someone else for the role of Ray so that Stang would still receive his full payment, to which Stang replied that he would have played the part even if he had lost the arm entirely.
- After filming the scene where the gas station is destroyed, Jonathan Winters (who played Lenny Pike) was accidentally left tied up with a cable, and everyone went on a lunch break. The actors and crew returned a couple of hours later only to find Winters still tied up, having spent the entire time in vain attempts to free his hands.
- Spencer Tracy completed all his scenes in 9 days. Stanley Kramer was aware that the actor was in very poor health. Kramer did not allow him to work more than 3-4 hours a day and did not bring him to the desert scenes. In extreme cases, a stunt double was used instead of Tracy.
- Phil Silvers was injured, and toward the end of the filming period, a double played Otto in his place. In all the scenes near the end, Otto consistently looks away from the camera.
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