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

I haven't really reviewed older movies lately. But this movie had so many freakin' people in it I just had to write about it.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World starts when Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) wrecks his car as he careens off of a cliff somewhere in the outback of California. Several car loads of people witness this accident and they all race to the car to see if he's okay. Nearing his last breath, he tells them that there's $350,000 buried beneath the big "W" in the park in Santa Rosita. Seconds later - he's dead.

The mad dash starts as the onlookers race across the state to get to Santa Rosita to get the money. Unbeknownst to them, Captain T.G. Culpepper is on to them and let's them lead him to the money. You see - he's been waiting for a break in the case for 20 years in order to find this money.

So here's a list of the people who star in the movie. If you're a well-rounded person, you'll probably know most, if not all, of them. Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett,
Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Jonathan Winters, Jim Backus, Peter Faulk, Norman Fell, Buster Keaton, Don Knotts, Carl Reiner, Dorothy Provine, Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante, Ron Howard, Jerry Lewis, Eddie "Rochester" Robinson, and the Three Stooges - Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curley Joe.

The movie is about 2 hours and 41 minutes long - which wasn't all that uncommon in the 1960's. The movie is not rated (pre-rating era), but the most scandalous thing to come out of the movie was when Ethyl Merman flashed her bloomers when she fell.

This is a great zany goof-ball comedy that anyone who appreciates classic movies will love. If you haven't seen this movie, put it on your list.

I give this movie 4.2 stars.

Ocean's Eleven

I love watching the original movie of any remake. Ocean's Eleven is the original that was remade into a series of Ocean's movies in the 2000's starring George Clooney.

The original Ocean starred Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean and, like its successor, had an all-star cast that included the who's-who of the 1960's, including members of the Rat Pack - Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford; and also Angie Dickenson, Cesar Romero (the Joker from the Batman series), Norman Fell (from Three's Company), and Red Skelton, the famous clown and comedian.

The premise of the movie is that some World War II veterans get together and decide to pull off the perfect heist in Las Vegas. Not everyone is convinced that this aging group can pull it off, but put to the gun of peer pressure and starring face-to-face with their own mid-life crisis, they all decide to go through with it. Under the veil of the New Year's Eve celebrations, they will hit the major casinos of the day - The Sands, The Stardust, and The Flamingo, among others, and rob them of their booty. But, of course, crimes don't always go as planned.

Ocean's Eleven was directed by Lewis Milestone, known for such other classics as All Quiet on the Western Front, Of Mice and Men, A Walk in the Sun, Porkchop Hill, and the 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty.

Released in 1960, Ocean's Eleven is not rated, but would easily be stamped with a PG rating. At just over 2 hours long, the movie is packed with humor, drama, and a little bit of action.

I give this movie 4 stars and consider it a must-see classic from the 1960's.

As a bonus, in one scene they are walking down the strip past one of the casinos and the marquis displays "Louis Prima and Keeley Smith" as the entertainers, two of my favorites during the era of big band jazz. Check it out!