GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Michelle Ridley
The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
fwmurnau
Lavish sets, thousands of extras, and cameos by virtually every big star in 1960 Hollywood can't save this disaster, done in by its stupid story, witless script, and endless running time -- originally 3 hours and 15 minutes! What were they thinking?!! I turned on TCM and discovered Shirley Jones, of all people, playing a sexy, bitter, beatnik hoofer. Huh??? I was hooked. I had to watch it to the bitter end.They made several super-duper "cavalcade of stars" films like this around the same time: IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD, AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS, and so on. None of them were great, but this may be the worst of the pack.Jones looks radiant and Cantinflas's charm and talent are obvious, but both are done in by the stupidity of their roles and of the story. Jones, one of the finest singers in movies, cast as a DANCER who hardly gets to sing? Dailey, a great dancer, cast in a downbeat dramatic role where he barely gets to dance? Casting doesn't get much more perverse.Don't miss the WEST SIDE STORY rip-off, a lengthy Apache-dance sequence featuring a comely, half-naked Jones trying to make like Cyd Charisse without being given a single note to sing ... all of this with loud faux-Bernstein music on the soundtrack.Even weirder is Judy Garland's "appearance" -- actually she doesn't appear, but the characters hear her voice singing a song, supposedly on the radio. As Alice would say, PEPE just gets "curiouser and curiouser ..." This must have been one of the overblown, elephantine messes that helped kill the Movie Musical in the 1960s.
Teenie-1
I agree with many other comments posted here about this film about why it should never have been given a poor rating by critics. I was ten years old when this film was released and wanted to see it but never did until today. I saw it on TCM and boy, what a real treat to have seen so many of the old stars that have since left us but their talent and memories still linger in our minds and hearts. I never knew that Shirley Jones was a dancer until the scene where Dan Dailey is filming a dance sequence with her and another dancer and Bobby Darin is singing the story. This is when talent was talent, compared to some of the junk they call talent today.Cantinflas could have truly been called the Mexican Charlie Chaplin, with his character so reminiscent of The Little Tramp yet unique in his own little way. He definitely did not get the credit that he deserved.Take the kids away from the raunchy cartoons and violence and rent this one for a family viewing night. They will get a kick out of Pepe's horse and his little donkey. I plan to purchase a copy for myself to keep in my collection for viewing on a rainy day. This is one of my all-time favorites.
shinquiz
It seems as if the 195-minute print of this all-star oddity has forever been pulled from circulation. However the remaining 157-minute version is quite long enough. This movie has always been made fun of, but as misguided as it is, it is still entertaining, if only because it is so crammed full of guest appearances.Here's who you get: Greer Garson trying to buy a prize horse; Edward G. Robinson playing himself though he is seen here as a famous film producer; Ernie Kovacs as an immigration inspector; William Demarest as a studio gate keeper; Zsa Zsa Gabor reading a copy of "The Interns" to promote Columbia's upcoming film version; Bing Crosby signing Cantinflas's tortilla and joining him in a few lines of "South of the Border"; Jay North playing Dennis the Menace; Billie Burke hitting Charles Coburn with a slingshot; Jack Lemmon dressed as Daphne from "Some Like It Hot" in a bizarre sequence involving a parking lot; Andre Previn at the piano while Bobby Darin sings a terrific number called "That's How It Went, All Right"; Michael Callan, Shirley Jones, and Matt Mattox doing a sizzling dance called "The Rumble"; Judy Garland (heard but not seen) singing "The Faraway Part of Town" on the radio; Ann B. Davis playing her "Shultzy" character from "The Bob Cummings Show" but here assigned to working as Edward G. Robinson's secretary; Donna Reed making cutesy banter with Dan Dailey about her then-current TV series; a trip to the Sands Casino in Las Vegas where we see Peter Lawford and Richard Conte standing around in the lobby, Sammy Davis Jr. doing impressions to "Hooray for Hollywood", Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin gambling, Cesar Romero hanging out at the slot machines, a dejected Jimmy Durante losing at cards, and Joey Bishop saying "son of a gun"; Hedda Hopper boarding a plane; a ghastly sequence in which a miniature Debbie Reynolds drunkenly dancing with Cantinflas on Dan Dailey's desktop to "Tequila"; a delightful moment when Dailey and Cantinflas join Maurice Chevalier in dancing to "Mimi"; Janet Leigh being surprised in the bathtub the same year as her "Psycho" shower; Tony Curtis getting pushed into an indoor pool; and Kim Novak giving advice on buying a wedding ring.Somehow I find this hodgepodge strangely irresistible.
artzau
No video. The great Cantinflas. One of the greatest comedians and no video. What does that tell you? Hmmm. More. Star-studded cast. Jillions of cameos...all on the heels of Mike Todd's successful Around the World in Eighty Days. Ah, could it be that our old Hollywood capitalist buddies wanted to make another killing on the heels of AtWi80D? Sure. But, they picked such a dog of a story that not even the great Cantinflas could sell it. No video. So, if it comes around on the late show, be advised that this makes maudlin look spicy. Yep. You'll be disappointed. I was. Don't watch it. Find an old I Love Lucy rerun. It has more intellectual content.
