# Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2017, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767 "2017-05-03T09:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Pilgrim\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Pilgrim\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pilgrim_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/101 "2017-05-05T06:12:21Z")
See this movie, but do not pay money to see [this movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079858/?ref_=nv_sr_1). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/102 "2017-05-05T07:42:03Z")
> [@Pilgrim\_Shadow](#): > > See this movie, but do not pay money to see [this movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079858/?ref_=nv_sr_1). But it’s some of Schwarzenegger’s best work! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/103 "2017-05-05T15:40:17Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Not to hijack with a discussion of a different movie, but even just relying on memory, I think they could’ve cut John Wayne entirely out of the movie and not lost anything. I don’t think the thread is supposed to be limited to one movie. So, to continue on this topic, sorry you don’t like John Wayne, but his merits as an actor are not relevant. The role he was playing served a purpose to the story being told in the movie, and the movie would have been less good without that character. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/104 "2017-05-05T15:49:50Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Can I just add one more? It truly is a bit, not a scene: Jonathan Winters in his truck as he realizes everyone else is speeding up after they leave the crash site and they’ve all decided to make a run for the money. . . he gets this grim, determined face and says, “Ah, trying to leave the big boy behind, eh?” > > I absolutely lose it. Also his furious destruction of the gas station, heedless of the ineffectual efforts of the two attendants to stop him. And Terry-Thomas’s rant: “Why, the whole bloody place is the most unspeakable matriarchy in the whole history of civilization! Look at yourself, and the way your wife and her strumpet of a mother push you through the hoop! As far as I can see, American men have been totally emasculated. They’re like slaves! They die like flies from coronary thrombosis, while their women sit under hairdryers, eating chocolates and arranging for every second Tuesday to be some sort of Mother’s Day! And this positively infantile preoccupation with _bosoms_! In all my time in this wretched, godforsaken country, the one thing that has appalled me most of all is this preposterous preoccupation with bosoms. Don’t you realize they have become the dominant theme in American culture: in literature, advertising and all fields of entertainment and everything. I’ll wager you anything you like: if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight!” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/105 "2017-05-05T19:27:00Z")
> [@Pilgrim\_Shadow](#): > > See this movie, but do not pay money to see [this movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079858/?ref_=nv_sr_1). Sounds a lot more like\*\*\* Rat Race\*\*\* than _ **World** _ does. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/106 "2017-05-05T19:28:43Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > “Why, the whole bloody place is the most unspeakable matriarchy in the whole history of civilization! Look at yourself, and the way your wife and her strumpet of a mother push you through the hoop! As far as I can see, American men have been totally emasculated. They’re like slaves! They die like flies from coronary thrombosis, while their women sit under hairdryers, eating chocolates and arranging for every second Tuesday to be some sort of Mother’s Day! And this positively infantile preoccupation with _bosoms_! In all my time in this wretched, godforsaken country, the one thing that has appalled me most of all is this preposterous preoccupation with bosoms. Don’t you realize they have become the dominant theme in American culture: in literature, advertising and all fields of entertainment and everything. I’ll wager you anything you like: if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight!” Only foreigners can have brilliant insights like this about the USA. Two thumbs up! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/107 "2017-05-05T20:15:52Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > But it’s some of Schwarzenegger’s best work! No film with Richard Benjamin \*and \*Richard Masur can possibly be worth the time of watching it. The 1970s icons of sensitive manly men. Bleah. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/108 "2017-05-05T20:28:36Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > But it’s some of Schwarzenegger’s best work! Philistine! Have you not seen his bravura performance in _The Long Goodbye_? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/109 "2017-05-05T20:33:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Only foreigners can have brilliant insights like this about the USA. Two thumbs up! 🆒 … On the other hand, there’s a lot to be said for _bosoms_! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/110 "2017-05-05T20:35:16Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Philistine! Have you not seen his bravura performance in _The Long Goodbye_? RA, let off some _steam_! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/111 "2017-05-06T00:07:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I don’t think \*\*\*Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines \*\*\*was ever supposed to be a knee-slapping yuk-fest. It was more of an action–adventure piece with rollicking comedic overtones. > > Plus, it had vintage aircraft and luscious Sarah Miles in period costume. Life doesn’t get much better than that! > > Sarah Miles, mmmmmmmmmmm! :o > > Vintage aircraft, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! :o :o :o Um, yes to all. When I was 11 I could name the aircraft represented, but was in awe of Ms Miles. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And Terry-Thomas’s rant: “Why, the whole bloody place is the most unspeakable matriarchy in the whole history of civilization! Look at yourself, and the way your wife and her strumpet of a mother push you through the hoop! As far as I can see, American men have been totally emasculated. They’re like slaves! They die like flies from coronary thrombosis, while their women sit under hairdryers, eating chocolates and arranging for every second Tuesday to be some sort of Mother’s Day! And this positively infantile preoccupation with _bosoms_! In all my time in this wretched, godforsaken country, the one thing that has appalled me most of all is this preposterous preoccupation with bosoms. Don’t you realize they have become the dominant theme in American culture: in literature, advertising and all fields of entertainment and everything. I’ll wager you anything you like: if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight!” Best part of an otherwise unimpressive movie. ETA: They had loads of people who were genuinely funny, but for what? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/112 "2017-05-06T03:06:57Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Um, yes to all. When I was 11 I could name the aircraft represented, but was in awe of Ms Miles. This time twenty years ago, I had a girlfriend (Russian) who was a dead ringer for Sarah Miles. And yes, she was fantastic! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/113 "2017-05-06T04:01:57Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Only foreigners can have brilliant insights like this about the USA. Two thumbs up! 🆒 Truly epic. He should’ve gotten an Oscar for that scene alone. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/114 "2017-05-06T04:37:38Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And Terry-Thomas’s rant: “Why, the whole bloody place is the most unspeakable matriarchy in the whole history of civilization! Look at yourself, and the way your wife and her strumpet of a mother push you through the hoop! As far as I can see, American men have been totally emasculated. They’re like slaves! They die like flies from coronary thrombosis, while their women sit under hairdryers, eating chocolates and arranging for every second Tuesday to be some sort of Mother’s Day! And this positively infantile preoccupation with _bosoms_! In all my time in this wretched, godforsaken country, the one thing that has appalled me most of all is this preposterous preoccupation with bosoms. Don’t you realize they have become the dominant theme in American culture: in literature, advertising and all fields of entertainment and everything. I’ll wager you anything you like: if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight!” Interesting speech coming from somebody from the country that gave the world Benny Hill and the _Carry On_ films. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/115 "2017-05-06T05:38:16Z")
One movie with a large-ish star cast, that holds up quite well after half a century, is _The яussiaиs are coming, the яussiaиs are coming!_ ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/116 "2017-05-06T17:08:33Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > One movie with a large-ish star cast, that holds up quite well after half a century, is _The яussiaиs are coming, the яussiaиs are coming!_ I am sorry to comply with your statement, but misfortunately you are absolutely correct. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/117 "2017-05-06T17:38:14Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fiennes, Fiennes, Ronan, Brody, Dafoe, Norton, Goldblum, Keitel, Abraham, Law, Wilkinson, Schwartzman,Swinton, Wilson) Thing is, that’s not just a happenstance collection or even a deliberate effort to star-stud the cast - many of these actors have appeared in other Wes Anderson films and likely will again. Anderson’s current project, _The Isle of Dogs_, features Abraham, Goldblum, Keitel, Norton and Swinton from your list, among others. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/118 "2017-05-06T18:52:15Z")
Interesting - hadn’t heard about that. No “The” in the title, though, it seems: [Isle of Dogs (film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Dogs_(film)) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/119 "2017-05-06T19:13:40Z")
I was _trying_ to make it sound _classy!_ Get off my back! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767/120 "2017-05-06T23:34:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Only foreigners can have brilliant insights like this about the USA. Two thumbs up! 🆒 You’re partially right about that scene. It was written by[William Rose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rose_(screenwriter)) (an American expat who moved to the UK and did the screenplays for several successful Ealing comedies) and his British wife Tania Rose. Incidentally, one thing I’ve picked up in later viewings of IAM⁴W is the number of film homages within it. The most obvious ones are to classic slapstick silent comedies from as far back as Mack Sennett and the Keystone Kops. In fact, the climax at the end is pretty much straight out of a Harold Lloyd movie. (Supposedly Harold Lloyd was asked to play the city official giving a speech at the building site but he couldn’t be lured out of retirement and Joe E. Brown was cast instead.) Less apparent is the influence of [Preston Sturges](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Sturges)who specialized in broad cynical farces during the 40s . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/785767.md?page=7)