It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World - 1963

Director: Stanley Kramer

Cast:
Spencer Tracy ... Capt. C. G. Culpepper
Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch
Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump, DDS
Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin
Ethel Merman ... Mrs. Marcus
Mickey Rooney ... Ding 'Dingy' Bell
Dick Shawn ... Sylvester Marcus
Phil Silvers ... Otto Meyer
Terry-Thomas ... Lt.Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne
Jonathan Winters ... Lennie Pike
Edie Adams ... Monica Crump
Dorothy Provine ... Emeline Marcus-Finch
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ... Second cab driver (as Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson)
Jim Backus ... Tyler Fitzgerald
Ben Blue ... Biplane pilot
Joe E. Brown ... Union official
Alan Carney ... Police sergeant
Chick Chandler ... Detective outside Chinese laundromat
Barrie Chase ... Sylvester's girlfriend
Lloyd Corrigan ... The Mayor
William Demarest ... Police Chief Aloysius
Andy Devine ... Sheriff of Crockett County
Selma Diamond ... Ginger Culpepper (voice)
Peter Falk ... Third cab driver
Norman Fell ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Paul Ford ... Col. Wilberforce
Stan Freberg ... Deputy sheriff
Louise Glenn ... Billie Sue Culpepper (voice)
Leo Gorcey ... First cab driver
Sterling Holloway ... Fire Chief
Edward Everett Horton ... Mr. Dinckler
Marvin Kaplan ... Irwin
Buster Keaton ... Jimmy the Crook
Don Knotts ... Nervous Motorist
Charles Lane ... Airport manager
Mike Mazurki ... Miner
Charles McGraw ... Lt. Matthews
Cliff Norton ... Reporter
Zasu Pitts ... Gertie (switchboard operator)
Carl Reiner ... Tower controller at Rancho Conejo
Madlyn Rhue ... Secretary Schwartz
Roy Roberts ... Policeman outside Irwin & Ray's Garage
Arnold Stang ... Ray
Nick Stewart ... Migrant truck driver
Joe DeRita ... Fireman (as The Three Stooges)
Larry Fine ... Fireman (as The Three Stooges)
Moe Howard ... Fireman (as The Three Stooges)
Sammee Tong ... Chinese laundryman
Jesse White ... Radio tower operator at Rancho Conejo
Jimmy Durante ... Smiler Grogan
Jack Benny ... Man in car in desert (uncredited)

It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World has to be the funniest film ever made because no one, but Stanley Kramer ever got so many funny people together in one film. With a cast headed by his favorite dramatic player to boot.

Four out of Spencer Tracy's last five films were made for Stanley Kramer. The others, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner dealt with weighty issues like, free speech, genocide, and interracial marriage. What It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World deals with is greed, simple normal human greed. If something looks too good to be true, chances are it is.

Jimmy Durante an old time crook crashes off a highway and down a steep cliff. He's on the way to digging up the loot from a $350,000.00 robbery from years ago. His dying words tell those people went to aid him where in Santa Rosita Park the loot is buried. Off the group of them go, every man and woman for themselves, with some alliances of family and convenience. A few more treasure seekers get picked up along the way.

That barebones plot description doesn't begin to tell you about some of the funny sequences that follow, Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney in a private plane with a drunken pilot Jim Backus passed out, Edie Adams and Sid Caesar trapped in a hardware store desperately trying to get out, Jonathan Winters as the lunkhead truck driver generally running amuck wherever he goes, and Milton Berle the henpecked husband of all time married to the beautiful Dorothy Provine, her braindead brother Dick Shawn and Ethel Merman the mother-in-law from hell. Berle has a package deal and when you watch the film, you'll see what I mean.

Along the way, the treasure hunters pick up Terry-Thomas, Phil Silvers, Peter Falk and Eddie Anderson. And they leave a whole lot of some of the best character actors and comedians who each in their own way contributes a certain specialty they're famous for.

There are two unbilled appearances by Jack Benny and Jerry Lewis each in situations that show off their peculiar style of comedy.

Watching it all is Spencer Tracy as the Captain of Detectives of the Santa Rosita, Police Department both before the camera and between takes. I remember seeing a quotation by Stanley Kramer that with all these comedians on the set, Tracy was like a king with a hundred jesters, each looking to amuse him. Tracy besides keeping track of this freak show has some domestic problems of his own which are told in telephone conversations with the city pension bureau, his wife, and his daughter. Tracy's expressions are priceless.

It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World is about greed, yet greed has never been presented with such rip roaring humor as it is in this film. For those who need a good laugh and who in this world doesn't.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - 1967

Director: Stanley Kramer

Cast:
Spencer Tracy ... Matt Drayton
Sidney Poitier ... Dr. John Wade Prentice
Katharine Hepburn ... Christina Drayton
Katharine Houghton ... Joey Drayton
Cecil Kellaway ... Monsignor Ryan
Beah Richards ... Mrs. Prentice
Roy Glenn ... Mr. Prentice (as Roy E. Glenn, Sr.)
Isabel Sanford ... Tillie (as Isabell Sanford)
Virginia Christine ... Hilary St. George
Alexandra Hay ... Carhop
Barbara Randolph ... Dorothy
D'Urville Martin ... Frankie
Tom Heaton ... Peter
Grace Gaynor ... Judith
Skip Martin ... Delivery Boy
John Hudkins ... Cab Driver
Jacqueline Fontaine ... Singer (uncredited)

It's so easy to criticize this film. The soundtrack from DeVol is *awful*. The film is incredibly dated and there are some scenes, (the scene with the delivery boy and the ice cream shop), that are unbearable, like something out of a Gidget film.

Of course the other problem with this film, 33 years after its production, is who in the year 2000, would be upset about their daughter marrying a Yale educated Doctor?

However, despite all this, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a great film. The film is wonderful because it was the last film made by one of Hollywood's greatest duos, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

This film was made while Spencer Tracy was dying. Spencer had to put his entire salary in escrow in order for the film company to allow him to do the film.

So why did Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy agree to do this film, without immediate payment? Because it's a film about forbidden love, it's a film about loving someone no matter what society thinks, or what the rules are. This is something Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn knew a great deal about.

What makes this film outstanding is, by the end of the film you realize, Kate and Spencer are not even acting they are relaying their feelings about each other, through the film. Once you catch that, the drama of the final few scenes is just unparalleled and Spencer's final speech, about his love for Kate (Christina), can drive even the most twisted soul to tears.

A few things to catch in this film, watch Kate's face when Spencer recites the line, 'screw what the rest of the world thinks about your love'...those are real tears. Watch Spencer Tracey as he paces back and forth on the terrace near the end of the film. He realizes he is about to begin one of the last scenes he will ever film. He's line 'well I'll be a son of a bitch'...is more a realization he's about to make his last grandstand on the big screen, in his entire career.

Spencer Tracy is one of America's greatest actors. This is his last triumph. For that reason alone, it's a true cinematic treasure.

How the West Was Won - 1962

Directors:
John Ford (segment "The Civil War")
Henry Hathaway (segments "The Rivers", "The Plains" and "The Outlaws")
George Marshall (segment "The Railroad")
Richard Thorpe (uncredited) (transitional historical sequences)

Cast:

Carroll Baker ... Eve Prescott Rawlings
Lee J. Cobb ... Marshal Lou Ramsey
Henry Fonda ... Jethro Stuart
Carolyn Jones ... Julie Rawlings
Karl Malden ... Zebulon Prescott
Gregory Peck ... Cleve Van Valen
George Peppard ... Zeb Rawlings
Robert Preston ... Roger Morgan
Debbie Reynolds ... Lilith 'Lily' Prescott
James Stewart ... Linus Rawlings
Eli Wallach ... Charlie Gant
John Wayne ... Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
Richard Widmark ... Mike King
Brigid Bazlen ... Dora Hawkins
Walter Brennan ... Col. Jeb Hawkins
David Brian ... Lilith's attorney
Andy Devine ... Cpl. Peterson
Raymond Massey ... Abraham Lincoln
Agnes Moorehead ... Rebecca Prescott
Harry Morgan ... Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (as Henry 'Harry' Morgan)
Thelma Ritter ... Agatha Clegg
Mickey Shaughnessy ... Deputy Stover
Russ Tamblyn ... Confederate deserter
Spencer Tracy ... Narrator

Ford's most distinctive work has dealt with the white American's conquest of the wilderness... He has made films about most of the significant episodes in American history—early colonization of the West, the Civil War, the extermination of the Indians—and in so doing he has recounted the American saga in human terms and made it come alive...

Ford directed one of the episodes of "How the West Was Won," the Civil War... His brief but redeeming contribution effectively recounted the bloody Battle of Shiloh and its aftermath...

Hathaway's strong points were atmosphere, character and authentic locations... He directed, in the film, the episodes of 'The Rivers,' 'The Plains,' and 'The Outlaws.'

George Marshal—the most prolific and most versatile of all major Hollywood filmmakers—directed the episode of 'The Railroad.'

As seen through the eyes of four generations of a pioneer family of New England farmers as they made their way west in the l840s, the scope of "How the West Was Won" is enormous, with essays on the physiology of the West (pioneers, settlers, Indians, outlaws, and adventurers).

The film describes the hard life and times of the Prescott's family across the continent and their fortune to the western shore after years of hardship, loss, love, war, danger and romance...

Stewart appears in the first half hour as a trapper named Linus Rawlings, who marries the daughter (Carroll Baker) of a family migrating West…

The story touched all the bases: runaway wagon trains; Indians stampeding Buffalos; confused and erratic river rapids; the grandeur of Monument Valley, Utah; the rocky mountains; the Black Hills of South Dakota; the clamor of gold in St.Louis; the Cheyenne attack; the Pony Express; the overland telegraph; the coming of the steel roadway of the iron horse; the bloody battle between cattlemen and homesteaders; and some thrilling hand-to-hand fighting…

The result is a stupendous epic Western with 8 Academy Award Nominations including Best Picture and three Academy Awards including Best Original Story and Screenplay; Best Soundand Best Film Editing...

Narrated by Spencer Tracy, "How the West Was Won" enlists the services of such top stars as: Carroll Baker, the strong-minded woman; Gregory Peck, the luckiest gambler; Debbie Reynolds, the perplexing talented singer and dancer; Henry Fonda, the buffalo hunter with gray flowing hair and mustaches; George Peppard, the man with a star; Robert Preston, the decent character with moral flaws; Thelma Ritter, the character woman; Karl Malden, the patriarch; Agnes Moorehead, the unfortunate wife and mother; John Wayne, the major architect of modern warfare; Richard Widmark, the 'king' of the railroad; Russ Tamblyn the Confederate deserter; Andy Levine, the Corporal Ohio volunteer; Lee J. Cobb, the lawman; Carolyn Jones, the worried wife; Eli Wallach, the dangerous outlaw; Rodolfo Acosta, the train robber; Raymond Massey, the great Abraham Lincoln; Walter Brennan and Lee Van Cleef, the thieves to fear…

Alfred Newman and Ken Darby's majestic music takes the pioneers through every conceivable encounter in the West, achieving with conviction a whole constellation of magnificent spectacle...

Judgment at Nuremberg - 1961

Director: Stanley Kramer

Cast:
Spencer Tracy ... Chief Judge Dan Haywood
Burt Lancaster ... Dr. Ernst Janning
Richard Widmark ... Col. Tad Lawson
Marlene Dietrich ... Mrs. Bertholt
Maximilian Schell ... Hans Rolfe
Judy Garland ... Mrs. Irene Hoffman Wallner
Montgomery Clift ... Rudolph Petersen
Ed Binns ... Sen. Burkette (as Edward Binns)
Werner Klemperer ... Emil Hahn
Torben Meyer ... Werner Lampe
Martin Brandt ... Friedrich Hofstetter
William Shatner ... Capt. Harrison Byers
Kenneth MacKenna ... Judge Kenneth Norris
Alan Baxter ... Brig. Gen. Matt Merrin
Ray Teal ... Judge Curtiss Ives

JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG is a movie with many strengths, among them Abby Mann's terrific writing and Stanley Kramer's always sure-footed direction. But the chief joy of this movie is its sensational cast. Possibly the best "all-star cast" movie ever made, JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG is a fascinating study, not only of its subject matter, but of different acting styles coming together.

Spencer Tracy's quiet and thoughtful turn as the lead judge is a perfect contrast to Maximilian Schell's (sensational) passionate defense attorney and Richard Widmark's almost fanatically zealous prosecutor. With these three remarkable actors "running the show," so to speak, we are treated to a parade of simply splendid performances.

Marlene Dietrich (in what may be the most difficult role in the film) plays the widow of a prominent Nazi general. Outside the courtroom she strikes up a tentative friendship with Tracy. Dietrich (a passionate Nazi-hater) brings a surprising depth of feeling to her portrait of a woman caught between her love for her country and the terrible times in which she lives.

In the midst of all this are two brief yet absolutely mesmerizing performances: Montgomery Clift and Judy Garland as victims of Nazi atrocities. Garland is utterly heartbreaking as a woman haunted by Nazi persecution; struggling to rebuild her life and regain her dignity, she is a very reluctant witness for the prosecution. Garland here reminds us what a superb dramatic actress she was.

Clift, in what may be the most chilling moment of the film, plays a man sterilized by order of the Nazis. By now it is well known that Clift was quite ill by the time he made this film; he uses his physical problems for all they are worth, making the character so real it is actually painful to watch.

Burt Lancaster makes an interesting departure from his usual gutsy male hero; here he plays the chief defendant, the former Minister of Justice. Lancaster abandoned his usual bluster here; this is a terribly moving performance: the man's quiet surface dignity belies the guilt he lives with. When at last he is forced to face himself, Lancaster delivers a monologue that in the theatre would bring the house down.

Last, but by no means least, there is Werner Klemperer as one of the defendants, a fanatical Nazi totally unashamed of his actions or his beliefs. For those of you who only know Klemperer as Colonel Klink on HOGAN'S HEROES, be warned: this is a chilling portrait of a monster.

Sprinkled among these delightful star turns is a supporting cast in which there is never a false note: William Shatner in a surprisingly un-hammy performance as the chief Judge's aide; Ben Wright and Virginia Christine as Tracy's housekeeper and manservant; Torbin Meyer and Martin Brandt as the two remaining defendants; John Wengraf, Karl Swenson, and Olga Fabian as witnesses; Kenneth MacKenna and Ray Teal as Tracy's fellow judges; Howard Caine as Garland's husband.

Watching really good actors ply their craft is always a great joy; JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG serves up a feast of mesmerizing performances in a film you will find it very hard to forget.