A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) User Reviews

Funny, abbreviated version of the stage play

[LilyDaleLady · 7/10 · 26 November 2005]

I hadn't seen this in twenty years, and then on TV (with many cuts and commercials), so I jumped at the chance to view a video recently. "Funny Thing" is just as funny as I remembered it to be -- a marvelous opportunity to see the brilliant and hilarious Zero Mostel, plus a dream cast that includes Jack Guilford, Phil Silvers, Michael Crawford (very young), Roy Kinnear, etc.

Zero Mostel was an incredible Broadway comedic genius, but his most famous work was probably in "Fiddler on the Roof", where it only exits as the wonderful Broadway cast album. When they made the film, they inexplicably passed over Mostel to cast the much lower keyed Topol as Tevye. "Funny Thing" is more brilliant vintage Mostel from roughly the same period, but we get the real thing as he reprises his performance. No one can really approach Mostel for his comic timing, ability to not only sing but sing FUNNY and the expressiveness of his face.

Directed by Richard Lester (Hard Days' Night, Three Musketeers), the film is particularly beautiful in its period setting -- Lester had a spectacular eye for detail - and I honestly believe that this is the most realistic film ever done VISUALLY about Ancient Rome. From the credits, I see it was filmed in Madrid, Spain, which must have an incredible treasure trove of Ancient Roman buildings. The sets, costumes, extras etc. are pitch perfect....with one glaring exception. Like a lot of movies, the filmmakers could not bear to show us an attractive young woman in authentic period costume or makeup, so all the courtesans are circa 1967, right down to their blue eye shadow, false eyelashes, push up bras and back-combed hair!!

I understand from reading other comments that nearly 3/4 of the Stephen Sondheim score was cut for the film, which seems like a shame. However, what's left is very funny and well-integrated into the comedy. Many popular sixties film editing techniques are here -- quick cross cuts, Keystone Kops-like action sequences -- and while a bit dated, they fit the broad comedic tone of the story surprisingly well. The ending title sequence is spectacularly done, with wonderful Roman type and fresco's integrated into it.

Comedy styles go in and out of fashion, so this may not be everyone's taste these days. But having a visual record of a brilliant performer is a highlight and a cultural treasure, and that's what this performance by Zero Mostel truly is. I think most people won't be able to help laughing out loud, even at some of the dumbest and corniest of jokes here, and as usual, the Sondheim score (what remains of it) is delightful and witty.

Hilarious and well-done

[sunsetboulevard16 · 7/10 · 20 August 2002]

Despite having some mistakes, I think this film is overall great, specially in comedy terms. Crazy, dynamic and modern spirit of Lester's direction fits more or less well into "A funny thing happened on the way to the forum"(not as well as it did in "The Knack" or "A Hard Day's Night, but very well anyway). Zero Mostel seems to be a little-bit repressed by Lester, but he does a great job, as the rest of the cast. The beautiful colour photography, some funny songs and a funny storyline with a lot of hilarious visual and verbal jokes makes this a really funny picture. The chariot scene, and with it, all the end of the movie is memorable. Don't miss it.

The Good and the Bad

[BroadwayBookworm · 7/10 · 15 April 2006]

I saw this film when I was a young girl (seven or so) and I adored it. When I was about fourteen, I finally got to see the stage production. When I saw the film again, I realized there were some bad choices made. I think the film has many excellent points and some bad points:

Good:

-For starters, you couldn't have asked for a better cast. I don't just mean Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford (though both are incredible) but casting Buster Keaton was inspired.

-Very accurate portrayal of ancient Rome (up to a point, of course). The only reason I bring it up is because when I took Latin in high school, we studied ancient Rome and I like the research that went into that for the film.

-The chase scene at the end. That's what I remember laughing at the most as a child.

Bad:

-Cutting so many songs, specifically "Free" and Hysterium's number (I must say, Jack Gilford was highly underused in this film).

-The direction of most remaining musical numbers and some scenes.

-Changing the character of Dominia. I don't mind it too much (she does get some good lines in there) but I liked having another strong female character aside from Philia.

Now I have nothing against Richard Lester. In fact, I enjoyed his work in A Hard Day's Night and Help! and I think when it comes to those types of films, he does well. I'm just not completely sure if he was right for this film. He treated the songs like music videos, kind of forgetting that in this case, the songs are being used to tell a story, not just for entertainment. We recently watched parts of the film in my Musical Theater History class, and that was one of the point brought up. He tended toward the fast pace/quick edit direction, which I think worked for "Comedy Tonight", but not much else (especially not "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid"). While I disliked some of his direction on "Lovely", I did like that he repeated (more or less) the same direction in the reprise of the song.

I will say, though, when he's good in the film, he's really good. I can't deny there are parts in the film that are incredibly funny, most notably the chariot chase. I am a bit torn about the film. In the long run, I will probably always love the film and watch it when I get the chance, despite its shortcomings. Still, I wouldn't mind a remake of it. And I think we can safely say this isn't the worst film version of a Sondheim show (A Little Night Music anyone?).

Mostel, Silvers, Gilford, and Michael Crawford!

[drednm · 23 August 2005]

Very funny film version of the smash Broadway musical, but minus most of the music. Sort of a bawdy tribute to slapstick comedy and vaudeville, the film is uniformly wonderful, the pace fast, and the jokes funny. This show was a major success on Broadway for Zero Mostel and decades later for Nathan Lane.

The plot is zany and convoluted and the style of comedy is similar to 60s slapstick used in everything from Tom Jones to Lock Up Your Daughters. Director Richard Lester uses film technique to keep the few musical numbers from stopping the pace of the film, and it works surprisingly well. And the fond look at slapstick (speeded up film, drag, pratfalls, etc.) is especially apt here considering the great Buster Keaton is in the cast.

Mostel reprises here as the wily slave who drives the manic action. He wants to be free. Mostel is just wonderful and gets to use his full bag of tricks as a comedian as well as sing "Comedy Tonight." Equally good is Phil Silvers, who sells slave girls next door to the snooty matron (Patricia Jessel) her husband (Michael Hordern), and their innocent son Hero (Michael Crawford---yes THAT Michael Crawford).

The great Buster Keaton (in his final film) plays Erronius, an old man seeking his long-lost children. Jack Gilford plays a fellow slave, Leon Greene plays the pompous Roman general looking for his bride. Then there are all those slave girls — Annette Andre as the virgin; Inga Neilsen as the mute. Michael Hordern is a surprise as the old lecher and gets to sing, "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid." Jessel is a scream as the hag wife. Lots of scantily clad girls and horny old men.

Hilarious jokes (Mostel as the soothsayer) and sight gags abound. Mostel, Silvers, and Gilford are masters of this sort of broad comedy, and Silvers and Gilford make truly ugly women. Crawford (decades later The Phantom of the Opera) is really funny as the dopey Hero and does most of his own stunts. Greene is also very funny as the overblown general.

Lots of other good performances in small parts: Beatrix Lehman as the 104- year-old with no working organs, Peter Butterworth as the Roman soldier, Frank Thornton (Are You Being Served?) as a Roman citizen, the grunting Janet Webb as Fertilla, Roy Kinnear as the trainer, Alfie Bass as the sentry, Ronnie Brody as the short soldier.

There's so much action here you have to watch this several times to catch all the background jokes. The final madcap chariot race is hilarious. Great fun. And flies everywhere!

Oldie but goodie

[suzanna · 7/10 · 8 November 2000]

I never saw this in the 60's though I was of an age to...just saw it the other night on television and only watched it for Buster Keaton, whom I have recently developed a great joy in seeing. I enjoyed the whole thing...silly, (sexest,yes, a movie of the 60's), funny stuff. My kids aged 10 and 12 really enjoyed it, too.

Sometimes funny but way too frentic

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 9 May 2003]

Slapstick farce based on a Broadway comedy/musical about some crazy complications when a slave (Zero Mostel) tries to win his freedom in ancient Rome.

The script is OK with some funny lines and sight gags, the girls are all very beautiful (and horribly objectified--but this was done in the 1960s) and the comedians (Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Guilford, Buster Keaton) are at their peak...but I didn't really enjoy this.

For one thing it's WAY too fast and frentic with director Lester spinning the camera all over the place. In most of his movies this technique works...it doesn't here. You have some very telented comedians here...they don't need camera tricks to get the joke across. Often the camera cuts away to something else in the middle of a joke...it gets very annoying and is enough to make you reach for the Dramamine. It got on my nerves a lot...more than once I wished I could reach out and force the cameraman to stay still. Also this movie relies way too much on slapstick--there's a closing chase sequence that goes on forever and has TONS of it.

Still, I'm giving it a 7 just for the cast alone (what a pleasure it is to see Keaton not doing a beach party movie and Silvers is hysterical) and some very funny parts. Also the opening song and the "maid" song are real treats. So, it's worth catching on a slow night.

It's fast, it's funny, it's Lester

[craigjclark · 9/10 · 6 July 2001]

Recently re-released on DVD, this film is a revelation for anyone who has only seen the pan-and-scan version. So many of the film's visual jokes are lost when you can't see the whole picture, and if there's one thing Richard Lester knows how to do, it's pack in visual jokes. Some people complain that Lester altered the original show too much, cutting songs and dialogue alike, but this is the only way people can see Zero Mostel's fantastic -- and frenetic -- performance, so count your blessings. Michael Hordern is also a hoot as the whipped Senex. Other members of Lester's stock company put in appearances, from Frank Thornton and John Bluthal to the always-welcome Roy Kinnear (as a matter-of-fact gladiator trainer). And Michael Crawford never had it better than when he was in front of Lester's camera.

After so many years, I'm glad to have finally watched this filmed version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

[tavm · 7/10 · 10 September 2020]

After a couple of decades of only knowing about this musical comedy, I finally got to see this just now with Mom who said she had watched this before then after it was over, said maybe she only saw a few scenes. Anyway, this was quite a pretty funny farce especially when Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, and Phil Silvers are around. Buster Keaton, in his final film appearance, is also pretty amusing in his few scenes. Richard Lester bringing his method of doing cut-in scenes seemed to serve him well here though some of his visual gags are hit-and-miss. Still, Mom and me had quite a good many laughs while watching. So we recommend A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

A manic classic.

[johnny-143 · 10/10 · 17 June 2001]

Zero Mostel. Need I say more? Reason enough to rent this movie, despite the hideous 'pan and scan' that makes viewing it a chore. Based on a Broadway musical, it's clever and fast and sexist in that kind of 1960's way. Buxom ladies, lascivious men with comb overs abound. It's fun if you're in the right mood, and Zero Mostel makes it all go down smoothly. I think this (and the Producers) was his best role, and it also has many recognizable supporting players that make you laugh simply by showing their faces.

Uneven but entertaining

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 3 March 2020]

It was amusing to see the cast being silly in this setting, Ancient Rome, and it definitely comes across as an old school comedy. The pace is great though; it zips along from one bit or line to another at breakneck speed with that free spirit of the 1960's, so even though only some of it worked for me, I was reasonably entertained. It seemed a little bit like a guilty pleasure because the treatment of women is pretty poor, especially early on. We see all the stereotypes here - the shrewish wife, the buxom prostitutes, the innocent virgin, the exoticized Asian and African-American dancers, and the less attractive but horny one. There's a potion concocted for virility, and a potion concocted to drug a woman so she can be carried away. None of it's meant in a hurtful way, but it does have a certain Benny Hill / juvenile vibe to it.

At its best there are elements of wry humor or sophistication in the dialogue, and I chuckled at times. I also liked some of the physical comedy of Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford (both heroes of the blacklist era), and always like seeing Phil Silvers' deliver his lines. It was touching to see Buster Keaton in his last film role at age 70, even if there really wasn't a whole lot to see, other than my wistful recollections of his glory years 40 years earlier. I love the fact that he improv'd that last bit running in to the tree. If he seems criminally underused, well he was, but he was terminally ill with cancer and died 8 months before the film was released, so it's understandable.

Everything here is a mixed-bag though, even the soundtrack from Stephen Sondheim, which has one memorable number you may recognized ("Comedy Tonight") but several others that are mediocre (including "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid", which serves up a good dose of misogyny in its lyrics). I can't really compare it to the stage production because I haven't seen it, but it seems that director Richard Lester went all out for a frenetic production, and the result was entertaining as a spectacle, but uneven.

Quote: "Arrange food, drink, entertainment, and a sit-down orgy for fourteen."

On the Screen, No It Didn't

[TheDuck-3 · 3/10 · 15 September 2000]

I have seen this show performed live numerous times (once starring Zero Mostel!), and know it well. (In the interest of disclosure (like I'm a reporter or something...) I've even performed in it). Done well, it's a hilarious romp across the stage. Done poorly, it's a bore. And this movie does it very poorly indeed.

This film suffers from the dreaded "opening up" disease that infects so many Hollywood films. The Broadway original is performed on one set consisting of three houses. While the film does concentrate on the three houses, there's other scenery to view, including a ludicrous chase sequence that seems to take place throughout all of Rome. This removes the small, intimate feeling of the show and doesn't allow for the sense of panic and doom that occurs as the situations Pseudolus gets himself into get worse by the minute.

Additionally, the direction is lame. The show is a musical, but the movie seems embarrassed by that. The songs are poorly directed, with annoying camera tricks and bits of business that ruin the pacing. It even seems that the songs were almost an afterthought in the direction of the movie. (When directing Popeye, Robert Altman said he wanted the songs to appear out of nowhere instead of the way they usually have a beginning, middle and end. The same seems to be true here, and it doesn't work in either film.) The physical business that runs throughout the movie is so far over the top that you end up wondering when the funny bits will start.

The pluses are obvious: Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford, two old pros trying to make it all work. Buster Keaton is wasted in a role that could be hilarious had he been allowed to play with it.

I'm aware that this movie got a pretty decent rating from viewers, which puts my comments in the minority. All I can suggest is that if you have the opportunity, see the original show and then see the movie again. I'd be willing to bet you'd revise your score down. Way down.

A real tonic

[enochsneed · 10/10 · 7 August 2006]

Whenever I feel down, whenever the world is getting on top of me, whenever I just need some light-hearted fun, I turn to 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'.

The cast is superb: Zero Mostel ("Was 1 a good year?"); Jack Gilford ("I live to grovel"); Phil Silvers ("I know that sound - and I love it!"); even classical actor Michael Hordern enters into the spirit of things ("All that flesh... just next door.") Above all, my man of the movie award goes to Buster Keaton. Nearly seventy and making his last film he steals every scene he appears in and the line "My daughter a eunuch?" kills me every time. He even manages an old-style 'hundred-and-eight' slapstick fall. The animated end titles provide a lovely tribute as a little Erronius goes running to-and-fro among the credits.

The plot is a wonderfully complex farce but "there's a happy ending, of course", plenty of laughs along the way, and a chariot chase that's not quite like the one in 'Fall of the Roman Empire'.

The production design is worth noting, too. Not much Roman grandeur here, but narrow streets full of people and animals, a city that really looks lived in.

A terrific film that restores your zest for life!

Funny Haha...or in Latin "Ha Ha"

[MovieRat-2 · 7/10 · 21 July 2000]

Nice little film. Well done on the casting job. My only complaint is that some of the songs in this film couldn't have been left out (ie Everyone Ought To Have A Maid). This is one of my favorite films...so why did I give it only a 7? Well, simply beacuse I felt that this film can only be truely appriciated by those who have taken Latin. Alot of the stuff in this film are play on words (Histerium for example has the Nueter ending "um"). Still funny none the less, but only recommend this for those who can catch all the jokes that happen in the film. Little kids won't understand it and so will leave about half way into the show. Pretty good for anyone esle looking for a nice laugh.

Horribly Dated

[evanston_dad · 3/10 · 29 April 2005]

With apparently no faith in the pretty strong material, the filmmakers decided to do away with most of the aspects that made the musical charming in the first place (like, oh, most of the music!) and replace it with groovy 60's trickery that looks like something right out of Benny Hill (look, the action is sped up to make everyone look like they're running really, really fast...isn't that funny?) Zero Mostel does what he can, but he can't salvage this. No one else even registers.

I saw this on stage, and that version blows the film version out of the water.

Grade: D

A Half-Full Glass

[Eric-62-2 · 3 September 1999]

"Forum" is one film adaptation of a Broadway musical that is a half-glass of water. On the half-full side we get to see Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford reprising their Broadway roles, and they're joined by a fine supporting cast including Phil Silvers as Lycus (ironically, he would star as Pseudolus in the 1972 Broadway revival) and Buster Keaton in his last film. But even though the film delivers the laughs and opens itself up well from its stage origins (let's face it. That climactic chase in the Broadway version is wonderful but it just wouldn't work on film at all). But what I can't forgive is how nearly three-quarters of Sondheim's outstanding score (his best I think) has been jettisoned to give us a too short running time of barely an hour and a half. And on top of that, why do *both* of Milos Gloriosus's numbers get kept, while Mostel's two best numbers from Broadway, "Pretty Little Picture" and "Free" (which is supposed to be the heart of the show) are gone (along with Gilford's "I'm Calm")? That, I do not understand at all. It's gotten to a point where I purposefully stop the film after Psuedolus falls out of the tree so I can then play Mostel's version of "Free" from the Broadway cast CD (which is where it would have belonged in the film). And it's too bad this wasn't a roadshow movie with an intermission because Mostel's funny Act One closer would have worked great there as well.

All in all it's worth having, but be prepared for your mood to shift from seeing the film as a half-full glass or a half-empty one.

An toe-tapping fun comedy tonight!

[blott2319-1 · 7/10 · 22 December 2021]

There's no denying the fun and light silliness in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. This movie has all the elements of a comedy I would adore. There's physical gags, situational humor, silly performances, musical numbers, a wacky twist on a "car" chase, and so much more. I did have a good time with the film, and found it enjoyable to explore how Pseudolus would weasel his way out of trouble each time. But I will say, a fast-talking flim-flam artist isn't my favorite kind of protagonist, and Zero Mostel takes his performance so far over the top it's almost impossible for the rest of the cast to match his level of goofiness. But I do like all the other people in this film, and probably laughed more at actors like Phil Silvers and Jack Gilford.

The songs in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum are extremely catchy. I often think of Sondheim as a guy who wrote more complex and challenging musicals, but it's nice to know he could deliver these kinds of toe-tapping melodies just as well. One of my favorite aspects of the film are all the mix ups, mistaken identities, and surprise reveals. It plays like a screwball comedy which is one of my favorite genres. I think if the setting were not ancient Rome I might be even more enamored with the movie. I've never been into the whole sword-and-sandals thing, so even a satire of those stories isn't really in my wheelhouse. Yet, I can't deny that I had a good time with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and it's one of those movies that entertained me enough I will probably watch it again, and enjoy it even more on rewatch.

Zero The Hero

[slokes · 6/10 · 7 June 2006]

On the one hand you have on paper one of the fastest, funniest comedies in the world, with some of the era's finest comedic actors delivering killer performances and Stephen Sondheim contributing some rousing songs. On the other hand, it looks like it was shot in someone's backyard by a peyote-dosing epileptic.

Maybe "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" is the best badly-directed film in the world, a shame because it's not only a terrific show and cast, but a fantastic director, Richard Lester, who just was given the wrong project.

"Forum" is the story of one Pseudolus, a scheming house slave in ancient Rome who offers to help his master's son hook up with the courtesan next door in exchange for his freedom. But she is promised to a Roman general, and so Pseudolus must figure out a way to break off this engagement without the vain general breaking off Pseudolus's head.

Zero Mostel is Pseudolus, and does the best work I've seen from him on film, better than "The Producers" because in that film he didn't have to fight his director to deliver laughs. However much Lester cuts from one shot to the next, which he does a lot, Mostel seems ready for it with a new mugging facial expression or the crisp delivery of a line. He was his generation's Jack Black, albeit with a little more heart and soul.

Phil Silvers as the courtesan's procurer is a personal favorite who never got enough film work, but stamps his celebrated presence on this film without the benefit of his trademark glasses. Buster Keaton shows he still has it in his last film, while Jack Gilford is terrific as a fellow slave and Pseudolus's foil.

Inga Neilsen as the mute courtesan Gymnasia does some marvelous pantomimes with Pseudolus, proving herself more than the possessor of a Jessica Simpson physique. Yes, there's a lot of pulchritude on display, but the lust of men is being mocked as much as it is stoked, and p.c.-types should take a pill and allow the rest of us to enjoy the scenery.

My favorite performance is Leon Greene's, who plays the Roman general Miles Gloriosis. His impressive baritone is used to great advantage in the song "My Bride" and also the way he sends up the vainglory of his character. He's so full of himself he can believe his bride died awestruck the moment she saw him. "What a tragedy she died before knowing me," he sobs.

But Lester's contempt for the material he is shooting is painfully evident. He has Tony-award winning actors and celebrated stage performers, people who do their best work seen from one angle for an entire performance, so he shoots them from a dozen different angles, behind and above, where we can see their bald spots but not their faces as they sing. He has Sondheim's terrific score, so he chops all but five songs and spaces one out every 20 minutes. He wastes time on a pointless chariot chase and scenes in a temple and coliseum, and leaves off a terrific Richard Williams titles sequence for the end instead of the beginning, where it would have been more effective.

Marry all that to a production design that looks like hastily thrown-together leftovers from "Sparticus," a muddy print, awful sound recording, and hasty editing, and you have a film you have to fight with in order to enjoy. Maybe the pan-and-scan version I saw does it no justice, but sequences like "My Bride" are so rough-hewn and out-of-joint one wonders if Lester was saving money by getting his coverage from the cutting-room floor.

One sees what Lester is trying to do, capture the same success he has had with the Beatle films "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" and transfer it to this similarly merry-spirited work. But what works to showcase four charismatic non-actors doesn't here, where you have a very disciplined script by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart calling for long dialogue scenes with reaction shots, et al, not flipping imagery designed to show how in tune with the mod times our filmmaker is. If you have characters singing a song, show them singing, not running through trees in slow motion.

With all his camera tricks, Lester shows the one trick he hadn't yet mastered here was keeping the camera still. Thankfully, Zero and the other actors are there to pick up the pieces, and salvage our good time.

" Now, Back To Rome, for a Quick Wedding and Some Slow Executions "

[thinker1691 · 8/10 · 18 October 2008]

Zero Mostel must have waited his whole life to play the part of the sly and crafty Pseudolus as he is supremely perfect for the part. In this film, "A Funny Thing Happened To Me On the Way To The Forum " Pseudolus is a conniving Roman slave out to win his freedom at any cost. His young Roman master is called Hero (Michael Crawford) who's only concern is an innocent maid and courtesan living in a house next door. Hero promises his slave his freedom if he will help him to win the heart of Philia (Annette Andre) his intended. This film is a remake of the popular Broadway play and just as funny as the quest for the young girl takes on a comic life of it's own. Many character along the way include, Jack Gilford, great acting as Hysterium, Phil Silvers as Marcus Lycus, Michael Hordern as Senex and the great Buster Keaton as Erronius. Hilarity is everywhere as general confusion and outrageous slapstick are combined to give the audience a flavor of true historical comedy. This is one film that surely has earned it's Classic status. Excellent film. ****

Kind of funny, but after a while it also gets a bit tiresome

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 3 June 2007]

The music in this film by Steven Sondheim is excellent and I enjoyed most of the songs despite the fact that most of the actors couldn't sing if their lives depended on it. And as for the story, it was pretty interesting, though after a while I felt pretty weary from the fast pace and the film actually got a bit tiresome--like it just ran out of steam. Now this isn't to say that I hated the film. At first, I really liked it, but after a while I just was ready for it all to end. I think Leonard Maltin hit the nail on the head when he commented that the film just tried a little TOO hard! In other words, it lacked subtlety and kept assaulting you so fast that you just wish the film had slowed down and taken a more leisurely pace. Also, sadly, this was Buster Keaton's last film and the role wasn't particularly memorable. Heck, blink twice and you might just miss him!

Something for everyone

[notcarlos · 9/10 · 23 September 2001]

Now, just because I'm a classics scholar, I don't entirely have the authority to judge this movie. NEVERTHELESS, I loved it. This is Plautus through the eyes of some of the best (re)writers in history. I do have a few things to complain about, such as the fact that Plautus hardly ever wrote plays in Rome (usually they were in Athens), and that - for Mercury's sake! - for a bunch of Patricians and upper-class people, these Mercatores sure dressed like pathics and catamites. Roman men do NOT wear colors or patterns. Not at All. AAAAAAIIIGH!

Has its faults, but the cast justifies it.

[howlandowl · 7/10 · 22 November 1999]

As musical adaptations to the big screen go, this one is actually pretty good. Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford are marvelous in one of their unfortunately relatively rare movie appearances. Oddly enough, most of the songs have been cut from the movie. Apparently the director felt it was adequate to replace them with an overly long chariot scene. Still, the chemistry is magic and the script well nigh impossible to fault.

Disappointed. I wish I could have seen it on stage.

[papilion78 · 4/10 · 5 June 2005]

With my newly-found interest in musicals, I was really looking forward to seeing this film adaptation of a Tony-winning play featuring a stellar cast. I read the synopsis beforehand and thought that the plot line contains many elements which promise comic brilliance reminiscent of its classical heritage: the framed prologue, errors of mixed identity, cross-dressing, schemes going awry, parodies of romantic love and military prowess, and the overall mock-heroic style. Moreover, I was looking forward to the music and performances---of course, because those are what one anticipates from an acclaimed musical in the first place.

The movie version, however, is a huge disappointment. Even though I understand that film adaptations of stage plays more or less would have unavoidable flaws because of the change of the medium, this particular one obviously suffers from a problematic vision of the director and the production team. Firstly I don't understand why more than half of the numbers were cut. Also the survived songs don't fit well into the flow of the narrative. They seemed to be added rather randomly and abruptly. The filming of these numbers is similarly filled with jumbles of burlesque imagery that in trying too hard to be funny undermine the witty humor those pieces should have emitted.

As a commentator before me has pointed out, the failure of this movie (in my opinion) is probably due to the "open-up" cinematography that has adulterated many other Hollywood versions of Broadway shows. It's noticeable that the "three houses" mentioned in the opening tune (which fortunately the film preserves) set a central sphere within which the original play operates. This spatial confinement should have worked to give the dramatic piece an inviting immediacy and a classical structure. The movie, on the other hand, falls for the psychedelic and pastiche fashion typical of the 60's, and is thereby chopped up into a hodgepodge of phantasmagoric scenes. Such technique, of course, was revolutionary at the time and has contributed to some of the greatest movies ever made. However, it doesn't work well here. What I can see is only a collage of vibrant colors surrounding slapsticks that are rather on the banal side (the final chariot chase, for instance) --- no complexity or even cleverness.

Having limited opportunities for seeing this musical on stage, I could only wish that there would be a remake more faithful to the Broadway original in the future---probably specifically for home video rather than for movie theaters, as (again, in my opinion) how the 2000 film version of Jesus Christ Superstar, which is basically a taped stage play, compensates for the regrets left from the 1973 adaptation, which also has distorted and fragmented the original play with a desert setting, excessive editing, and idiosyncratic gimmicks.

Something For Everyone, A Comedy Tonight

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 1 February 2009]

It's ironic that just as Stephen Sondheim was establishing himself as both composer and lyricist on Broadway, musicals just stopped being made except on rare occasions. As a result most of Sondheim's work is sadly not filmed. In any event we don't have the musical stars on screen to do the roles justice.

So in his first effort at writing both music and lyrics we're lucky indeed to have A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum on the big screen. A cut down version to be sure in terms of songs, but still a tribute to Sondheim in a fashion.

The accent is more on comedy however and you cannot give enough praise to both Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford who were the only two from the Broadway cast to repeat their roles. In fact I can't conceive of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum being made without Mostel. He dominates the proceedings and that's not easy considering his main co-star is Phil Silvers.

Phil Silvers was supposed to be on Broadway, but would not do the part on stage because he could not wear his glasses. Those were not just a comic prop, the man was terribly nearsighted. As a result his part was played by John Carradine. Who'd have ever thought those two would have been up for the same part?

Another movie veteran the garrulous Raymond Walburn played the wandering Erronius and his part was played by the great stone face Buster Keaton in what turned out to be his farewell performance.

Richard Lester the director comes in for a lot praise as well. The way he maximized the use of the screen you can hardly tell the stage origins of this show. Certainly that wild and crazy chariot race at the end could not have been done on stage. It's a great sequence even if the idea originated in the Eddie Cantor film, Roman Scandals.

This movie was also the return of Zero Mostel to the screen after the blacklist. Mostel previously had done some really nice character parts, he stands out in those two Humphrey Bogart films, The Enforcer and Sirocco and was really good as Jack Palance's lapdog companion in Panic In The Streets. But when he could not get work in Hollywood, he returned to nightclubs and the theater where he obtained real stardom. One of the many Tony Awards A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum won was for Zero Mostel as Best Actor.

On Broadway the show ran for 964 performances from 1962-1964 and also won a Tony for Best Musical. I haven't even described the plot because it's impossible. It revolves essentially around young Hiero, played by Michael Crawford to get the woman he loves who happens to work over at Phil Silvers's pleasure house and his family slave Zero Mostel to obtain his freedom. That's as far as I can go.

As another movie icon expressed, fasten your seatbelts, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum is a wild and bumpy ride.

Comedy Tonight!

[Squonk · 6/10 · 26 January 1999]

This adaption of the stage musical moves at a dizzying pace. At times it is difficult to keep track of all that is happening. However, the film does have some very funny sequences. Zero Mostel puts in a great performance. Most of the songs are fun, "Everybody ought to have a Maid" is a standout, and the opening song "Comedy Tonight" will be ringing in your head for days. I didn't like the way they presented "Comedy Tonight" though, over much of the song they showed a montage of scenes from the film that we haven't seen yet. The song has so many great possibilities, why do that? Overall, an enjoyable film, but frenzied to say the least. The video version is further proof that Pan and Scan is the Devil's tool.

Well, it wasn't that funny of a thing!

[FelixtheCat · 5/10 · 18 May 2000]

Director Richard Lester lends his frenetic style of direction in this film version of the Broadway musical comedy. Zero Mostel won the Tony Award for his stage performance as a slave in ancient Rome, who is willing to do whatever it takes to gain his freedom. He brings much of the exuberance to the film that helped him garner that prestigious award. Mostel aids his master's naive son, Michael Crawford, in meeting a virgin beauty in the town brothel next door with the expectation of earning that freedom. Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, Buster Keaton, and many other comedy greats drum up some good laughs in their supporting roles. The film suffers, though, due to many uneven moments, especially a chase scene near the movie's climax. The best song and certainly the most famous is "Comedy Tonight."