"It is a milestone for the manner in which it has taken these primitive comedy techniques [of silent comedy], fortified them with staggering sensations of sight and sound that represent modern filmmaking at its technically slickest, and emerged not an overstuffed anachronism, but a blend of the best of two eras -- the innocent simplicity of the golden age of slapstick and the satirical 'message' approach popular in these uneasy times of disenchantment, self-examination and moral reevaluation." -- Tube, Variety.

"It's made, as it says, with its profusion of so many stars, so many 'names' playing leading to 5-second bit roles, that it seems to be a celebrities' parade. And it is also, for all its crackpot clowning and its racing and colliding of automobiles, a pretty severe satirizing of the money madness and motorizing momentum of our age." -- Bosley Crowther, The New York Times "A Keystone comedy is really what Kramer has made, but writ large, with the stupefying ambition that produces from time to time the world's largest lollipop, pizza, bass drum, or beer stein." - Newsweek.

"To watch on a Cinerama screen in full colour a small army of actors inflict mayhem on each other with cars, planes, explosives and other devices for more than three hours with stereophonic sound effects is simply too much for the human eye and ear to respond to, let alone the funny bone." - Dwight MacDonald.

"Mad World reaches its nadir with an abortive climax that puts Spencer Tracy and ten comedians atop a fire ladder reeling several stories about the street, presumably on the assumption that eleven men suspended in mid-air will be eleven times funnier than Harold Lloyd used to be. Alas, the law of diminishing returns prevails." - Time.

"...stretches its material to snapping point but offers happy hours of star-spotting...There are several great sequences, most of which involve Terry-Thomas, whose image of America as a bosom- and money-fixated society is spot on." - Adrian Turner, TimeOut Film Guide.

"The picture may be long, but this allows all the stars ample time in the spotlight. Merman is funny playing a thoroughly obnoxious woman; Winters and Silvers are also particularly memorable. There is much humor that falls flat, but also a great deal of hilarity in this film, both visual and verbal." - Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic.

"Three hours of frantic chasing and violent slapstick is too much even when done on this scale and with this cast, but one must observe that scene for scene it is extremely well done and most of the players are in unusually good form though they all outstay their welcome and are upstaged by the stunt men." - Halliwell's Film & Video Guide.

"...the film really starts to drag in its second hour. There's only so much double crossing, screaming and fighting one can take. That being said, all road pictures have stolen something from this flick...The final half hour picks up the pace with a wild cab driving sequence and a fire engine ladder rescue one has to see to believe. A raucous comedy that doesn't know when to quit. Worthwhile just to see the world's best comedians at work." - crazy4cinema.com

AWARDS & HONORS

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World placed ninth on The New York Times' ten best list.

Photoplay magazine honored It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World with two Laurel Awards, one for Top Road Show and one for Top Song.

The film received two Golden Globe nominations, Best Motion Picture-Musical/Comedy and Best Motion Picture Actor-Musical/Comedy for Jonathan Winters.

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World was nominated for an Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film by the American Cinema Editors.

The film received six Oscar® nominations: Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score, Best Song, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing, winning in the last category.

The Mystery Writers of America nominated It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture. The nomination went to the film's writers, William and Tania Rose.

Compiled by Frank Miller & Jeff Stafford