Funny sixties movies?

October 19, 2005 5:49 PM

One of my favorite movies of all time is It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, at least when I'm in a certain mood. I'm also inordinately fond of The Party. Given those, what other movies from that era might I enjoy?

(Also, I'm not really a big fan of musicals, for the most part.)

posted by stavrosthewonderchicken to media & arts (32 comments total)

The Magic Christian is a favorite of mine. It's a little nastier than the two you reference, but it's definitely a product of the sixties. And it has Peter Sellers!
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:03 PM on October 19, 2005

Pink Panther
The Great Race
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
What's Up, Doc (early 70s, but it feels like a 60s flick)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
The Mouse That Roared (1959, averages out the 70s film above)
posted by forrest at 6:15 PM on October 19, 2005

The In-Laws. (Not the remake, the original.)
posted by konolia at 6:15 PM on October 19, 2005

Well, obviously any of the pink panther movies would do. Anything with Peter Sellers would do as well. You have no doubt seen Casino Royale? A Shot in the Dark? Also, many Blake Edwards movies have that same humour and style. Try The Great Race. Jack Lemmon was fantastic in the 60's - Irma La Douce, The Odd Couple, The Apartment, Some Like it Hot, etc. Altho it was in the 70's, and I'm sure you've seen it, Young Frankenstein is fucking hilarious. Woody Allen's What's Up Tigerlily had me in stitches (granted, I was a kid when I saw it, so maybe it's not that funny). From 1951, starring Alec Guiness, The Man in the White Suit - it kicks ass.
posted by ashbury at 6:29 PM on October 19, 2005

Le Cerveau / The Brain
Caccia alla volpe / After The Fox
Two Way Stretch (maybe a bit Ealing for your taste)

All pretty much madcap heist capers, but good 'uns.
posted by scruss at 6:30 PM on October 19, 2005

Blazing Saddles. More crude/offensive than the ones you mentioned, but the same era and very, very funny.
posted by Idiot Mittens at 6:44 PM on October 19, 2005

the "my movies" section of yahoo! movies gives personalized recommendations based on your reviews of other movies.
posted by masymas at 7:04 PM on October 19, 2005

A little later (and a bit darker): The Ruling Class.

"I'm the driver of the gravy train! Choo Chooooo..."
posted by Chrischris at 7:10 PM on October 19, 2005

What's New Pussycat (w/P Sellers)
The President's Analyst
posted by Eothele at 7:14 PM on October 19, 2005

I love It's a 4xMad World! It's a touch more recent, but Murder By Death is pretty similar, insofar as it's a slapsticky comedy with a large high-profile cast.
posted by painquale at 7:28 PM on October 19, 2005

I'll see your Casino Royale and raise you an original Italian Job.

In the not funny category I recently saw Le Mans (1971) and it was really quite remarkable. Fits the era but the genre is certainly different.

There's a lot of wacky French cinema that might fit your bill: anything by Jacques Tati. I've seen some madcap works with Gérard Depardieu from the 60's and 70's but the titles are not ringing bells right now -- sorry I can not make specific recommendations.
posted by Dick Paris at 7:29 PM on October 19, 2005

"I was a Male War Bride" is one of my favorites. It has Cary Grant and campy cross-dressing.
posted by Alison at 7:30 PM on October 19, 2005

Oooh, I was just going to recommend What's New Pussycat, so now I second it.

My favorite moment is when Peter O'Toole greets Ursula Andress, who has just parachuted into his convertible, with a blase, "Why hello, beautiful pussycat from the sky."
posted by MsMolly at 7:33 PM on October 19, 2005

May I recommend the works of Frank Tashlin? (self-link)
posted by Dr. Wu at 7:34 PM on October 19, 2005

Dr. Strangelove
Being There, which is kind of like The Party with a brain.
Bringing Up Baby.
What's Up, Doc?
'Screwball' comedies seem like a good way to start as would slapstick/spoof.
posted by my sock puppet account at 7:42 PM on October 19, 2005

The 60's James Coburn movies are pretty great:
In Like Flint
Our Man Flint
The President's Analyst
posted by ph00dz at 7:47 PM on October 19, 2005

Playtime by Jacques Tati.
posted by gallois at 7:56 PM on October 19, 2005

The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe
The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe
posted by flabdablet at 8:21 PM on October 19, 2005

The Wrong Box is good fun. Though a period comedy based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, of all people, it has a very sixites feel (not surprising given it was made in '66) and stars Michael Caine, Peter, Cook, Dudley Moore and just about every other british actor a live at the time (including Peter Sellers).
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 8:44 PM on October 19, 2005

I'll see your Casino Royale and raise you an original Italian Job.

The original Italian Job has possibly the best ending of any movie ever.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:07 PM on October 19, 2005

Dean Martin is Matt Helm
posted by kirkaracha at 9:36 PM on October 19, 2005

The Producers

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

Playtime - can't recommend it enough.
posted by skyscraper at 9:42 PM on October 19, 2005

... and if you're in a slightly naughtier mood, maybe Candy, although I haven't seen it since I snuck into a theater when it first came out.
posted by skyscraper at 9:52 PM on October 19, 2005

Elke Summers and Peter Sellars in"A Shot In The Dark
oh yeah, The Gumball Rally
posted by hortense at 11:14 PM on October 19, 2005

I've also been exploring movies from that time period lately -- there are a lot of less-well-known titles from that time that were Late-Late Movie and Dialing For Dollars staples while I was growing up but which fell completely off the map in the home video era. If you have TiVo and a decent cable lineup, you can set up keyword Wishlists for "(year) and Movie" to generate lists of all the upcoming airings of films from a particular year. I've dug up some really rich catalog stuff that way:

Send Me No Flowers is the last of the three Rock Hudson/Doris Day/Tony Randall comedies (the only one I've seen) and is definitely worth checking out, even if only as an artifact of its time. Ditto The Ghost And Mr. Chicken, which can be riotously funny if you're in the right mood for it (I'd suggest around 2am on Halloween night). It's by far the best movie Don Knotts ever starred in.

They Might Be Giants is one of those rare reminders -- like Dr. Strangelove before it -- that George C. Scott was a great comic actor. Clint Eastwood not so much so but Kelly's Heroes is still fun.

I loved Cold Turkey and Viva Max! when I saw them on late-night TV as a kid, but haven't managed to see them since. They both have big-name people in front of and behind the camera but are really hard to find on video and apparently never air on cable. I've also heard good things about The Fearless Vampire Killers and the original
Bedazzled but haven't seen them.

Finally, though it might superficially appear to meet the criteria I would suggest avoiding any temptation to watch The Day The Fish Came Out unless you're seriously into Candice Bergen, Straight Men Pretending To Be Gay, Maurice Binder Title Sequences and Way-Over-The-Top '60s European Fashion Design. Though now that I read it, that sounds like a pretty encouraging description!

(I ditto the Gumball Rally recommend too.)
posted by Lazlo at 11:18 PM on October 19, 2005

What's Up, Tiger Lily?
posted by euphorb at 11:49 PM on October 19, 2005

Auntie Mame.
posted by holloway at 3:54 AM on October 20, 2005

the original Bedazzled but haven't seen them

See the original Bedazzled. It's awesomeness personified.
posted by unreason at 6:19 AM on October 20, 2005

Ditto on Candy & Magic Christian

"I say my good man, where's my hot doggie..."
posted by Pressed Rat at 6:56 AM on October 20, 2005

And don't forget the re-make of Mad Mad World, Rat Race. To me, it actually feels more like a movie from that era than something contemporary.
posted by Clay201 at 8:02 AM on October 20, 2005

Lord Love a Duck.
posted by gigawhat? at 12:06 PM on October 20, 2005

The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming

The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob
posted by vega5960 at 12:54 PM on October 21, 2005