How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Starring:Maureen Arthur, Janice Carroll, Jeff DeBenning, Paul Hartman, John Holland, Ruth Kobart, Michele Lee, Robert Q. Lewis, Murray Matheson, Robert Morse, John Myhers, Patrick O'Moore, Kay Reynolds, Justin Smith, Sammy Smith, Anthony 'Scooter' Teague, Dan Tobin, Rudy Vallee, Carol Worthington
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This fizzy musical was a Broadway smash in 1962, and boy, is it a product of its era. Executive washrooms, gray-flannel-suit businessmen, hip-swinging secretaries--they're all preserved in the movie's brightly colored amber. J. Pierpont Finch (Robert Morse) is the window washer who climbs the corporate ladder in a few days, guided by a how-to book. The Frank Loesser songs are great fun, the Bob Fosse dances are very clever and mod, and the gaudy set design may have given Andy Warhol a few ideas. The jack-in-the-box performance of the elfin Robert Morse doesn't seem toned down from his Tony-winning stage turn; think Mickey Rooney doing Jerry Lewis. Still, Morse is a unique presence, and his mad little solo dance down a real Manhattan street is an interlude of sublime daffiness. Grand old crooner Rudy Vallee shines as the president of Worldwide Wicket, barking his beloved alma mater's fight song: "Groundhog! Groundhog!" --Robert Horton

Description

Big business means big laughs as Robert Morse schemes and scams his way to the top in this bold andbawdy musical that celebrates the Great American Corporate Wayand lampoons it at the same time. With musical supervision by the legendary Nelson Riddle (Pal Joey), this tune-filled comic gem is a goldmine of great Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls) songs, including "I Believe In You," "Rosemary" and "The Company Way." Written, produced and directed by David Swift (The Parent Trap) and based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway hit, this classic musical is "bristling with humor, romance and song" (The Hollywood Reporter)! The story charts the meteoric riseof an ambitious window washer (Morse) who, with the help of a simple guidebook, gets the job, gets the girl (Michele Lee), gets the raise and gets the attention of the Big Boss (Rudy Vallee) himselfall by his second day at work! Now it's only a matter of hours before he goes from zero to CEO!

Customer Reviews:

Frank Loesser - you're the greatest!!.......2007-06-08

I have always enjoyed the incredibly creatively scores of Frank Loesser and it's absolutely great to actually SEE one of his creations on the big screen.

I think Robert Morse's interpretation of the J. Pierpont Finch character is brilliant and will forever label him as the fictional character! And my admiration for the late and great Rudy Vallee has gone up yet another 40 notches. My one and only grype about the film version of this play is the arbitrary way the producers decided to cut the best and cleverest number in the show. I am referring of course to "Paris Original". I think the lines, "This irresistable Paris Original, this mass produced crime.... I'm wearing tonight, for the very last time" have just GOT to be amongst the best last lines of a song ever put on a piece of manuscript!!

An underappreciated musical making sly comment on corporate life.......2007-05-26

With the aid of a "How-To" book, J. Pierpont Finch (Robert Morse) rises to the top of the corporate ladder at the Worldwide Wicket Company within just a few days.

Along the way this brilliant musical by Frank Loesser makes sly comment on corporate life. This film makes no pretence at realism...Director David Swift obviously wanted everything to be way over the top - acting, sets, and costumes - and it works perfectly...but it contains more truth than many musicals - take the song "The Company Way", which brilliantly encapsulates the cynicism of the "company man".

Robert Morse is superb as the rubber-faced Finch - think Jerry Lewis or Jim Carrey - and is matched by an able cast.

"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" is one of the great underappreciated film musicals, certainly one of the best film musicals from the 1960's.

The quality of the DVD is excellent but sadly it contains no extras.

How to Suceed in Business without Really Trying.......2007-05-12

Robert Morse shows off his singing and dancing skills in this famous movie. It is part cartoon and part movie. A very humorous musical and one that can be overlooked and a delightful experience. Robert Morse got a Tony for his performance in this movie. It also include the song "I believe in you" Movie also has Rudy Valee and Michele Lee.

Robert Morse is Priceless!.......2007-04-13

What a wonderful evening of entertainment Robert Morse provides in his signature role as J. Pierpont Finch. His abilities bring an energy to the screen that, simply put, make you smile. He draws you into his character in a way that you are once again in the 1960s. I enjoyed it as much today as I did many years ago when I saw it for the first time. Robert Morse, I believe in you!

How To Enjoy "How To Succeed...".......2007-01-03

I am quite happy now to have and to see "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" (Broadway - 1961, Film - 1967). This is truly one of the few musicals which holds up through the test of time as a motion picture (as with Guys And Dolls, West Side Story, The King And I, The Sound Of Music, The Music Man, A Funny Thing Happened..., et. al.). I enjoyed this on TV in the late 60's, and it is still as good today as it was then! Robert Morse, Michele Lee and Rudy Vallee star in this comedy of corporate ambition as "Ponty" Finch (Morse) climbs the executive ladder with the help of a book with the same title, a parody of the American Way of learning just about anything with a "self-help book." The music (Frank Loesser) and choreography (Bob Fosse) are top-notch and Morse is excellent in the leading role. Anyone who has worked for a large corporation will identify with J. Pierrepont Finch's ascent from ground floor on up at the World Wide Wicket Company.

Some clever staging and musical numbers includes the executive wash room scene ("Gotta Stop That Man/I Believe In You"), and "Rosemary", "The Company Way", "Grand Old Ivy" (or "The Groundhog Song"), "Brotherhood Of Man" and others which are well-written and excuted by the ensemble. Also notable in cameo roles are Maureen Arthur as Ms. Hedy LaRue, George Fenneman, Ruth Kobart and Ivan Volkman.

Much of the success of this work as a film feature is its' success as both a story and musical show. It has been revived for Broadway with Matthew Broderick and Megan Mullally in the leading roles. This work and "West Side Story" are perhaps the best of the MGM Home Entertainment (DVD Series) I have seen to date. Both are timeless "American Theater" and I'm sure will continue to please audiences, everywhere.

Charlie Rose with Michael Baird, Gerald Lefcourt & Jeanine Ferris Pirro; Matthew Broderick; Lynn Nicholas (May 12, 1995)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Michael Baird, Gerald Lefcourt & Jeanine Ferris Pirro; Matthew Broderick; Lynn Nicholas (May 12, 1995)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Charlie Rose with Paul Bettany; Mira Nair; Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin & Jeff Nathanson (October 1, 2004)

ASIN: B000JCF41O
Release Date: 2006-10-05

Description

Dr. Michael Baird, Gerald Lefcourt and Jeanine Ferris Pirro talk about the O.J. Simpson case and the introduction of DNA evidence which may link the crime scene to Simpson's home. Then, Matthew Broderick on his performance in Broadways How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, stage acting, and his diverse career as a performer. Finally, Lynn Nicholas talks about her new book The Rape of Europa, which tells the story of the art which was displaced or stolen by the Nazis during World War Two.

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