A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

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.

When I was in High School I had a role in a production of this musical. The film actually stays pretty close to the plotting of the Broadway show, but the truth is that it's story lines are tried and true ancient Roman comic lines from the plays of Plautus and Terence. As such, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM is a useful film - it is one of the few movies that are based on ancient drama. Of Greek tragedy only Sophocles OEDIPUS THE KING and Euripides THE TROJAN WOMEN made it onto the screen. None of Aristophanes' comedies did, although a "western" version of LYSISTRATA (heavily bowdlerized) called THE SECOND GREATEST SEX was produced. Menander has not popped up yet (with only THE GROUCH extant, there is little chance of that). But this Sondheim musical is the sole example of Roman Comedy - specifically the play MILES GLORIOUSUS ("THE BOASTFUL SOLDIER"). When Aristophanes created "Old Comedy" he created a phantasy comedy of kingdoms of birds or dead playwrites holding contests for supremacy. Political satire was also quite important. After the end of Athenian's Golden Age, even Aristophanes had to tone down his plays. Menander introduced a comedy of character and situation. THe Romans followed Menander's example. So A FUNNY THING HAPPENED is actually a comedy of daily regular life in Rome - it is not a realistic view of Roman society, but it is a type of distorted mirror of that society. It is also important for another reason: Zero Mostel. There is no doubt that Mostel was one of the great Broadway performers of his generation, but his movie record on this is spotty. Mostel was best recalled for his Leopold Bloom in ULYSSES IN NIGHTTOWN, Pseudolus in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED, the lead role in RHINOCEROS (by Ionesco), and (most of all) the original Tevye the Dairy Man in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. But only two of these performances got filmed - Pseudolus in this Richard Lester movie, and (in the 1970s)RHINOCEROS (with his co-star from THE PRODUCERS, Gene Wilder). The real loss for his fans was that Tevye was played by Topol in the Norman Jewison film version of FIDDLER. Topol was very good in the film (and was nominated for an Oscar for his performance), but one wishes Jewison could have used Mostel. It would have been an interesting film record of a major Broadway performance. Mostel's filmography is an odd one. He first crops up in the early 1950s, most notably in two of Humphrey Bogart's last films, THE ENFORCER and SIROCCO. He (like his friend, and fellow FUNNY THING performer, Jack Gilford) was blacklisted in the McCarthy period, so that Mostel turned to working in nightclubs and developed his interest in painting (his painting always showed great promise). The slow resurrection of his carreer in the late 1950s led to some movie roles of interest, such as THE HOT ROCK, GREAT CATHERINE, THE ANGEL LEVINE, but the films were mostly flops. Only twice, when he starred in THE PRODUCERS and FUNNY THING HAPPENED did a glimmer of the manic power of the actor show up on celuloid, preserving an idea of what he was at his best. For that reason alone A FUNNY THING HAPPENED is worth watching and enjoying. The supporting cast is great too, including Buster Keaton in one of his last roles as a befuddled old man, Gilford as Hysterium (Mostel's foil in the household where they are both slaves), Phil Silvers as Lycus the procurer (one of Silver's best performances on screen), and the two Michaels (Hordern and Crawford) as Senex and Hero - father and son (and rivals for the same girl). One particular added joy is the ill-fated Roy Kinnear, here playing a gladiatorial trainer who treats the use of a mace as though it were a golf club. A few numbers of the score are cut (FREE, IMPOSSIBLE) but they keep in COMEDY TONIGHT, EVERYBODY OUGHT TO HAVE A MAID, and one of Sondheim's few good love ballads, LOVELY. All this and a look at the power of mare sweat (don't ask - you have to be there). I found this film a great joy.

source: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Trailer—A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

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!

While I enjoy a lot of the classic musicals, I find that there are a lot of filler songs included. This is one of the instances that does not fit that category. The songs are excellent, and are performed in a definitive way. Zero Mostel is an incredible performer, and his antics here are spectacular. His supporting cast is equally memorable, but Zero steals the show. The direction and pacing of the show is also handled perfectly. It reminds me partly of Benny Hill, only a bit more fresh. It is surprising that this movie has not been held up as a watermark for both comedy and musicals. I place it in a category with Some Like It Hot.

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.

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.

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.